The next steps for the Cleveland Cavaliers to become a great team this season

Darius Garland must reach All-Star form again

Darius Garland is an All-Star talent capable of much more than he showed in the last two seasons as a shot creator. He will benefit this year playing in an offense featuring more off-ball movement from his teammates.

He must keep his two-point efficiency at least at 50 percent and raise his 3-point split back to what it was in 2022-23 (41).

Additionally, it always helps a team when the smallest player decides to lay the foundation, setting a high frequency of picks to set up cross-matches. Garland should work more as a screener to set up advantages for his teammates and assemble pick-and-pop plays. As the great Red Auerbach wrote in his book Basketball: For the Player, the Fan and the Coach, “your value must be measured by your ability to open up other plays when you yourself are not directly involved…”

Garland was better off-ball in 2023-24 than in his first campaign next Mitchell, as eight percent more of his two-pointers were assisted, and eight percent extra of his trays were helped on. Continued growth in this department will make him a deadlier scorer because 10 eyes won’t be glued to him, instead the ball handler.

On top of that, DG must take more shots at close range to put his matchup in foul trouble and force a defensive rotation because of his speed.

And refining his defense is a way to reclaim his status as an All-Star. His size will always be a weakness, but getting stronger plus sharper on-ball and enhancing his locking and trailing ability would let him shine on nights when other Cavaliers are on target.