Patience is paying off in spades for the Cleveland Cavaliers. There has been so much chatter over recent years about Darius Garland needing to be traded to split up the backcourt of him and Donovan Mitchell. The practical results thus far in 2025-26 suggest that being the furthest thing from the truth.
For now, Garland has only appeared in five games for the Cavaliers due to injury troubles with his toe. When the star point guard has been available, and sharing the court with Mitchell, the results have been exceptional for Cleveland.
The sample size is still small, but in 78 minutes together, the backcourt pairing for the Cavaliers has been ridiculous. Mitchell and Garland have an offensive rating of 133.9, a defensive rating of 104.8, and an overall net rating of 29.2 when playing together for Cleveland.
Koby Altman has preached about there being no rush to break up the core four for the Cavaliers. If changes do eventually come, Garland and Mitchell are offering no reason to believe their backcourt partnership should come to an end anytime soon.
Cavaliers have their championship-level duo in the backcourt
Kenny Atkinson coming in and switching up how Mitchell and Garland operate was the best thing that could have happened for the Cavaliers. Each of the players have been given room to lean on their strengths in the process.
Mitchell has been allowed to focus primarily on his scoring. Garland has been given the room to operate as the floor general for the Cavaliers. That is how both function at their best.
In 2023-24, before Atkinson's arrival in Cleveland, Garland and Mitchell shared the floor together for 750 minutes. The two produced a net rating of only 4.4 together, struggling to fully gel on the attack under J.B. Bickerstaff, posting an offensive rating of 113.7.
In 2024-25, Atkinson's first season with the Cavaliers, Garland and Mitchell played 1131 minutes with each other. Their net rating more than doubled, jumping up to 9.5.
The proof that the adjustments made by their head coach were working can be seen by highlighting the offensive rating once more. It took a healthy jump, with the duo posting a mark of 121.5.
Garland and Mitchell were never the root of the Cavaliers' problems that held them back from a championship. Cleveland's front office understood as much and were willing to make that gamble. So far, so good, for Altman and his crew.