This wasn’t supposed to be another story about
something that isn’t working for the
Cleveland Cavaliers — promise.
I sat down Sunday to write about
Darius Garland and something curious I saw at the end of Game 1 of this playoff series against the
Orlando Magic. That is when Garland, a former All-Star on a nearly $200 million contract,
drained a 3 just above the break and his teammates responded with a slew of patronizing pats on the chest. It was like, see, young man, you
can do it.
It seemed like a strange reaction, considering Garland has played in playoff games before and made big, memorable shots throughout his career. He even scored 51 points in a regular-season game once. So why were the Cavs celebrating Garland’s basket (actually two — he hit
a 16-footer and then the 3 to put Cleveland ahead by 16 with 1:36 left in Game 1) as though it meant more?
“They want me to (shoot more), so that’s why they be patting me on my chest and trying to hype me up to shoot more shots,” Garland said. “That’s the thing — they think I’m not as aggressive right now.”
Garland and I spoke last Thursday inside an empty Kia Center, several hours before the Cavs were to play Game 3 in Orlando. Nothing had gone wrong yet. Cleveland was in command of the series 2-0; Garland posted 29 points in the first two games and was shooting over 40 percent from 3.
And then, the next two games happened. And as I pulled up my chair to get to work on my interview with Garland, a stat from this playoff series reached up from the screen and punched me in the nose.
Through four games in this series,
Evan Mobley has more field goal attempts (47) than Garland (43).
That can’t be a thing with Cleveland’s offense. Now we know why teammates get excited if Garland cans a couple shots in a row.
“They show me almost every day on film that I’m turning down shots,” Garland said. “Yeah, I just, I gotta shoot them.”
Year 2 of Garland’s backcourt partnership with
Donovan Mitchell was a clear regression for the former. Garland’s per-game averages of 18 points, 14.8 field goal attempts and with 6.5 assists were all noticeably down from his last campaign before Mitchell arrived. In 2021-22, an All-Star year for Garland, the guard led the Cavs in scoring (21.7 points), shots (17.3) and assists (8.6).
Mitchell is a top-10 scorer in the
NBA, and both he and Garland are smaller guards. One was going to have to defer, if only a little, to the other, and it is Garland who took that step back. But his on-court production hardly dropped in his first season with Mitchell. This is the year when the numbers dipped, and on-lookers noticed.
“I try to get everybody involved,” Garland said. “(In Game 1), Donovan, having it going really early, getting us off to a good start — he’s really been holding it down. When he gets tired, I try to turn up my aggressiveness a little bit. When he’s not in the game, we need scoring. So, I look to be aggressive when he’s not on the floor.”
Obviously, that isn’t happening this series, nor for the entire season (when Mitchell missed 27 games), considering Garland’s output. He’s averaging 12 points against the Magic, including a five-point effort on a bad night for all the Cavs in a historic Game 3 loss.
Cleveland is averaging 91.5 points and 30 3-point attempts per game in this series. Garland is shooting 9 of 22 from 3, still an excellent percentage (nearly 41 percent), but there just hasn’t been enough shooting, and Garland obviously isn’t seeing a huge spike in production when Mitchell is off the court. A post player who is not a serious 3-point threat, who is not the dynamic scorer that Garland is, like Mobley, should not be hoisting more shots in a playoff series.
For the season, Garland is playing for the first time with a small forward looking to shoot, in
Max Strus. Cleveland runs a few more sets for Mobley than it used to, and still loves to run the high pick-and-roll with Garland and either Mobley or
Jarrett Allen. But Strus’ addition meant another player to whom Garland needs to get the ball — a partial explanation for his decreasing shot volume.
Garland was also hurt for nearly two months with a broken jaw, another potential explanation for why he hasn’t quite found his usual footing. And when he returned,
Sam Merrill, another 3-point shooter, was still in the rotation.
“That’s just how I grew up playing basketball — I try to play the right way,” Garland said. “My dad always (said), just play the right way and it will come back to you. I mean, I’ll turn down a good shot to get a great one. With the talent we have, I’m cool with that.”
But with all of Garland’s sharing and deferring, he’s developed a hitch. The ball, as his father, former NBA player Winston Garland, predicted, does find its way to Garland, especially on the perimeter. He’s open, but instead of going up with the 3, he pump fakes, puts it on the floor and then works from there. The hesitation can, theoretically, fulfill Garland’s goal of creating a great shot — for him or a teammate. Or it could junk up the offense, leading to a forced shot off the dribble or perhaps a turnover (his 3.0 turnovers per game in this series are essentially the same as his in-season average).
“I think he’s continuing, like all of our guys, to hunt for perfection,” Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff said before Game 3. “I think those are the things being called out (in film sessions). I don’t think there is something he’s not doing, or something he’s continuing to do, that’s hurting us. … I think he’s done a great job as a floor general. The turnovers have sometimes come in streaks, kind of bit us in the butt, but that’s an area where he’s looking to improve.”
For what it’s worth, Garland agrees with the critiques he’s getting inside the Cleveland locker room. He said, “I haven’t been as aggressive as far as what I’ve been in the past.” He also said it’s not a confidence issue — he is aware of his past success in the NBA.
“I mean, I can do it — I don’t think that’s ever been a problem,” Garland said. “Past couple years, I just, especially at this time in the playoffs, a great shot is better than a good shot.”
