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2 goals for Cavs’ Darius Garland in the 2022-23 season

By Justin Brownlow

Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers. Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers. Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images /
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Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

Goal #1: Average 19+ points per game, and 10 assists

After such a great season, why not strive for something that only James Harden accomplished last year?

Garland has proven himself as a good scorer, especially during this past season. He has a great mid-range game, and separates from his defender very well. On top of that, his finishing around the rim should remind some Cavalier fans of a past point guard who wore the number two. But, the reason I think that his scoring average could continue to be noteworthy, along with his assist numbers is because as he gets older, he’s becoming more efficient. He has improved his field goal percentage every year since his rookie season.

The only player to average 10 assists per game last season was James Harden. At the end of last season, Garland’s playmaking ability was really on display after Jarrett Allen went down with an injury. In the 18 games at the end of the regular season without Allen, Garland had at least 10 assists in 11 out of 18 games. Even more impressive is that in the games where he had at least 10 assists, he averaged 12.2.

It’s very possible that with the help of a more improved offense from Evan Mobley, post-play from Jarrett Allen, and some kind of three-point scoring out of first-round pick Ochai Agbaji, that Garland could quite easily eclipse the 10+ assist threshold. He’s undoubtedly the primary engine for the Cavaliers on offense.

The backup point guard situation is one that is a bit worrisome to me. However, the team re-signed Ricky Rubio to fill that role, when at least for when he’s back, in that sense. Raul Neto could help Cleveland to some extent until then.

Overall Garland had a fantastic season this past year, and I expect a lot more from him this season, as should most fans. While 10 assists per game might seem like a lot, just consider this: Garland went from averaging 3.9 assists per game during his rookie season, to 6.1 assists per game in his second season, finishing with 8.6 this past season.

That means he’s improving his assist total 2.4 assists per game over his three seasons in the league. I’d say that’s pretty impressive, and reason to believe Garland won’t have a problem eclipsing that double-digit assist average.