It’s been a pleasure to see the continued growth of Cleveland Cavaliers lead guard Darius Garland this season, in which he’s had a breakout campaign, and rightfully made his first All-Star Game appearance.
On the season, Garland has had 21.5 points and 8.6 assists per contest, and in his last 20 appearances, he’s really stepped it up a notch, with 25.1 points and 9.8 assists per outing.
Now, some of the increased splits for him as the season has progressed have had to do with Cleveland losing Collin Sexton for most of the campaign, and in late December, Ricky Rubio was also lost for the year.
That said, regardless of circumstances, Garland has taken his game to another level in his third season, and he’s one been of the key reasons why the Cavaliers have turned a corner this year, and could still end up making the postseason. Garland’s terrific playmaking instincts and vision have been on display this year, as he’s helped so many guys throughout the year get quality looks, and the all-around scoring/shot-making from Garland has been incredible, too.
Granted, it’s been tough often for the Cavs as a team overall in post-All-Star break play, and in that stretch, they’ve gone only 7-10, and their slate last week featured three rough losses.
But even with Cleveland having inconsistencies in recent weeks, I still have been largely impressed with Garland’s play, even with a huge workload, and with the team being without Jarrett Allen for the last three-plus weeks (finger injury). And in that realm, even with Garland in a difficult stretch from three, it’s been nice to see him penetrate and dish or get to good looks himself.
One thing that has jumped out, too, though, has been Garland being able to generate a healthy share of free throw attempts.
Garland getting more trips to the line for a solid chunk of games for the Cavs has been a positive sign.
In that aforementioned 20-game stretch for Garland, he’s had 5.6 free throw attempts per game, in which he’s knocked in 90.1 percent of those, which is something else, really.
To get it out there, I understand that Garland has had such a heavy workload with the injuries we’ve touched on playing into it, and in most of the March, Cleveland has also been without Jarrett Allen, for further context. So the injuries have had some to do with it.
Even taking that sort of thing into account, throughout the season, it’s been evident that Garland has been far more comfortable getting into the lane, and is becoming more adept at generating his share of foul shots. That’s another promising developmental sign for the third-year guard, who is again, amid a breakout season for the Wine and Gold.
Garland has missed some time of course due to lower back soreness, but in general, it’s been encouraging to see how effective he’s been at changing speeds, and using his shooting capabilities to get into the lane, either to dish, or get all the way to the rim.
And countering that, he’s been able to get defenders leaning, either leading to whistles and free throws for him from that, or at times, he’s been feel defenders behind him, and get to them to foul him over-the-top. He’s also shown the propensity to generate fouls or occasionally and-1s in the transition game, utilizing his hesitations and quickness, mixed with his passing vision to hold defenders, and then getting them leaning into him, leading to old fashioned three-point looks.
On the season, Garland has had 3.5 free throw attempts per contest, however, as we alluded to, he’s starting to get to the line at a robust clip as the season has worn on, and that’s been very good to see. It can help him stay in rhythm some, to keep the team within striking distance in games, and even with three-point inconsistencies lately for him, it can still keep Garland engaged in the scoring sense.
The Cavs do need more help for him from other slashers and shooters in this upcoming stretch, and Evan Mobley seemingly banged up (ankle sprain) hurts, but others such as Caris LeVert and Kevin Love can still get their share of free throw trips, I would think, too, for instance.
Anyway, based on how he sparingly got to the line in Year 1, and had 2.4 free throws per game in Year 2, it’s been nice to see him steadily draw more as this season has worn on, and he’s gotten more experience. The driving growth from Garland is coincided with that, and moving forward, I’d imagine Garland will get more crafty in how to get to the line when he senses he/the team need it, no matter who he shares the floor with.