No. 2: Darius Garland turnovers
Turnovers have been a hotly talked about issue for the All-Star point guard. Darius has been near the league leader in turnovers this season with 4.3 turnovers per game. Combined with only averaging 5.9 assists per game, it does not feel like a good turnover-assist ratio for the fifth-year guard from Vanderbilt.
It does not help that Tyrese Haliburton is in the same division as DG. Haliburton has taken a leap year-on-year and is currently leading the NBA in assists per game AND has kept his turnovers very low (2.4 per game). Tyrese also had two big games head-to-head against Darius so far in the first quarter of this season.
“We want him to get his numbers up. But we want him to be aggressive and he’s got the ultimate green light to be aggressive.”#Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff on Darius Garland’s lower numbers to start the year, which he said is a product of the team moving the ball more.
— Evan Dammarell (@AmNotEvan) December 5, 2023
Garland does have the backing of his head coach. Bickerstaff has said that he is okay with aggressive turnovers like charges. And J.B. is not too concerned as he knows that high-usage guys are prone to turn the ball over more. This is all well and good, if true. We know that not all of Garland’s turnovers are charges and he can do a better job at attacking the pick-and-rolls lately.
For sure, DG taking care of the ball on this 4-game road stretch is something to watch. Fortunately, his nine-assist, no-turnover game against the Magic was a great sign he can clean that area up.