3 Cavs players who took a step forward this season

3 Cavs players who took a step forward: Darius Garland

Darius Garland entered the 2019 NBA Draft after playing just a handful of games in college due to injury, and he had a slow start as a rookie due to both that lost development time and playing out of position alongside Collin Sexton. The Cavs reversed their positions and roles last season and Sexton thrived, scoring the 18th-most points-per-game in the league, helped in large part by the spacing Garland provided.

This season Garland had fewer than 10 games alongside Sexton before his backcourt running-mate went down with a knee injury, and handed the keys to the offense did even more with it than Sexton had the year before. Garland also ranked 18th in the league in scoring but also came in sixth in assists per game, the quintessential modern point guard with his scoring, shooting and passing.

As a rookie, Garland assisted on 18.5 percent of his team’s baskets while on the floor; that number rose to 30.9 percent last season and again took a major leap to 39.9 percent this season, seventh in the league. The Cavs as a team were 21st in assists last year and 11th this year, and the entire offense hummed with Garland at the controls.

Garland improved as a shooter in nearly every aspect of the game. His 3-point percentage ticked down slightly this season, from 39.5 percent to 38.3, but the level of difficulty skyrocketed. Last year 70.5 percent of his 3-pointers were assisted, but this year just 48.9 percent were; he hit 58 more unassisted 3-pointers this season than last. His interior scoring game, especially his floater, took a huge step forward this season and he averaged a career-best 51.2 percent on 2-point field goals.

Overall Garland took a leap up the ladder as an offensive player, one who can run the show and find advantages for himself and others.