Cavs’ Darius Garland has been sizzling from three of late

He didn’t get off to the start one would’ve anticipated coming into this season, because of an eye injury, and that was tough to see for Cleveland Cavaliers lead guard Darius Garland. Garland suffered an eye laceration in the season-opening loss at the Toronto Raptors, and would miss the next six games for Cleveland.

Garland would then miss a win at the Detroit Pistons with a knee sprain, and after that, he was dealing with sickness, and looked to be affected by that during Cleveland’s mostly-California road trip. It’s safe to say that Garland didn’t begin the season, at face value, how one would’ve expected, with how he broke out last year, and closed the season strong.

More recently, though, Garland has seemed like he’s gotten it rolling, both as a playmaker and big-time scorer for the Cavaliers. He doesn’t appear to be hampered by the prior eye ailment now, and now on the year so far, Garland’s had 23.9 points and 7.8 assists per outing, through 11 appearances.

That’s included a 51-point binge versus the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 13, when he nearly brought the team back from a 20-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter, and after a five-game road trip. Garland had a 41-point game and frankly, saved the Cavaliers in a double overtime win over the Charlotte Hornets, as he had 13 big points in the overtime periods in that outing.

Furthermore, after started out initially off from deep, Garland has really gotten it going from there recently.

Garland has been sizzling from three of late for the Cavs, and his deep range has been key for the team.

Garland has started to get the deep balls going as he’s looked to regain his footing coming off the ailments he’s endured. On the year, he’s now connected on 43.9 percent from three.

Of course, his 51-point game versus Minnesota skewed percentages somewhat, as he hit 10 threes in that game, and prior to that, had been shooting only 30.8 percent from range through six appearances. But goodness, has he turned things around since.

As Cavs fans would attest to, Garland’s wide-ranging shot creation with pull-ups, step backs and use of hang dribbles has led to him being so difficult to account for in recent seasons. And after a tough hand he was dealt out of the gates, the real DG looks to be back, and has been on fire as a catch-and-shoot player.

In Garland’s last four games, he’s followed up that unreal effort against Minny by shooting 14-of-28 (50.0 percent) from deep, and he’s had 28.8 points and 7.5 assists per outing. Plus, he’s chipped in thanks to his improving defensive IQ with 1.8 steals per contest.

Granted, Garland does need to cut down on turnovers, as in that span, he had 5.5 giveaways per game, and versus Charlotte, had a whopping eight turnovers, including some awful ones down the stretch. Along with that, Garland did have nine assists versus the Atlanta Hawks, but had eight turnovers again in that game, so he’s got to clean up those plays, which have been careless ones at times.

That being said, the way Garland has been shooting the ball from deep has been encouraging, as it’s apparent that he looks to be back to his All-Star self for the Wine and Gold. His mid-range shooting has given the team a lift at times as well, whether it’s been from self creation or in pick-and-roll, and the same goes for his playmaking for other guys, such as Donovan Mitchell or Evan Mobley.

Now, sure, the opponents have had some to do with Garland’s deep shooting uptick recently, for a few of the matchups. However, with the way the fourth-year lead guard is knocking deep looks down, it’s been more about him re-establishing his own rhythm, and it’s been nice to see him respond to be a tough chunk of games on Cleveland’s Western road trip.

I’d expect to see Garland stay hot versus the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night as well, in a game where the Damian Lillard-less Blazers are big underdogs.