1 stud and 1 dud for Cavs in preseason win over Hawks on Wednesday

Cavs stud: Darius Garland

There were a few candidates to ultimately snag this distinction from me, such as Okoro and Diakite, in particular, but I ended up going with Darius Garland.

The overall shooting splits from Garland were far from outstanding at 8-of-21 overall, a 38.1 percent clip. Having said that, he notched 23 points and shot 4-of-10 from three-point range, and I thought his off-ball shooting and willingness to pull off movement was very encouraging here.

Whether it was from spray-outs from Donovan Mitchell, or handoffs from others, it’s been awesome to see Garland getting legit off-ball and/or movement looks.

Along with the perimeter shooting from him, Garland’s vision was also on display in a big way, as he tallied 12 assists (to three turnovers, for reference).

The timing from him in hitting shooters, coupled with his pick-and-roll play and making heady plays to Allen led to him helping get the Cavaliers going at key points on Wednesday.

The third quarter lull featured some stagnant offense, and there were some instances of over-dribbling from Garland and Mitchell, but by and large, Garland, especially, was on-point with his table setting versus the Hawks. His passing versatility and timing, combined with his scoring presence, make him so difficult to account for.

In addition, his timing in playing pass lanes on the other end led to three steals, and in the game, he was a plus-24, as far as the game in totality. And his attention to detail, at least as an off-ball defender, to some extent, will keep getting better.