Why Darius Garland has a DeMar DeRozan problem

Will Darius Garland make the All-Star cut?

Given DeMar DeRozan is clogging things up, it makes it even more difficult for Garland to make the All-Star cut. That isn’t that bad in the grand scheme, as he looks like a player who will make multiple games as early as next season. Still, this year counts too.

National outlets aren’t giving him much love. The Athletic not only didn’t put him in the field, they didn’t include him in their honorable mentions (6 players outside of the Top 12). Seriously, they put Clint Capela above Garland. Ok, boomer.

Bleacher Report had him make the cut back before Christmas, but that was before Fred VanVleet turned into a human blow torch. They also put DeRozan in as a frontcourt player. Zach Lowe and Chris Herring picked All-Star teams on The Lowe Post podcast and neither included Garland.

Is Garland deserving? Sure, but there are 15-20 deserving players each year and only 12 slots. Sometimes that is mitigated by injury replacements, but at the end of the day good players are going to miss the cut. The league has myriad reasons to expand the rosters (more buzz in more markets, the league is twice the size of what it was when 12-man rosters were set, more international players) but they appear to like the status quo.

For now, Garland probably won’t make it. That could change with a few big games in the next week, but the sheer number of big-name guards will make it a challenge. When faced with a decision between Garland and, say, LaMelo Ball, many voters will give “Cleveland” the nod with Jarrett Allen and pick LaMelo because the Hornets don’t have another strong candidate.

Should Garland make the cut? That’s a trickier question, as while it’s easy for Cavs fans to scream “YES” there are fans in Toronto, Charlotte and Washington shouting the same for their guy with just as much confidence. Look for my All-Star team picks this weekend to see whether Garland and his fellow Cavs make the cut.