During the 2021-22 NBA season, the Cleveland Cavaliers were one of the surprises in the first half of the season. Coming off a 22-50 record the previous season, Cleveland was sitting at 35-23 as the All-Star game was heading to their home at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
While Evan Mobley was having a very good rookie season, the team’s breakout star was third year guard Darius Garland, averaging 20.3 points and 8 assists per contest.
And he was only 22 years old.
Garland was shooting 47.7% from the floor on 16.3 shots per game, 37.8% from three-point range and making 91.1% of his free throws playing a little less than 35 minutes per game. While Jarrett Allen was named to the all-star rosters later because of injuries, it was Garland who was the breakout star.
After the break, Garland’s shot attempts increased to 19.4/game, but his shooting percentage dropped to 43.5%, although his three-point shooting got better. His minutes increased to 38 per night and his assists increased to 10.
Watching the games at the time, we thought Garland seemed to be in the “I’m an all-star” mode. The Cavs went 9-15 down the stretch, mostly because they lost Allen to a hand injury. They were 37-27 when Allen was hurt, and went 7-11 without him.
Garland had a very good regular season last year, being paired with Donovan Mitchell. He averaged 21.6 points, on 46.2% shooting (career high 41% from three), and his assists were down from 8.6 to 7.8, understandable because of Mitchell’s presence. His turnovers also decreased from 3.6 to 2.9.
But in the playoffs, he had a problem (as did all the Cavs) with the increased physicality. He shot 43.8% from the floor and had just 5 assists compared to 3.6 turnovers per game in the series loss to New York.
He also had problems guarding Jalen Brunson, although to be fair, anyone not named Isaac Okoro had the same issue.
This season, Garland has regressed. To be fair, he has battled injuries all year, missing games early in the season after getting hit in the eye, and then a little over a month with a broken jaw.
His shooting is down slightly (45.6% from the floor, 38.2% from three), and so are his assists (6.2) and his turnovers are up to 3.3. He’s had just two games with 10 or more helpers, and since Mitchell has been out, he’s had some problems late in games with turnovers.
Garland scored 34 points in a win over Minnesota last Friday, but had five turnovers in that game, and was fortunate to be bailed out when he dribbled into a trap late in the fourth quarter, and then in an isolation situation, had a possible game winning shot blocked.
In Monday’s loss to Phoenix, Garland again dribbled the air out of the ball on a key possession late forcing a bad shot. He scored 30 points in that game.
In our coaching days, we used to tell players the last thing we would use to check to see if a player had a good game, was the scoresheet. We feel the same way about these two games.
When Garland was out and the ball was in Mitchell’s hands, it seemed the ball moved more. It doesn’t seem that way now, the ball is sticking in Garland’s hands.
This Cavalier season will be measured by how the team does in the playoffs. However, because Mitchell’s contract situation, there will likely changes to the roster this off-season. If Mitchell stays, Koby Altman has a decision to make with his backcourt.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 