Darius Kinnard Garland

[Wham with the Right Hand]

His style of play just isn't what a starting PG needs to be in the modern NBA especially when paired with another smaller guard. He seems to like to move east/west on the court while probing to find the open man. This is something backup PGs or aging PGs tend to do when they lose their athleticism. This can be effective if you have alot of experience or it's used in short stints like a backup PG. For a young starting PG to use it just makes it easy to defend.

Garland doesn't put pressure on the defense or create action to the move defense to create hockey assists. He could use this probing if it was a smaller part of his game and he was willing to pair it with an effective step back 3. Right now teams can just sit back and get set in their defense. They don't have to worry about him blowing pass the defense in either the half court or full court.

LeBron used this style of play when Kyrie left to save energy and when we didn't have a PG but he had so many other things to pair with it. Delly and Calderon used it as back up PGs which was effective. George Hill on the Cavs is prime example of a starting PG using this style and it being ineffective. A big part of a PGs job in the NBA is to create action to move the defense to create open looks.

I don't agree. He dribbles into the paint a lot and is doing a nice job of either hitting a runner in lane or lobbing to Allen. He's getting really good on the middle pick-and-roll with Allen, much of that due to Allen's ability to set an effective pick and then roll with agility to the hoop utilizing his 7'5" wingspan and good vertical jump to finish on the lob.

There are still times when he's indecisive and gets too deep where he can't get his shot off without being blocked. He also tends to drive baseline and end up leaving his feet trapped under the backboard with nobody to pass to. These are errors in judgment which will decline with more experience.

Garland and Allen are only going to get better at this, forcing teams to drop defenders into the paint which will open up passes by Garland to the corners for uncontested corner threes.

 

[BigZ94]

I don't agree. He dribbles into the paint a lot and is doing a nice job of either hitting a runner in lane or lobbing to Allen. He's getting really good on the middle pick-and-roll with Allen, much of that due to Allen's ability to set an effective pick and then roll with agility to the hoop utilizing his 7'5" wingspan and good vertical jump to finish on the lob.

There are still times when he's indecisive and gets too deep where he can't get his shot off without being blocked. He also tends to drive baseline and end up leaving his feet trapped under the backboard with nobody to pass to. These are errors in judgment which will decline with more experience.

Garland and Allen are only going to get better at this, forcing teams to drop defenders into the paint which will open up passes by Garland to the corners for uncontested corner threes.

my issue is the two things you said he does well, which I agree he does do well (some of the time), they seem to be the only moves in his arsenal. It’s attack the basket and either throw up a floater or a lob, it’s damn predictable.

His play is so sloppy as well

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

my issue is the two things you said he does well, which I agree he does do well (some of the time), they seem to be the only moves in his arsenal. It’s attack the basket and either throw up a floater or a lob, it’s damn predictable.

His play is so sloppy as well

OK, but if he consistently makes the right decision and either makes the floater or lobs to Allen for the dunk, what's the problem?

The next step is recognizing when neither the floater or the lob is there and passing to the corner. He got burned doing that on the first play last night when his pass was intercepted, but the more he does it the better the decision making will get.

Toward the end of last night's game Garland drove baseline and emerged under the basket but with no chance to get the layup off. Rather than try to force it and get his shot blocked or leave his feet and look for somebody to pass to he did the right thing and kept his dribble alive. As he circled away from the rim he spotted Sexton open for a 3 and fed him the ball. Sexton knocked it down.

That play really showed some growth in Garland's game, IMO. He's learning when to shoot, when to pass, and when to do neither and keep his dribble alive rather than picking up the ball while surrounded in the paint.

 

[BigZ94]

OK, but if he consistently makes the right decision and either makes the floater or lobs to Allen for the dunk, what's the problem?

The next step is recognizing when neither the floater or the lob is there and passing to the corner. He got burned doing that on the first play last night when his pass was intercepted, but the more he does it the better the decision making will get.

Toward the end of last night's game Garland drove baseline and emerged under the basket but with no chance to get the layup off. Rather than try to force it and get his shot blocked or leave his feet and look for somebody to pass to he did the right thing and kept his dribble alive. As he circled away from the rim he spotted Sexton open for a 3 and fed him the ball. Sexton knocked it down.

That play really showed some growth in Garland's game, IMO. He's learning when to shoot, when to pass, and when to do neither and keep his dribble alive rather than picking up the ball while surrounded in the paint.

Issue is he does not consistently make the correct decision, more often then not he drives towards the paint, and gets stuck, or gets caught in mid air and turns it over. Also his floater has been far from consistent this year. Yes the play you mentioned with Sexton was a great play, but I could also show you 4/5 plays where he gets stuck in the paint and doesn’t know what to do.

 

[Dr No]

Way too often he’s dribbling without purpose. Great point guards know where they are going and why - You penetrate to point x knowing it opens player y for his shot. Or you call for a particular pick seeing that it’s going to result in a favorable switch. Or you see an opening to score and get to your own sweet spot. He’s still young and this could develop, but right now, far too often, he doesn’t seem to have a purpose with his dribble other than to hope something develops.

 

[Adam]

Way too often he’s dribbling without purpose. Great point gaurds now where they are going and why - You penetrate to point x knowing it opens player y for his shot. Or you call for a particular pick seeing that it’s going to result in a favorable switch. Or you see an opening to score and get to your own sweet spot. He’s still young and this could develop, but right now, far too often, he doesn’t seem to have a purpose with his dribble other than to hope something develops.

I think that's a really good point. I would say he doesn't have the level of understanding yet of 'im going to do this to get X a shot at Y because that's a good look'

But saying that he seems to know what to do with Allen and he is still very young.

I think just playing with more pace would make a world of difference for him

 

[cabs]

he has improved on last season but not as much as I was hoping

 

[Rich]

he has improved on last season but not as much as I was hoping

I'm not gonna crap on Garland as I thought he was trying to play the way he needs to last night.

BUt people saying "he's improved so much from last season thus X,Y,Z" need to put the caveat in there that he was absolutely awful, awful, awful last season. For much of the year he was the worst player in the league by RPM. Out of all 400+ players.

 

[Cavatt]

I'm not gonna crap on Garland as I thought he was trying to play the way he needs to last night.

BUt people saying "he's improved so much from last season thus X,Y,Z" need to put the caveat in there that he was absolutely awful, awful, awful last season. For much of the year he was the worst player in the league by RPM. Out of all 400+ players.

Sure. It seems like at his age he is starter material per his stats. It's also really easy to see how a 21 year old with good efficiency, but poor frequency on some shots could improve.

Again tonight he just pulled up. Prob needs to take one more of those per game. Just pull from way out.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Issue is he does not consistently make the correct decision, more often then not he drives towards the paint, and gets stuck, or gets caught in mid air and turns it over. Also his floater has been far from consistent this year. Yes the play you mentioned with Sexton was a great play, but I could also show you 4/5 plays where he gets stuck in the paint and doesn’t know what to do.

Agree, but he's only in his second season and his decision making will continue to get better as well as his accuracy on those floaters.

Last night he had a rough game with 10 missed shots and 8 turnovers but he hit three consecutive 3-pointers in about one minute to get the Cavs some separation in the third quarter.

He's having a problem when he comes down the lane and tries to pass to the corner. Those passes are getting tipped or stolen. But again, his decision making will get better the more he does this.

 

[BigZ94]

Agree, but he's only in his second season and his decision making will continue to get better as well as his accuracy on those floaters.

Last night he had a rough game with 10 missed shots and 8 turnovers but he hit three consecutive 3-pointers in about one minute to get the Cavs some separation in the third quarter.

He's having a problem when he comes down the lane and tries to pass to the corner. Those passes are getting tipped or stolen. But again, his decision making will get better the more he does this.

What I really like is he seems to really attempt to make the right pass a lot of the time, his court vision is definitely there, especially compared to Sexton. He just needs to be a bit more disciplined in his approach to the game, especially his passes. I feel he tries to be a unnecessarily flashy at times, and his passing can be a bit soft. He also seems to struggle against teams with solid defensive bigs.

Last night he was great in the 4th though, his turnovers were bad, but he was key in our big run in the 4th. Hope he keeps that trend

 

[weepinwillow]

What I really like is he seems to really attempt to make the right pass a lot of the time, his court vision is definitely there, especially compared to Sexton. He just needs to be a bit more disciplined in his approach to the game, especially his passes. I feel he tries to be a unnecessarily flashy at times, and his passing can be a bit soft. He also seems to struggle against teams with solid defensive bigs.

I don't see this yet. that he tries to make a pass at all puts him ahead of Collin by comparison, but Garland still needs to make quicker reads, and be willing to let the ball go way quicker.

Sometimes the right pass doesn't require any dribbling, or only one or two dribbles to get the other defender out of position that then leads to your teammate being able to rotate the ball after you let it go. I'm still waiting for that evolution from Darius.

 

[BigZ94]

I don't see this yet. that he tries to make a pass at all puts him ahead of Collin by comparison, but Garland still needs to make quicker reads, and be willing to let the ball go way quicker.

Sometimes the right pass doesn't require any dribbling, or only one or two dribbles to get the other defender out of position that then leads to your teammate being able to rotate the ball after you let it go. I'm still waiting for that evolution from Darius.

JBB should just be showing Utah Jazz tape in his film sessions, they define everything you just mentioned and their ball movement has been phenomenal

 

[weepinwillow]

JBB should just be showing Utah Jazz tape in his film sessions, they define everything you just mentioned and their ball movement has been phenomenal

a reason why they are the best team in the west.

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

Garland will get it eventually. The quick burst he had where he knocked down 3's in succession could be a turning point. Don't care about his overall FG% that game. It should be all about volume for now. He will never realize his potential until he starts to hoist it and as a result increase his gravity and the overall team's gravity on the floor.