Part of the reason for the Cleveland Cavaliers taking another step forward heading toward the closing stretch of the 2022-23 season has been their guard play.
Their defensive frontcourt duo of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen has been big-time for the vast majority of the season, and others such as Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade (when healthy) and Lamar Stevens have helped as well, too. Caris LeVert’s all-around play since he’s been mostly a bench contributor has also made a difference, and as the team gets mostly healthy, they should be primed for a playoff push.
As we alluded to above, though, Cleveland’s guards have been key to their success, offensively, especially. With that in mind, here, we’ll take a closer look at each of their guards that have contributed as the season worn on, and ultimately grade their performance for pre-All-Star play.
With that, we’ll begin the Cavaliers’ catalyst night-in and night-out.
Examining Darius Garland’s play so far
Darius Garland was not selected to his second All-Star Game, and that has to undoubtedly be a motivator for him the rest of the way. Last season, he was named to the All-Star Game for the first time, and it was a breakout Year 3 for him.
Garland had a somewhat rocky start to his fourth season, and throughout the year to this point, has had to endure a number of injuries, from an eye laceration, to a knee sprain and recently, he’s had to deal with a thumb sprain that’s seemingly lingered. He’s been hit in the face/head countless times on drives this season, too, and as a fan, it’s been so difficult to watch for him.
On the plus side, though, Garland has really been playing great basketball for a considerable chunk of the season here, and leading into the All-Star break, has been on a mission. On the season, he’s now back up to 21.7 points and 8.0 assists per contest, and in his last 15 games, he’s posted splits of 22.6 points and 8.3 assists per game.
As Garland has gotten more comfortable over the course of the year, he’s gotten it rolling in a huge way from three-point range, too. He’s now up to shooting 41.9 percent from deep on the season, and in that 15-game stretch going into the All-Star break, he’s hit 46.8 percent from there on 6.3 attempts per outing.
His scoring and playmaking abilities are huge for the Cavaliers on offense, and Garland seems poised for quite the strong finish to the regular season. His arrow is pointing up heading toward the playoff push, and as the 23-year-old gains more experience, his game will round more into form. His team defense and playmaking off-ball there shouldn’t be glossed over, either.
He just has to take further strides as a player in closing time situations, which he’s been doing of late, but with some inconsistencies at times, and some on-ball defensive concerns still, an A- grade is more than fair. Garland being labeled as an All-Star snub is a reasonable take.
Garland’s 2022-23 grade thus far: A-
Next up, we’ll get into the grade for the other member of Cleveland’s star starting backcourt.
Examining Donovan Mitchell’s play so far this season
The trade for Donovan Mitchell was one that involved the Cavaliers conceding a lot to the Utah Jazz last offseason, but it was understandable, and Mitchell has had a career season to this point. Him being an All-Star starter for the first time on Sunday was fitting.
Mitchell has had career-bests in points per game (27.3), three-point percentage (38.7) and true shooting percentage (61.6), and he’s seventh in three-pointers made with 182. The expectations were high coming into the season for Mitchell with the Cavs, and even with that, he’s been even better than one could’ve anticipated this year in a new situation.
He had some underwhelming outings last month, and had a tough initial start to February, thanks somewhat due to a groin injury, but he’s picked things back up leading into the All-Star break. By and large, Mitchell’s shot-making, driving and playmaking have all been instrumental for Cleveland. His defense has been far better than in recent prior seasons, too, and Mitchell’s had his share of big contested rebounds.
The 26-year-old has put it all together this season, and his leadership has been key for other guys such as Garland, Evan Mobley and the youngsters, and Mitchell’s playoff experiences should prove invaluable down the road.
Mitchell’s 2022-23 grade thus far: A
Mitchell has rightfully earned an “A” mark for his pre-All-Star break play, for his elite three-level scoring, playmaking help and off-floor impact.
Examining Raul Neto’s play so far this season
Coming into the season, the signing of Raul Neto was predicated on him being insurance in the time until Ricky Rubio returned from his ACL injury. Neto showed offensive improvements in his two prior seasons with the Washington Wizards, but with Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell in the fold, one couldn’t have had particularly lofty expectations for Neto this season.
To his credit, Neto has given the Cavaliers meaningful energy in spurts, and defensively, he’s done commendable work disrupting operations at the point of attack. That’s been his most consistent contribution this season so far when he’s had legit playing time.
It’s not as if Neto has had a ton of burn, though. He’s averaged 10.3 minutes per outing, and has appeared in 39 games to this point, and has posted marks of 3.1 points and 1.4 assists in his appearances.
Neto is not going to be playing much from here, either, as Rubio has started to get re-acclimated with the Cavaliers, and he’s simply a different level of playmaker.
However, to Neto’s credit, he’s done decently in his spurts on the floor for the Cavs as a defensive presence on the perimeter, and offensively, he has helped the Cavs get into their offense to some degree, and his situational driving has been a positive.
Neto’s 2022-23 grade so far: B
Neto has done decently in a spot minutes role this season, from my perspective, and here and there, he could give the Cavaliers a defensive lift still as a point of attack pest. But the offensive shooting limitations are apparent, and looking onward, it’s even tougher to foresee Neto having role consistency.
Examining Ricky Rubio’s play so far this season
One couldn’t expect Rubio to have nearly the same impact as he had in the first two months of last season for the Cavaliers following his trade acquisition from the Minnesota Timberwolves in the prior offseason. The Cavs and Rubio reunited last summer when he was an unrestricted free agent, but he was of course set to be returning following an extensive recovery from his second ACL tear in the same left knee he did back in 2012.
With that having been the case, it wasn’t surprising that Rubio didn’t return this season until January. He’s been gradually working his way back since, and hasn’t played in both legs of back-to-back situations yet, which was reportedly anticipated.
Thus far, Rubio has played in 14 games this season for Cleveland, and there’s been some rust for him. In that time, he’s had 5.7 points and 3.8 assists in 16.8 minutes per contest. Rubio has only connected on 28.3 percent of his three-point attempts, and hopefully, he can find some better rhythm in that area as an occasional catch-and-shoot player, and in time, he’ll have to convert better near the basket.
Even with the shooting inefficiencies, Rubio has been an impactful ball mover, kickout passer and his pick-and-roll abilities have provided a calming presence in his time in games to begin his season. Rubio has still had 8.1 assists per-36 minutes, to only 1.5 turnovers.
In addition, his defensive prowess has given the team a boost, and his on and off-ball expertise there speaks for itself; him having 1.1 steals per game in his minutes-share has been outstanding. Even at 32 and coming off a significant injury, Rubio’s defensive playmaking is always welcomed.
Overall, his two-way play has been solid, but ideally, one would prefer him to be more proficient as a scorer.
Rubio’s 2022-23 grade so far: B
For me, the sample size has been minimal, but a “B” grade for Rubio seems reasonable. But rest assured, he’s more than capable of being a difference-maker off the bench in days ahead, and one should never take Rubio’s leadership for granted.