Cavs Mailbag: What To Make Of Darius Garland Since Return
Welcome to Cavs Mailbag! In this daily mailbag, Spencer Davies will respond to fans’ curiosities surrounding the Cleveland Cavaliers throughout the duration of the 2023-24 season. In order to submit yours, simply send your questions on X to @SpinDavies or via email at spindavies22@gmail.com.
The Cavs get back to business tonight on the road when they take on the Philadelphia 76ers in NBA In-Season Tournament group play. Currently, the wine-and-gold hold a 1-1 record with two games in the preliminary stage to go. The first is Tuesday against the Sixers, and the next will be seven days from today vs. the Atlanta Hawks.
It won't be easy without the likes of Donovan Mitchell, Isaac Okoro, Ty Jerome and possibly Caris LeVert to beat Joel Embiid and Co., but it will be necessary for Cleveland to keep its hopes alive to win Group A.
Let's get to the lone question of the day:
What do you make of Darius Garland since he's been back? - Tim C. (via email)
I'm surprised nobody's asked about Darius Garland this week. I haven't written much about him either, so it's only right to tip the cap. He's led the Cavs in scoring the last two games (26 and 28 points respectively) with 10 made field goals each, and he's gotten to the line frequently since returning from his original hamstring injury. (His neck strain was just one of those weird bad luck deals.)
DG deserves credit for the way he's focused on being attack-minded. He could still shoot much more with high screening from the bigs, whether it's behind the arc or a one-dribble-and-rise mid-ranger.
The deception he can create with Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley with alley-oops is a dangerous weapon. Once teams start defending the rollers more, Garland can go to his floater. Sometimes, if the pick is wider-angled, he'll dart to the inside diagonally and teardrop it off high glass too. It's an effective trick.
Cleveland needs Garland to continue to have this mindset when Mitchell eventually comes back. Usage may not be as high, but there should absolutely be possessions where Garland can stay in drive mode and take advantage of Mitchell's threat.
Inversely, Mitchell can make a lot of catch-shoot opportunities happen for DG, which he needs to take more of anyhow because his three-ball is deadly.
Nov 19, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) drives against Denver Nuggets guard Julian Strawther (3) in the fourth quarter at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Where Garland gets in trouble the most is playing in small spaces. Sometimes, he'll have possessions where, to use J.B. Bickerstaff's words, he "plays with his food." When the All-Star point guard hesitates or dribbles himself in a crowd, that's when the turnovers happen. In studying the film, most of the miscues lately have been aggressive, which is a better sign than lazy passing or bad judgment like in the Oklahoma City Thunder game.
(For example, sometimes Allen or Mobley won't react quick enough to a bullet pocket pass. Or DG will be dribbling up the court and do a no-looker that a teammate didn't expect.)
Defensively, Garland needs to be better. He's starting to get his feet wet though as that hammy continues to heal. Fighting over screens is still a work in progress. Guarding in isolation situations hasn't been perfect either. Sneaky steals are helpful, but his role in team-defense execution will be important.
Overall, you can see DG getting back to being DG with each game.
