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Cavs NBA Draft: How Jalen Suggs can elevate Darius Garland’s game

By Justin Brownlow

Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Jalen Suggs celebrates after making a game-winning three-point basket in the 2021 NCAA Final Four semifinal. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Jalen Suggs celebrates after making a game-winning three-point basket in the 2021 NCAA Final Four semifinal. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland shoots the ball. (Photo by David Richard-USA TODAY Sports) /

A suggs selection by the Cavs would be crucial for Garland’s shooting

Garland put up some impressive shooting numbers this past season. He shot 45 percent from the field, 40 percent from three, and 85 percent from the charity stripe. On catch-and-shoot threes, Garland shot 43.2 percent, too, per NBA.com’ shot tracking data.

Having Jalen Suggs handle the main ball-handling duties would only help Garland’s shooting. A lot of times during his seasons with the Cavs, Sexton has been driving and simply looking to score. Conversely, with Suggs, who’s a much more capable and willing passer, Garland would be able to spot up, and cash in on threes.  On top of all of that, Garland can shoot it from very deep.

In an overall sense, the way Suggs is always able to find the open man is uncanny. And if watching film from this past season for the Zags, if you watch Corey Kispert and how he moves without the ball, there’s no reason to believe Garland wouldn’t thrive in that kind of role.

Garland would be free to move without the ball for the Cavs

While we haven’t seen a ton of Garland coming off of screens, and just finding an open spot, he’s more than capable.

As KJG’s Dan Gilinsky stated in a previous article near-halfway through the past season, Garland and Allen had become quite the give-and-go duo. It’s great that Allen and Garland seem to be on the same page about cutting, or spotting up. That said, if you add in Jalen Suggs to the mix via the 2021 NBA Draft, a give-and-go duo between Suggs and Garland would be incredibly hard to defend.

Suggs himself is no slouch when it comes to shooting. He shot 34 percent from three in his one year at Gonzaga. While that doesn’t necessarily blow you away, it’s solid for a 19-year-old in a crucial role. From there, if you take a look at Garland’s shot chart from this past season, he clearly has some preferential spots.

He loves the corner, as most good shooters do, but he also shot very well from the right wing. With that in mind it would not be hard to find ways to get him the ball in that spot, especially because Suggs himself will draw a lot of attention.

The last point I want to make about Garland’s shooting getting to a new level, is how well Corey Kispert shot from his junior year to his senior year. During his junior year, when Suggs was not on the roster, he shot 47 percent from the floor and 43 percent from three. Now, once Suggs was on the roster, during Kispert’s senior year, he shot 53 percent from the field and 44 percent from three.

Kispert is a good shooter, so the jump from 43 percent to 44 percent from three during the two years isn’t that staggering. But the key was his field goal percentage being raised by six points; that’s quite the jump.

I would say that because of Suggs’ vision and passing ability, Kispert got a lot more clean and open looks. On top of that he was able to move more freely without the ball, and the Zags were able to use him to run off screens and get open looks.

And the potential shooting pair of Suggs and Garland, to that point, should have Cleveland fans excited by the time they go to bed tonight.