Cavs: Either of Collin Sexton or Darius Garland can close

Cavs: The uber-skilled Garland can also close

Secondly, based on what he showed last season in that bounce-back campaign, Garland’s a legitimate closing option for Cleveland as well. Now between the two, Sexton has more of the mindset to create for himself in those situations, but I firmly believe that in Year 3, we could see more willingness in that regard from Garland.

Garland, who had 17.4 points per contest last season, has deep range, and although we didn’t see a ton of it, he is a dangerous off-movement shooter as well.

Sexton I’d think could have work in that realm from here, but Garland, in particular, I could see being used as a relocation player down the stretch of games. And that would make Cleveland more unpredictable, with Evan Mobley’s passing abilities for a big, and with Markkanen/perhaps Love being such dangerous off-ball shooters, too.

Nonetheless for Garland, as was shown throughout last season, in terms of the on-ball element, he can definitely create for himself in closing situations, and if he has things really going, could be a crucial pick-and-roll scoring option in these instances.

On-ball, his shiftiness, floater game, pull-up viability and step back game, combined with his quick release, could make him very dangerous and another key closing option for the Cavs from here, too.

However, I do acknowledge that in these situations, with those other shooters in the fold, Garland’s playmaking will be a big factor for the Cavs, and I know that if other guys have it going, that’ll especially be the case.

But even so, I do want Garland to take shots if they’re there and in-rhythm, as he’s one of the Cavs’ best scorers and knockdown shooters in his own right. He knocked down 39.5 percent from three, and on catch-and-shoot triple attempts, he converted on 43.2 percent of those, per NBA.com’s shot tracking data.

Tieing it together with both of the young backcourt in mind, though, when the opportunities are there, either of Sexton or Garland can close for the Cavaliers.