Cavs: Why Darius Garland can make the All-Star Game this season

Coming into the season, we knew the Cleveland Cavaliers had future All-Stars on the roster. Collin Sexton was probably the favorite to make an All-Star roster the soonest, but it’s time we place Darius Garland atop the list of soon-to-be All-Stars in Cleveland.

Following a promising sophomore season with the Cavs, the expectations for Garland were soaring coming into this season. As a second-year player, Garland averaged 17.4 points per game on 45.1 percent from the field and 39.5 percent from three. He also dished out 6.1 assists a night and swiped the ball away 1.2 times per contest. These numbers were pretty solid, but naturally, we were excited to see more from him in the 2021-22 season.

To start the new campaign, Garland was slow to flash his budding stardom. In the first game of the season, Garland rolled his ankle to the floor and stepped out of the game. He ended up finishing the game however, scoring 13 points and dishing out 12 assists on a poor shooting performance.

The 21-year-old point guard would then miss the next two games with a sprained ankle, the same injury that forced him to miss essentially all of May to close out last year. This sparked reasonable concern of his durability, but he has recovered nicely so far.

Since coming back from his two-game absence, Garland has looked better and better as each game has gone along and he’s getting his groove back. He is starting to show consistent flashes of the player we know he can become and honestly, what he already is.

Over the last three games, Garland has averaged 18.7 points, 7.3 assists and 1.7 steals per contest. He has also shot 55.9 percent from the field and 53.3 percent from three on 5 attempts per game.

He is currently seventh in the NBA in assists per game and seventh in assist percentage, as well as 11th in total assists. Needless to say, the guy can make plays.

His scoring numbers for the season are relatively low, but that’s only because he isn’t shooting enough shots. His three-point attempts have gone up, as has his three-point percentage, but his overall shots per game are lower than his first two seasons.

His shooting volume will increase with time. The team has added other offensive weapons since last season and they have eaten away at scoring opportunities, but that shouldn’t affect Garland’s shot attempts as much as it has. His scoring efficiency is too high to only be shooting 11.4 times per game.

Nevertheless, Garland is still putting up good scoring numbers and these last three games are a sign of what’s to come. He is also getting to the free-throw line more often and has gotten the confidence to take bigger shots down the stretch of games.

Having All-Star worthy numbers is one thing, but the ability to make an All-Star-caliber impact on games is another. Darius Garland can do that too.

Cavs: Garland can end up making the All-Star Game this season.

In the Cavaliers’ last win at the Toronto Raptors, it was Garland that brought home the win. Of his 21 points, 12 of them came in the fourth quarter to help lead the Cavs to an improbable win on the road.

His two late free throws gave the Cavs their first lead of the game with 4.8 seconds left to play, eventually resulting in a 102-101 win and an extension of their win-streak to three games.

Knocking down two free throws to end the game against a team that was on a five-game win streak might not seem like that big of a deal. But to the coaches who vote in the All-Star reserves, it is.

Flashy plays also have an impact on being an All-Star, and Darius Garland has a deep bag of them. Whether it be a no-look pass to Evan Mobley, a nasty crossover that leaves Russell Westbrook lost or a textbook step-back three over Robert Covington to end a quarter, he can do it all.

With a combination of stats, high-pressure plays and highlights, Garland should be in the mix when All-Star voting comes around in January. The Cavs just have to keep winning and so far, they show no signs of slowing down.

After the clutch performance in Toronto, the national media is starting to give props to Darius Garland, too.

And soon enough, the Garland “hype” will be “hype” no more. He’s an All-Star-caliber player, and it’s time the NBA recognizes that as well.