Cleveland Cavaliers fans have a lot to be happy about just past the midway point in the season. Currently, the team stands at 27-19 and are only a couple of games out of first place in the NBA Eastern Conference standings.
Who would have expected such a strong first half of the season? The team won 22 games all of last year. Most fans of the Wine and Gold probably would have been happy for a slight improvement over last year. Having surpassed all expectations so early in the season has made this a very memorable year already.
Contending on a nightly basis and marching toward a playoff berth will continue for these young, but confident kids in Cleveland and keep all of us on the edge of our seats waiting for that next slam dunk!
With that said, let’s hand out some midseason awards for the good guys. Everyone on this current group of Cavaliers is contributing in some way to the success of the team. Here are a few specific honors.
Midseason MVP: Darius Garland
Darius Garland, who was recently named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week, has been a treat to watch this season. He’s been everything that this team needed. Every game he’s dishing out assists at a high rate, taking shots from all over the floor with confidence and making every opportunity count when he’s on the floor.
Prior to this season and before other guard Collin Sexton was injured and out for the year, we weren’t exactly sure what to expect from Garland. The biggest concern might have been his decision-making while quarterbacking the team on offense. That’s why what we are seeing from him now is really impressive.
He seems to be understanding his role and how he can affect the game every time he steps out on the court. That confidence is growing and for a young and talented kid like Garland, that’s something really special and it has the team at an all-time high in terms of enthusiasm and playing together as a team.
Everyone else on the team is following suit and trying to improve as well and when that chemistry is building like that, it’s hard to keep a good thing down for too long.