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Darius Kinnard Garland

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What is Darius Garland's Ceiling?

  • One Time All-Star

    Votes: 14 8.9%
  • Occasional All-Star

    Votes: 16 10.2%
  • 5-6 Time All-Star

    Votes: 31 19.7%
  • Perennial All-Star

    Votes: 40 25.5%
  • An All-NBA Team or Two

    Votes: 23 14.6%
  • Perennial All-NBA Teamer

    Votes: 20 12.7%
  • Occasional MVP Candidate

    Votes: 11 7.0%
  • Perennial MVP Candidate

    Votes: 2 1.3%
  • MVP, Baby!

    Votes: 10 6.4%
  • Being Jim Chones

    Votes: 12 7.6%

  • Total voters
    157
He is still thinking too much. the game hasn't truly slowed down yet. I want to see him launching 3's. Teams are leaving him space on the 3pt line and he needs to just bomb away.

He doesn't have quite the first step to just blow by guys, he needs the threat of his 3 ball to open up the game, but guys are giving him space on the perimeter. The second he starts to take advantage of that, the game will open up for him.

If you accept he is actually a good shooter, then you have to be optimistic that aspect will come around for him, and then all the work he put into playmaking and running the team right now is really going to pay off.

He looks better and better as a leader out there. Evrything though is dependent on that jumper being real, bending defenses, so that everything else works for him.

Trae did it last year, I woudl honestly not be mad if Garland took those kind of shots and just shot a lower percentage this year just so he could get used to it.
If he is open he certainly has to take it.
 
I’m not worried that Garland will be a total bust. My guess is his floor ends up as a DJ Augustine.

My fear is that we still have not seen a “ceiling game.” KPJ has had five or so and Sexton double-digits. Games where we see a glimpse of a young guy that can be dominant. I’ll give him time, but as we continue not to see it, I do get more concerned.

This concerns me too because Sexton, KPJ, Nance, and Cedi are showing a relative path forward to build this team. Having a team that is built on more of a decentralizing the PG duties. Having guys play both on and off the ball regardless of position.

I think Sexton is coming close to where he looks like he will be a very solid or top level #2 option. KPJ has flashes and it seems like it's only a matter of time before he is a starter. Then you add another top 5 draft pick into the mix and no protections over the head of the front office, Garland might get lost in the mix.

The opportunities to just learn won't be as prevalent as this team progresses. I hope the light goes on for Garland this season and he has a chance to really build on some success over the off-season. I think Cedi is an example of a player that if the light went on after the first season, that his opportunities would have matched up to really push his development. Yet for Cedi that light came on a year too late and those opportunities weren't there anymore.
 
I’m not worried that Garland will be a total bust. My guess is his floor ends up as a DJ Augustine.

My fear is that we still have not seen a “ceiling game.” KPJ has had five or so and Sexton double-digits. Games where we see a glimpse of a young guy that can be dominant. I’ll give him time, but as we continue not to see it, I do get more concerned.

First few minutes last night felt like it was about to happen and then he disappeared. Can't complain too much since the team was firing on all cylinders. I think this year we'll have to settle for breakout quarters/runs from DG.
 
I’m not worried that Garland will be a total bust. My guess is his floor ends up as a DJ Augustine.

My fear is that we still have not seen a “ceiling game.” KPJ has had five or so and Sexton double-digits. Games where we see a glimpse of a young guy that can be dominant. I’ll give him time, but as we continue not to see it, I do get more concerned.
Yup he ranges between Augustine and Kemba
 
I don't really understand why so many people are down on Garland. For his size, age, and lack of experience I think he is doing fine. He didn't play summer league, and is now with his second pro head coach.
Because of some of these factors I think it's just too soon to talk about a floor or a ceiling.
But one thing I am certain of is that he has great point guard skills. That's for sure.
He has better point guard skills than Kyrie had as a kid. Or now, fwiw.
 
This concerns me too because Sexton, KPJ, Nance, and Cedi are showing a relative path forward to build this team. Having a team that is built on more of a decentralizing the PG duties. Having guys play both on and off the ball regardless of position.

I think Sexton is coming close to where he looks like he will be a very solid or top level #2 option. KPJ has flashes and it seems like it's only a matter of time before he is a starter. Then you add another top 5 draft pick into the mix and no protections over the head of the front office, Garland might get lost in the mix.

The opportunities to just learn won't be as prevalent as this team progresses. I hope the light goes on for Garland this season and he has a chance to really build on some success over the off-season. I think Cedi is an example of a player that if the light went on after the first season, that his opportunities would have matched up to really push his development. Yet for Cedi that light came on a year too late and those opportunities weren't there anymore.

I'd love to see him break out for a 35-point coming-out party, but I'm not sure I would prefer seeing it if it came at the cost of his teammates resenting him, as often happens with young rookie guards on bad teams just looking to rack up numbers and letting the chips fall where they may.

I understand the concept you are laying out there... if he continues with the 15 point, 7 assist type games, how do we know he can ever be more than that when/if the Cavs reach a point where they really need him to do it. I get it. I'd love to see a huge night for Darius in a win.

However, this is where I will be the dissenting voice ... he has been one of three constants in our little stretch of good play. When I say "constants" I don't mean that he is one of the guys putting up monster numbers. To the contrary, a lot of nights he has a very pedestrian boxscore. But, in each of the 4 wins in 5 games at the most critical junctures of the games (4th quarter and overtime), Garland, Nance and TT have been on the floor. The other two spots have been filled alternatively and based on the opponent, the way the game is going, etc, by Porter, Collin, Love, Cedi and a couple of those guys REALLY had it going toward the end of some games (Sexton last night, Porter the night before).

I think the mistake people make is they start focusing on one or two guys that are maybe the boxscore stars of that particular game, but might fail to notice the constants. When Porter went off the other night and destroyed Miami, it was next to Garland in the backcourt. When Collin was making big buckets last night, it was next to Garland. I'm not saying he is the lone reason those guys had great nights, but I am saying that his current approach to playing allows for someone to step up and do their thing. Garland is fine being the set-up man or maybe even the hockey assist man that takes some pride in his one-on-one defensive matchups.

I would never compare Darius to Kyrie just because the talent disparity is so massive... but Kyrie STILL hasn't figured out how to really impact a team in a positive way on nights when he isn't scoring 30+ points and dominating the ball (while alienating teammates).

I've also noticed that, especially when it comes to Tristan, they are really hyping Garland up when there is a timeout or stoppage on the floor late in games recently. It is a lot of what looks like genuine joy from the big guys about how Garland is playing especially defensively.

I do think there comes a point where it stops being an accident the ball moves really well and the intensity on both ends kicks up a notch when Darius is out there. And there is also a reason Bickerstaff's closing group since he took over *always* begins with Garland, Nance and TT, and then he will fill in the rest with whomever he feels best about any given night.


Would you rather Garland be putting up 25 points every night and the Cavs losing every game and continuing to look as miserable as they did earlier in the season or do we want him learning on the job how to actually lead a team and figuring out when to kick it up a notch while having a positive impact on the guys around you regardless of your own personal number of points, rebounds or assists or whatever. It is easy to play hard late in games when you have 25 points or 15 rebounds or 10 assists. The mark of a leader is the guy who is going to bring it and not give two sh!ts about his own numbers. I think that is a big reason why the vets have really taken to Garland and he seems more comfortable talking about being a "leader" in interviews. He is starting to "get it."
 
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In November and December Garland averaged 3.0 and 2.7 assists per game. In January and February it's 5.3 and 5.0. Huge improvement.

His 3-point percentage for Feb is 39.5% - his highest of the season.

In 9 games in Feb he has taken between 10-15 shots every game. In 8 of those games he scored 12-15 points. His number of shots and points scored is remarkably consistent. But no, we haven't seen that breakout game. I would argue that's not a big deal. On January 5 Dante Exum had a breakout game, scoring 28 points. In his next nine games he had 27 points combined. So far in Feb he's averaging under 5 points.

Sometimes a player just gets a hot hand for one game. It doesn't change who he is.

Garland is improving, especially in the area of assists, and I think his defense is getting better as well. I'm not seeing opponents just shoulder him aside for easy layups as much as before.

JBB is keeping him on the floor in crunch time and he's been stepping up with clutch field goals and assists. He was on the floor for the big 4th quarter comeback and OT win over Miami and also when the Cavs stopped the Sixers surge and closed out the win, something they were rarely able to do earlier in the season. In each of those games he ran the offense, hit big shots down the stretch, and held his own on defense.
 
Garland has to be ready to shot coming off of screens. Just the threat to shoot makes him more deadly. He has to be decisive on offense more. Less probing, more attacking.
 
Garland has to be ready to shot coming off of screens. Just the threat to shoot makes him more deadly. He has to be decisive on offense more. Less probing, more attacking.
Sexton made the Pelicans pay for going under screens by hitting six 3's in ten attempts. That's what Garland has to do as well.

Have you noticed his 3-point shot lately? It has the highest arc of any I've seen. It looks like it's about 35 feet at it's peak. It looks like he understands he's short and the defenders are long and quick so he needs to shoot with a very high arc, probably higher than he did before turning pro. I think he's still working on it.
 
He needs to launch. Darius has been driving right into traffic when they are giving him the shot.

Reminds me of Collin last year early.
 
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He needs to launch. Darius has been driving right into traffic when they are giving him the shot. Reminds me of Collin last year early.
Last night he had back-to-back reverse layups on baseline drives where the opponents were expected a pass to the perimeter. Pretty slick. He's picking up this basketball thing.

In order to get his 3-point shot off without getting it blocked he usually has to step back and then shoot it unusually high, which makes it more difficult to make than when you're stepping into the shot and using a normal arc. I think he needs to figure out how to get the room to be able to step into the shot and shoot with a normal arc. Or spend a summer practicing the step-back 3 with the high arc. James Harden has a killer step-back 3 but due to his height he doesn't need to launch it up to the rafters.

Right now Garland would prefer to dribble into the paint and force a big to pick him up leaving somebody open for a pass or lob. If the bigs slough off him Garland has developed a nice floater which we saw twice last night. He shoots it off one foot like a layup so he gets it away quickly and he arcs it high to avoid getting blocked. He's getting pretty accurate with it.
 
Has he? What makes Garland rookie season good?
As a Garland fan, I disagree. He should score on a much higher rate. Heck, every god damn scrub nowadays can put 20+...especially on tanking teams.
Garland's premise was his shooting. I expected him to have a poor man's Curry gravity to open up the game for himself and everyone else -- that hasn't happened, and that's a shame. I really hope he will able to show that next year..cause if he can't then his whole profile and premise go down the drain.

I quoted this from the Porter jr thread to not get too off topic. One of the scouting reports I read on garland's shooting was quite interesting. It said that he generates all his shooting power for his long shots from his legs. This seems to be true as his shot looks pretty effortless and he just sort of flings it while generating power from his base. The point of this that that is a very fundamental way to shoot and it is good and can be very accurate. The issue, is that a player that shoots like this is more prone to being thrown off his shot because if the base isn't perfect, it will result in a miss. So, while that guys hits nothing but net in practice and workouts, once the game is sped up, or a guy is bumping you, you are going to miss.

I am sad to say, this has seemed pretty prescient. It seems like when he is totally open he shoots pretty well, but any coverage or speeding him up and it's a bad miss. He still has time to figure it out of course, but yeah his entire game is basically predicated on his shooting. It needs to come around.
 

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