Cavs: 2 areas Darius Garland needs to improve in second half

Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland has improved so much from year one to two, and it’s apparent that him fully trusting his knee/being himself has been a key reason for that. He was reportedly not himself last season in relation that, and this year, we’re seeing so much more about he’s capable of.

So far in his sophomore season, the 21-year-old point guard is averaging 16.2 points per game to go along with 5.8 assists, and 1.2 steals, and his three-point shooting touch has been on display, as he’s hit 38.1 percent from deep.

Thanks to him having an 11-point flurry in Cleveland’s overtime win at the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday, Garland ended up having a career-high 25 points, too, to go with nine assists.

Though he has flashed All-Star potential outside of dealing with a right shoulder sprain causing him miss time earlier on, Garland still has a few areas in his game that he needs to iron out in the second half of the season to hopefully continue progressing as he heads toward Year 3.

Two areas, in particular, jump out as ones he’ll need to improve on for the Cavs in the second half.

Generating a decent number of free throws is beneficial for any player who hopes to become a key offensive threat. Garland needs to get there more, however.

#1: Generating more FTs would help Garland/the Cavs

Though Garland is great off the dribble, getting to the foul line is something that he can improve upon during the second half of the 2020-21 season. Garland is shooting 83.3 percent from the free throw line, but is generating just 1.8 attempts per game.

If he wants to truly unlock his offensive potential, getting to the line more often would help, particularly in the lane when Garland has primary defenders trying to recover. Although he is, even after notable work in the offseason, pretty slender, initiating contact near the basket could help DG as the season progresses.

Secondly, in the playmaking realm, it would be good to see Garland hit perimeter shooters more consistently game-to-game.

#2: Hit Cavs perimeter shooters more consistently game-to-game

The other key area in his play that Darius Garland can improve on is getting the ball out to other perimeter shooters, again, more throughout stretches of games. He’s proven to be a highly capable playmaker coming off pick-and-rolls and throwing lobs up to Jarrett Allen in settled offense, but there was some inconsistency in regards to finding perimeter shooters to counter that.

Garland has seemingly done better in that realm in the past five or six games, and at times guys were passing up open three-point looks, for instance, from him, but this still is an area where, game-to-game, he could improve.

That’d pay off for Collin Sexton, Cedi Osman, Isaac Okoro and Dylan Windler, who has seemingly built up some momentum heading into the second half, among others.

Anyhow, Garland is still just 21 and has already shown that he is capable of blossoming into a top point guard in today’s NBA and would continue to grow his game if he improves upon these two areas in the second half.