Next season, it seems safe to say that Darius Garland should be considered a star for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Garland rebounded in his second season with 17.4 points and 6.1 assists per outing, and appeared to be primed for a leap in his third year.
That’s just what transpired, as Garland made his first All-Star Game, then repping the hometown Cavaliers back in February with Team LeBron, and Garland had 21.7 points and 8.6 assists per contest. He knocked in a robust 38.3 percent of his three-point attempts, of which increased to 6.7 per game, as compared to his second year, when he attempted 4.9 per outing.
Garland’s aforementioned assist average was sixth in the NBA this regular season, and he broke the Cavaliers team record for assists in a calendar month in March.
He really came into his own for the Wine and Gold in his third year, and while some of the splits increase had to do with injuries, Garland’s playmaking and scoring development was on full-display. By the looks of it, he looks to be an emerging star for Cleveland, and one of the league’s best guards from here. It’s no shock as to why it’s been rumored that he could very well be in-line for a max extension this offseason.
There was tangible growth from Garland in several areas during his third season, and an area that we’ll get further into here I thought he demonstrated continued growth from his second year, and that’s related to his driving game. He’ll only improve from here there, too.
Garland should only get better from here for the Cavs as a driver.
The Cavaliers stumbled down the closing stretch of the season, falling eventually to the play-in tournament, and the team lost both of its chances to reach to the postseason with losses to the Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks then. This didn’t take away from what Garland was doing, and how he played throughout the season, however.
We touched on his playmaking and deep shooting, but his driving prowess was also impressive in Year 3.
I’m not suggesting that wasn’t apparent in his second year, as an aside. Still, it was nice to see Garland take that growth a step further in that realm in his third season, regardless of circumstances. I don’t gloss over how Garland had to endure his share of lower back issues/soreness throughout much of the season after the turn of the year, either.
On the season, Garland averaged 17.5 drives per contest, which among players that’d likely qualify, was sixth leaguewide, per Second Spectrum. He converted on 50.3 percent of his field goal attempts on those plays, and he had 2.4 assists to 1.4 turnovers per outing on drives as well, for context.
Now some of it was from volume, but Garland was, among realistically qualified players, fourth in assists off driving plays per game, per Second Spectrum.
From here, though he’s not a player that’s the physical presence of say, Collin Sexton or say, Lamar Stevens, going to the basket, Garland’s threat as a lob thrower to Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley causes defensive hesitation, as do his kickouts to shooters. I’d imagine Sexton likely being back next season should be a positive in that regard, too, as could a potential wing draft selection.
Along with the passing element, Garland’s use of hesitations himself, his floater touch, and him leaning into deep range shot-making this season did help him as a driver as well.
Garland, as we alluded to, is a polished pick-and-roll player, and he improved his decision-making and timing this season, and his deep range, especially off-the-bounce this year, made him all the more capable as a driver. It was encouraging to see Garland have an uptick in the free throw department, too.
Granted, I’m aware that others will factor in as drivers next season, and I’d hope Sexton does, provided he is fully back to himself and settles in after his injury, and perhaps Okoro improves on-ball. As we hit on, Stevens was sneaky good on drives this season, and I could see him with an increased role next season.
But from here, I’d imagine we keep seeing Garland, who will turn 23 next season, become more polished as a driver.
As Garland hopefully gets functionally stronger, and I thought there were some strides there this season, and as he gets more comfortable as a decision-maker, he’ll continue to improve in that area, which is crucial, in my opinion. That’s no matter who else is around him in lineups, too, I believe, with hopefully some off-ball stretches for him, of course.