2 areas where Cavs’ Darius Garland needs to improve moving forward

Improvement Area No. 1 for Garland: On-ball defense

One of the clearcut areas where Garland needs to improve is his on-ball defense. Nobody would mistake Garland for a lockdown defender individually, and throughout his career, it’s safe to say that’s probably not going to be what he’ll labeled as there.

Garland gets beat too often off the bounce, which causes penetration into the lane from opponents, which can cause others to be in tough matchups, or for opposing playmakers to find open looks for others on the perimeter. That can result in open threes, or if those looks are taken away, opponents can at times get to the rim, draw fouls themselves, or find cutters.

Now, Garland has made some strides with his ball pressure, and he’s a competitor who has improved at getting back into plays with effort and high hands. But there are clear limitations with DG on-ball, and it is reasonable to point out when projecting how he’ll fare in the playoffs in comparison to where he is a star level player offensively.

Granted, Garland has greatly improved over the course of the past two seasons as a team defender and rotator, and he should receive praise for his growth there. However, if he can add some more functional strength and muscle over the upcoming summer and/or in coming seasons, as he gets more into his prime, it could surely help him in individual defense.