The Cleveland Cavaliers broke out in a major way this season, doubling their point total from last season. Even though they missed the playoffs by the slimmest of margins, the future is bright in Cleveland in large part because of a rising star on their roster. Darius Garland had an excellent season for the Cavs and is poised for more.
A leap from Garland was not necessarily a surprise; he was a popular preseason pick for Most Improved Player, on account of his strong finish to last season and his time with Team USA this summer. Garland nearly got the final spot for the Gold Medal Olympic Team. The former Vanderbilt guard had plenty of momentum coming into the year.
Darius Garland had a breakout season in his third year. How should we grade the Cavs’ point guard for his 2021-22 NBA season?
That momentum was not a mirage, either. Garland took a major step forward this season, averaging career highs in games, minutes, 3-pointers, points, rebounds, assists and steals. He won Player of the Week in January, part of a strong winter push that saw him named to his first career All-Star Game.
It wasn’t all perfect for Garland, but it was absolutely positive. Let’s break it down a little further to evaluate how Garland played this season before giving him a final overall grade on his performance, growth and impact this season.
Cavs Player Grades: Offense
For two seasons Darius Garland has developed as an offensive player in the shadow of Collin Sexton, growing into a role as a sidekick and battling injuries and a shifting role in order to do so. This season, partly because of how quick Garland developed and partly because of Sexton’s knee injury after only 11 games, Garland stepped up to become the clear and inarguable top option for the Cavalier offense.
Garland increased his shot volume and his efficiency, shooting a career-best 51.2 percent from 2-point range as he unleashed a wicked floater on hapless defenders. His chemistry with Jarrett Allen was elite, and when scrambling defenders stepped too far away trying to take away the lob pass, Garland just lightly dropped the ball through the net. He also shot 38.3 percent from 3-point range on 6.7 attempts per game; over half of those were unassisted, difficult stepbacks and pull-ups against tight coverage.
Yet what makes Garland clearly special in a way that, to this point, Sexton is not is the elite passing that he showed this season. Garland averaged 8.6 assists per game, sixth in the NBA, directing traffic for an offense with few other shot creators other than he, especially once Sexton and Ricky Rubio went down.
While Garland did bear a heavy load with the ball in his hands, he was also not afraid to give the ball up and work off-ball, running off screens to catch-and-shoot Steph Curry style. This stretched defenses and opened up room inside for Allen and Evan Mobley to work. It also allowed J.B. Bickerstaff to play him alongside Ricky Rubio early in the season, a strong combination that blitzed teams until Rubio tore his ACL.
Advanced stats support Garland’s impact on offense as well. He had a +3.9 Offensive EPM (Estimated Plus-Minus) which ranked in the 97th percentile leaguewide. His Offensive Raptor is even higher, as Garland ranked 10th; the Cavaliers were 4.8 points per 100 possessions better on offense when Garland played.
Garland can still turn the ball over too much, and given his elite free-throw shooting (89.2 percent, 7th-best in the league) there should be some room for improvement as an outside shooter, which would take him from dangerous to deadly outside. Yet his growth this season as a scorer and playmaker pushed him into the upper echelon of young guards on offense.
Grade: A
Cavs Player Grades: Defense
Darius Garland is a sight guard, standing somewhere just under 6’1″ before you account for his hair. He’s not particularly strong, isn’t a true ballhawk and while he is athletic is not going to leap out of nowhere to block many shots. In short, he doesn’t possess the physical profile to be an elite defender.
The question for Garland is whether he can be good enough not to present the opposing team with a blaring target to go after. If Garland is a lineup’s best offensive player he can afford to be its worst defensively, especially with Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley on the court.
The numbers suggest Garland is around average defensively, with EPM rating him just above league average and RAPTOR just below. He averaged 1.3 steals per game this season, and his steal percentage hovered around Top-20 in the league.
Using the eye test tells a slightly less optimistic story. Garland carried such a heavy offensive load that this wasn’t necessarily surprising, but he tended to wear down quickly on the defensive end, struggling to get over screens and drifting a bit off-ball watching the play develop. He has quick hands and was able to generate a number of steals, but he also gambled a lot and was caught chasing his man into the paint.
The reason Garland’s defensive numbers look solid is that he was almost always paired with Jarrett Allen during the meat of the season; the two were a deadly combination on offense, and Allen covered up for Garland anytime the point guard was beat.
Garland will continue to get stronger, and he should be better defensively down the line. For now it is clearly a weakness, although he competes and will up his game in the playoffs. It’s reasonable for Garland to be the level of defender he is, but it’s also not blowing anyone away.
Grade: B-
Cavs Player Grades: Overall
Something else that Darius Garland brought to the team were leadership intangibles, stepping up more and more as the season went on to lead this team. He did so on the court as the point guard and off the court as arguably this team’s best player this season.
That is a major step forward for a player who took a back seat last year to Collin Sexton. Garland improved substantially this season, showcasing a better shot, better handle and overall better floor game. He was not a throw-in but rather a deserving All-Star this season and won’t turn 23 until 2023.
Garland has become irreplaceable for this team, the only reliable shot creator and playmaker. Perhaps Caris LeVert or Collin Sexton can become that next season to help share the load, but this past season it quickly became apparent that this was Garland’s show to run, and he did so incredibly well given his age and experience level.
The future is bright for this entire Cavaliers team, but especially so for Darius Garland. Even with young guards breaking out all over the year Garland is not one to get lost in the shadows; he is ready to shine. An All-Star season this year could parlay into a long career of excellence.
Grade: A-