Cleveland Cavaliers: Two bold predictions for Darius Garland for 2020-21

Bold Prediction #2: Garland will end the season top three in total points for the Cleveland Cavaliers

For his rookie season, Garland averaged 12.3 points per game and saw his scoring average go up every month from October to January. This past season, offensively, Garland looked to be playing behind Collin Sexton, Kevin Love, Jordan Clarkson earlier on, then Andre Drummond-post trade deadline, and even at times, Kevin Porter Jr. and Tristan Thompson.

Garland looked to defer a lot on many, many occasions throughout the season but, with improvements to his strength, confidence and overall game, his deference may be a thing of the past.

It isn’t much of a surprise that Garland had his best offensive month after the Cavaliers traded Clarkson and with question marks surrounding the backup point guard position, we could see Garland take on an even bigger role offensively next season. Now, Garland’s playmaking feel was at least encouraging, though, and it was a positive that he averaged 5.1 assists per outing in his last 26 games active.

Anyway, back in terms of the scoring sense, for next season, looking at the roster, there doesn’t seem to be a definitive second/third option on the Cleveland Cavaliers. With Love, his injury history is always a concern, and he has also been a subject of trade rumors for a long time now, even while it would seem he’ll be with Cleveland through next year for now.

Meanwhile, Drummond’s time with the Cavaliers, assuming he picks up his $28.8 million option, which is reportedly likely, may be brief as they could look to move him at the trade deadline and Porter may be a season or two away from really taking off.

Lastly, it could take the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 2020 NBA draft pick some time to get accustomed to the league.

With all of that in mind, next year seems like the perfect opportunity for Garland to capitalize and further establish his role with the team by placing top three in total scoring.