Darius Garland made a huge splash during the NBA’s 2022 All-Star Weekend. Over the All-Star break, Garland won the Skills Challenge along with Cleveland Cavaliers teammates Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. Along with that, Garland also was a member of the All-Star game-winning Team LeBron, in what could the first of plenty of All-Star appearances for him.
In the All-Star Game, Garland scored 13 points, dished out three assists, pulled in one rebound, and also got two steals while shooting 41.7% from the field and 42.9% from three.
Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen was a member of Team LeBron in the All-Star Game, too, and had a true breakout season. He ended the contest with 10 points, nine rebounds, one assist, one steal, and two blocks. Allen also shot 83.3% from the field.
Both Garland and Allen put on a show for the hometown Cleveland fans, more than anything else. They both put their talents on full display and represented both themselves and the Cavs extremely well.
With this upcoming season looking to be a very promising one for Garland, there is no reason why he should not be making his second All-Star Game appearance in February. Garland has made enormous jumps from year to year every season so far in his career.
From his first to second season in the league, he improved by 5.1 points, 2.2 assists, half a rebound, and half a steal per game. There was a noticeable jump in Garland’s game from year one to year two, however, taking a deeper look at the numbers really highlights just how much he improved. From year two to three, he made yet another substantial jump.
He was in the running for the Most Improved Player of the Year last season, finishing third behind Dejounte Murray and Ja Morant. Garland improved by 4.3 points, 2.5 assists, nine-tenths of a rebound, and one-tenth of a steal. He also improved his field goal percentage by 1.1%.
While it is not likely that Garland will make the same jump from year three to year four, he will still show some form of progression or at the very least not begin to regress. There are three major reasons as to why Garland is poised to make yet another All-Star game in the 2023 season.
Garland will likely be the leader of the Cleveland Cavaliers offense in the 2022-2023 season. He has blossomed into one of the league’s premier shooters. Along with this, after the Cavs front office began to bring in veteran point guards like Ricky Rubio and Rajon Rondo, Garland’s playmaking and facilitating have greatly improved.
It is clear that he is a franchise player for Cleveland, and as long as the team continues to be successful, Garland will remain an All-Star. And to our previous point, here we’ll hit on three reasons why Garland should be an All-Star again next year.
#3: Garland and the Cavs have very high upside
The first reason that Garland could be making a return to the All-Star game is that both he and the Cavaliers as a team have a lot of upside coming into the 2022-2023 season. As previously mentioned, Garland has made massive year-to-year jumps every season that he has been in the NBA. While that trend is likely to steady out in the near future, it is not likely that we have seen the best version of Garland yet.
If the Cavaliers are once again able to start the season off strong like they did last season, there is little to no doubt that Garland will be making an All-Star game. Along with Garland, most if not all of the Cavs’ true core is still progressing their games and in a stage of their careers in which they are making big jumps forward each season.
As the Cavs continue to develop as a team and build more on-court chemistry with each other, the better it will be for the team as a whole and also for Garland’s individual game.
All of the pieces are in place for Garland to really come into his own as a true star in the league this next season and he has the team around him to make a big playoff push and add another All-Star appearance to his resume.
#2: Garland will definitively be the focal point of the Cavs’ offense
The second reason why Garland is well on his way to another All-Star appearance is that he will be the focal point of the Cavaliers’ offense this season. He is by far the best shooter on the team and it is clear that he has the green light, and he has rightfully earned it. Along with becoming an elite outside shooter, he has also blossomed into a quality scorer around the basket as well. Garland has developed into the dream point guard in today’s NBA.
It is very possible that Garland could be near the top of the Eastern Conference guards in both points per game and assists per game by the time All-Star break rolls around.
In terms of assists, the Cavaliers have a very well-rounded team. The roster is set up perfectly to help an elite facilitator like Garland rack up the assists. He has dream pick-and-roll partners in Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. Along with this, the roster has shooters more now who can help space the floor for Garland as well, such as Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, if he’s back, and Ochai Agbaji.
Garland is in an incredible position with the team around him to put up some big numbers and really break into stardom this next season ahead.
#1: He will solidify himself as a top playmaker
The final reason why Darius Garland should be returning to the All-Star game in 2023 is what he can do as a playmaker. As previously mentioned, Garland is an incredible passer and he has a great team around him that know their roles and compliment his game well.
However, the sky truly is the limit on what Garland can become as a passer. It would not be ridiculous to think he could potentially reach 10 assists per game under the right circumstances. If he and the rest of the team can remain healthy this next season, and he is still around the same amount of time with the ball making plays, 10 assists per game is not out of the question.
The Cavaliers’ front office has done a spectacular job of surrounding Garland with veteran guards that were some of the best playmakers of their era. Two that stand out are Ricky Rubio who just returned to the team and Rajon Rondo, to some degree, last season. If Garland is able to reach that 10 assists per game number, he would more than likely lead the league in assists. Either way, he’ll likely solidify himself as a top playmaker.
Taking his scoring abilities into account along with the Cavs probably being a playoff team next season, Garland should have no issues making it to the All-Star game once again in 2023.