Darius Garland's first handful of games with the Los Angeles Clippers have showcased some of his best basketball as an individual. His new team is winning too. There is a perfect storm culminating for him over there that the Cleveland Cavaliers could just not provide in recent seasons.
Northeast Ohio has been a pressure-packed environment for the last few years. The chase for a championship in the two most recent campaigns (including this one) only raised the stakes in Cleveland. It was not conducive to bringing the best hoops out of Garland.
The former Cavs guard could never truly afford to take added time after an injury to mend. Especially in recent seasons, the Cavaliers offense was desperate for his playmaking prowess. The environment was very demanding.
The Clippers? No one really expects them to go all the way this year. They have been a resurgent basketball team who could play first-round spoiler in the Western Conference Playoffs. However, no one is really screaming and pushing for a title. That has helped Garland get right and play right.
Darius Garland is hooping for the love of the game with the Clippers
"It's fun. We've got to keep it fun," Garland told reporters after the Clippers' 129-96 clobbering of the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday. "82 games is a long season... We've been playing this games since we were kids, got to have fun with it."
It might sound silly, but little things like this can go a long way for a player. The human element is overlooked way too much in basketball discourse. The intangibles are not irrelevant.
The Clippers have gone 7-3 in the games Garland has played for them thus far. His production on the court matches how well his new team has done.
Through 10 games, Garland is averaging 20.8 points, 6.9 assists, and 1.1 steals per game with the Clippers. That comes with shooting 50.0 percent from the field and a ridiculous 50.7 from beyond the arc. The former Cav is already second, only behind Kawhi Leonard, in the plus-minus category (+96) for Los Angeles, something he struggled mightily with in Cleveland.
No one is at their best when they are not enjoying what they do. Garland is clearly loving life in Los Angeles.
The Cavaliers will certainly not have any complaints about James Harden to this point either. Things have worked out just fine for both sides thus far.