Cavs: One stud and one dud from win over Pistons

Cavs stud: Darius Garland

The headline of the game may have been Mobley versus Cunningham, but Garland stole the show.  For the game he had 21 points, 7 assists, and 2 steals, while shooting 4-of-9 from 3 and 8-of-14 from the field overall. The Cavaliers have lost a lot of offensive production lately with the injury to Collin Sexton, who’s been their leading scorer the past couple years, while Kevin Love and Lauri Markkanen have been out because of COVID-19 health and safety protocols .

Garland has star potential and I’m liking the aggressiveness I’ve seen with him especially with how shorthanded the Cavs have been where they’ve absolutely needed him to step up. In Garland’s last five games, he’s averaging 19.2 points, 6.8 assists, and 3.6 triples, but what’s also notable is the Cavs are 4-1 during that span.

For the season Garland is up to 16.3 points and 7.2 assists per game, and has shot 42 percent from 3 and about 49 percent overall. Plus, Garland continues to dazzle as a playmaker, and the pass he made to Mobley for a lob in the second quarter is certainly something you can’t teach.

Mobley is the Cavs’ best player/franchise player and is the biggest reason the team’s trajectory has changed, as a member of the organization reportedly expressed earlier on in the season, but one of the big questions for the Cavaliers is could Garland take the lead and make that next step. He still has a ton to prove, but it appears Garland could be potentially taking that next step.