Darius Garland has had rough patches at times this season for the Cleveland Cavaliers, somewhat because of injury, some perhaps from a huge workload and some from just natural ups and downs for still a young player. Some might have to be reminded Garland is, in fact, not 23 yet and is in Year 4 with the Cavs.
He has had some inconsistencies with his shooting this season, and one would have to assume it would take him time to get comfortable again following his early-season eye injury. Other ailments here and there and him and the team adjusting to Donovan Mitchell being in the fold had to play into Garland having issues at times, too.
Despite that, it’s not as if the dude isn’t making plays, and he still makes operations smoother to a large extent for other guys. He’s had 7.8 assists per game, and has tallied 21.5 points per outing, and connected 39.6 percent from three-point range.
He also is fresh off having a 46-point eruption on Monday night, albeit in a 125-117 loss to Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets.
Nonetheless, it is apparent that Garland could definitely benefit from having some more playmaking/on-ball help at times, not discounting Mitchell’s work there. But objectively, Garland has piled up turnovers in some stretches, and in the last 12 games, has averaged 3.3. And in the past 10 contests, there have been six games where he’s had four or more turnovers.
One has to take those with a grain of salt, given all that Garland does for Cleveland. That has to be acknowledged, first off.
However, among other things, Ricky Rubio being back soon it seems should aid Garland in that area we were discussing above about Garland.
Rubio should help Garland be fresher later, and could feasibly have a hand in trimming DG/the Cavs’ turnovers some.
Rubio has reportedly been practicing with the Cavaliers’ G-League affiliate, the Cleveland Charge, lately, and has been ramping up his conditioning to get back on the floor. It’s recently been reported that he’s been targeting the turn of the year for a return from his ACL injury last season, when he was one of the crucial reasons for Cleveland’s hot start to 2021-22. J.B. Bickerstaff said the following on Tuesday, also, via Kelsey Russo of The Athletic.
#Cavs J.B. Bickerstaff on Ricky Rubio’s progression: “I would expect him, if things go the right way, sometime early next month. So we're definitely progressing in the right direction.”
— Kelsey Russo (@kelseyyrusso) December 27, 2022
One has to temper expectations for Rubio for some time after his return, and it’s not an exact science as to forecasting when he’ll be fully back, so-to-speak. Either way, though, the Cavaliers, and Garland, for that matter, stand to benefit from the veteran being back seemingly very soon.
Fans shouldn’t necessarily expect Rubio to be a key shot creation presence early on in his return, as he was in many of his appearances off the bench last season, but his vision and playmaking can make an early impact. He’s averaged 7.6 assists per game for his career, and in his 34 appearances before the injury last year, had 6.6 dimes per game with the Cavs in a supersub role.
Rubio is a player that has long been one of the NBA’s elite passers, and his creativity, timing and pick-and-roll distribution could help unlock players such as Kevin Love more, and Rubio could be a quality option in stretches where Garland or Mitchell are staggered. He worked well with Garland last season, and has prior experience with Mitchell back with the Utah Jazz.
With Rubio’s experience and leadership on the floor in mind, he should help alleviate some of the burden on Garland, too, and could, in turn, trim some of the turnovers down from DG and aid the team overall there. For his career, Rubio has had 2.6 turnovers per contest, in 30.3 minutes per game, and in some stretches, whether it’s with Garland or not, the Cavs will benefit from Rubio initiating movement, to prevent stagnation.
Rubio can additionally help on the other end still with his defensive instincts and length, and he has proven to be a terrific hit-ahead passer. That could lead to the Cavaliers stealing some buckets in the open floor, too.
So, while there are some instances where Rubio does try to thread the needle a bit too much, he should help trim down some harmful Garland live-ball turnovers in crucial stretches. Those have seemingly occurred from DG just trying to force the issue a bit to initiate more movement or from over-extension.
Hopefully, Rubio’s presence can give Garland some of an extra boost as we near the seasons’ halfway point.