Darius Kinnard Garland

[Sebastian]

Good game!

In a couple years he will be a terror!

 

[Nphan]

This kid is stepping up big time since coming back from his injury. Too bad Kevin Love can't do the same.

 

["MVP"]

Followed up what I felt was his best career game with another absolute gem last night and probably better individual performance. His confidence is picking up, and most importantly, he's been playing aggressively from start to finish. I had my doubts last year, and he still has a long way to go, but the talent is there.

I know the Garland vs. Sexton debate will continue to rage on for as long as they're both wearing wine & gold, and I get it. Building a contender around two 6'1 guards that play contrasting styles––fast for Sexton, slow for Garland––can be a challenge. But I've maintained the main reason our backcourt hasn't been effective has been less due to their size and more due to their youth, and frankly, Garland not being a starting caliber guard yet.

If both guys are good, and I think they are, I actually think their games complement each other decently well. Garland has embraced more of a distributor / natural PG role, while Sexton has been one of the most devastating young scorers in the league. Garland has the razzle-dazzle game, whereas Sexton is more of a straight line assassin.

I've also noticed the two starting to develop some on-court chemistry and are looking for one another on their drives. It feels much less of the "my turn, your turn" dynamic that we previously saw with Kyrie and Dion.

Of course, the concerns will always be defensively. I do think their offensive potential can overmatch their defensive shortcomings. I've noticed much improved effort from Garland the past few games, which is half the battle. Sexton has shown to be a plus defender on-ball, even though often out of position or ball-watching off-ball. One thing that rarely gets mentioned with Sexton is he's really long for a 6'1 guard. In the 2018 draft combine, his wingspan was measured at 6'7.25, which is just about average length for 2-guards.

They're the two most talented players we've got, and I wouldn't be in a rush to break them up. Having some lottery luck could allow us to draft a true franchise star that can tie together the rest of our roster.

 

[red.]

DG came out aggressive again last night. Hopefully, DG keeps it up.

 

[Pioneer10]

I aesthetically like Garlands game and unlike when Sexton is in the Cavs actually run plays that look good

however he’s going in the DJ Augustine career path if he doesn’t become an elite 3 point shooter. He not athletic enough to force teams into fouling him despite his nice handle and hesitation game and he’s definitely looks and plays small on defense.

 

[red.]

Where did this DJ Augustine comparison come from? Garland shooting 40% from three in his second season in the NBA.

 

[Pioneer10]

Where did this DJ Augustine comparison come from? Garland shooting 40% from three in his second season in the NBA.

Did you not watch to to tonight’s game?

hopefully just a bad shooting night but if he’s not able to put a lot of 3s and make a high percentage, he can’t cover up th other holes. This was a good game to assess the Cavs as the Lakers even without their stars play good defense and you could see in the second half what happened. Plus DJ Augustine had a career 3pt percentage close to 40 percent

 

[red.]

Did you not watch to to tonight’s game?

hopefully just a bad shooting night but if he’s not able to put a lot of 3s and make a high percentage, he can’t cover up th other holes. This was a good game to assess the Cavs as the Lakers even without their stars play good defense and you could see in the second half what happened

Of course I watch. I’ve watched all the games. What does me watching the game have to do with people constantly repeating DJ Augustine comparison? There game is NOTHING alike.

He was 4-6 from 3 against the Bulls. Where was this rant? It’s funny it’s only after a bad game these horrible comparisons pop up. What was your assessment of Garland against the Bulls? I didn’t see you post in here.

 

[Pioneer10]

Of course I watch. I’ve watched all the games. What does me watching the game have to do with people constantly repeating DJ Augustine comparison? There game is NOTHING alike.

He was 4-6 from 3 against the Bulls. Where was this rant? It’s funny it’s only after a bad game these horrible comparisons pop up. What was your assessment of Garland against the Bulls? I didn’t see you post in here.

You got the wrong guy: I've always been more of a Garland guy in the Sextland debate. Plus DJ Augustine was good at time for a lot teams - they look different but the end results of what they bring are similar. Smallish PG who can reasonably shoot, setup guys and be a poor defender.

The Bulls are not a good defensive team, for Garland to be playable against good defensive playoff caliber teams is he's got to not only be able to shoot but put a high volume of them. When he's able to like against Chicago, he becomes really valuable but he's got to do that consistently against teams that are good at defense. He was able to do it against the Spurs but not the Lakers

 

[willglam]

Garland wasn’t the problem tonight and you can tell in 2nd half lakers stepped up their focus on him but no energy, poor shooting from everyone including being horse shit from the free throw line is why lakers took over the game. A lot of Wide open looks from 3 for Cedi, Dotson, Thomas and even Garland yet all bricks... Allen was abused by the 6’7 Montrez

 

[red.]

You got the wrong guy: I've always been more of a Garland guy in the Sextland debate. Plus DJ Augustine was good at time for a lot teams - they look different but the end results of what they bring are similar. Smallish PG who can reasonably shoot, setup guys and be a poor defender.

The Bulls are not a good defensive team, for Garland to be playable against good defensive playoff caliber teams is he's got to not only be able to shoot but put a high volume of them. When he's able to like against Chicago, he becomes really valuable but he's got to do that consistently against teams that are good at defense. He was able to do it against the Spurs but not the Lakers

DJ Augustine has always been horrible. First two years alone Garland blows him out the water. The comparison is trash.

So your assessment against Garland against the bulls is none because the Bulls aren’t a good defensive team? Got it. Darius Garland is in his second season averaging 16/6 shooting 44% from the floor and 40% from 3. You don’t seem to think he’ll be capable of getting better.

 

[Pioneer10]

DJ Augustine has always been horrible. First two years alone Garland blows him out the water. The comparison is trash.

So your assessment against Garland against the bulls is none because the Bulls aren’t a good defensive team? Got it. Darius Garland is in his second season averaging 16/6 shooting 44% from the floor and 40% from 3. You don’t seem to think he’ll be capable of getting better.

People are too harsh. DJ Augustine has played 10+ seasons while averaging 20 mpg a game. He's not star or close to it but he's had a decent NBA career.

Garland could certainly improve but that was my the original point of my post - he really needs to become knock-down shooter consistently. Despite his 3pt% percentage, he doesn't get to the line often so his TS% is actually worse then an average DJ Augustin season.

Easiest way to get better from a scoring efficiency standpoint would be to either get to the line more or shoot more 3's. My one worry about him is he doesn't seem explosive enough or strong enough to force the contact, so the best thing for him would be take more 3's. If he can do that (i.e. improve) I think he's got a nice career ahead of him

 

[ryanf]

The problem with garland is always aggressiveness and consistency. If his shot isn't falling, if the standard play is not working, there is nothing else he can do. Cannot force the action or bend the defense.

If he learns to do those things, he can be so much better

 

[ice cream man]

We’ve seen now how Garland is unable to take advantage 1-on-1 when a big switches onto him. He can get a step on the defender in that case, of course, but he’s too small to finish or make a tough pass in traffic consistently.

He also is hesitant to take 3’s when defenders give him a cushion. This hurts our team at the moment cuz the shot clock runs down and the offense really isn’t gonna magically come from anyone else.

 

[chuck0609]

The problem with garland is always aggressiveness and consistency. If his shot isn't falling, if the standard play is not working, there is nothing else he can do. Cannot force the action or bend the defense.

If he learns to do those things, he can be so much better

The kids a worker. He knows where he need to get better, and bigger. Still young and raw.
csnt rush the process unfortunately.