Cavs’ Darius Garland named Eastern Conference Player of the Week
The news broke Monday afternoon that Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week.
In the past week, Cleveland went 4-0, with all four of those wins coming on their six-game Western road trip.
This recent Garland news just reiterates how he’s a budding star for the Cavs, and how he’s been on an unreal tear lately.
Starting with the game last Monday against the Sacramento Kings, Garland went just 5-of-13 from the floor but was excellent at facilitating. Garland would finish the night with 11 assists against the Kings and showed that he can still positively impact the game even if he doesn’t score 20+ points. He was clearly affected by back soreness in that one, and it seems at other times in a few games as well, in fairness.
Moving to the game last Wednesday at the Utah Jazz, Garland again had a subpar shooting night (3-of-11) but again affected the game beyond simply scoring the ball.
Darius would again dish out double-digit assists (15) and even grabbed 10 rebounds in the 20-point win against the Jazz, albeit without Rudy Gobert, who was in COVID-19 health and safety protocols. This triple-double by Garland was the first by any Cavaliers player since LeBron James in the 2018 NBA Finals.
Moving to the game this past Friday in San Antonio, Garland got back on track in the scoring column as he tied a season-high with 32 points and hit four big three-point shots versus the Spurs. Garland did not hit double-digit assists against the Spurs but still dished out eight dimes and only had one turnover.
Garland also took over the scoring responsibility in the final quarter as he scored 14 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter against Dejounte Murray and San Antonio.
When the Cleveland Cavaliers traveled to Oklahoma City for the final game of their road trip at the Thunder, Garland saved his best for last, also, in a comeback win. The third-year guard led the team in scoring with 27 points and was a wizard passing the ball as he racked up a career-best 18 assists.
Even after a grueling six-game road trip, Garland still brought it against the Brooklyn Nets on Monday afternoon as well in an MLK Day contest. Darius again led the team in scoring with 22 points and again reached double-digit assists with 12 dimes.
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Overall, it has been fascinating to watch Garland’s ascension this season. He is one of the rising stars in the NBA, and if this past week is any indication, he will be a problem in the league for a long time to come.