One of the most difficult awards to predict every season is the NBA’s Most Improved Player award. By definition it’s all projection: which player who was not-so-good last year will be much better next year? If people were good at predicting the future the world would look a lot different.
The Cavs are as good a place as any to look for a Most Improved Player candidate, as they have an entire starting lineup’s worth of young players hoping to take a step forward. Chief among those players ready to break out is rising-third year point guard Darius Garland.
How can the Cavs’ point guard Darius Garland take a leap forward and win the NBA’s Most Improved Player award?
The Cleveland Cavaliers are incredibly high on their young point guard, and so is the rest of the league. Garland took that first step forward a year ago, increasing his scoring and assists averages by a considerable margin. He shot better, was a better defender and overall became a player who helped his team rather than hurt it.
That’s why many around the league are higher on Garland than Collin Sexton, because of the idea that he can help his team win in more areas than Sexton. What will it take for that to not become an idea but a reality? What needs to happen for Garland to win the 2021-22 Most Improved Player award? Let’s check three boxes to get Garland in the running.