Darius Kinnard Garland

[Mr. Orange]

Really just best to follow other teams and check back in with the Cavs in June. Close the lid on the box and open in 6 months

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

Really just best to follow other teams and check back in with the Cavs in June. Close the lid on the box and open in 6 months

Bye

 

[Mr. Orange]

Bye

Let me know how the playoff chase goes. I know you were pretty confident in that. I'll let you know in June if we have lost our lottery pick per your projection.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

"At the same time, they've got to be very good -- great teammates that see each other, can score for their own, but also find the open shooters," Beilein said.
He then added specifically of Sexton and Garland: "The two of them are going to be beautiful together."

That sounds very much like a guy who is convinced his college, guard-centered system will work just as well in the pros.

I'm just a fan, but I'm not convinced.

 

[mhi]

Cleveland Cavaliers have found new way to use rookie Darius Garland: Leading revamped second unit

From Fedor.

It sounds like they're slowly working into a backcourt of Garland and Porter with Sexton coming off the bench, which makes sense and is something they've been talking to reporters 'behind the scenes' about since whenever.

 

[red.]

Cleveland Cavaliers have found new way to use rookie Darius Garland: Leading revamped second unit

From Fedor.

It sounds like they're slowly working into a backcourt of Garland and Porter with Sexton coming off the bench, which makes sense and is something they've been talking to reporters 'behind the scenes' about since whenever.

Great news. DG and KPJ have some chemistry.

I really wish JB would’ve stuck with the DG, Clarkson and KPJ lineup to finish the half. Garland started to figure things out and started getting everyone involved. He had some good assist too.

 

[Cavatt]

Great news. DG and KPJ have some chemistry.

I really wish JB would’ve stuck with the DG, Clarkson and KPJ lineup to finish the half. Garland started to figure things out and started getting everyone involved. He had some good assist too.

Yeah, that was a good linup and was rolling. There is dysfunction I. The starting lineup. They aren't passing to each other freely and there is a lot of pressure over mistakes. It is leading to more mistakes and playing right I think.

 

[Jordan]

Cleveland Cavaliers have found new way to use rookie Darius Garland: Leading revamped second unit

From Fedor.

It sounds like they're slowly working into a backcourt of Garland and Porter with Sexton coming off the bench, which makes sense and is something they've been talking to reporters 'behind the scenes' about since whenever.

Less than five minutes into Saturday’s game, Cleveland Cavaliers head coach John Beilein signaled for backup point guard Matthew Dellavedova, subbing out rookie Darius Garland.

Garland wasn’t doing anything wrong per se. This wasn’t Beilein punishing his youngster. It’s part of Cleveland’s new rotation.

This new setup means Dellavedova, the steady veteran, gets more time alongside Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, Collin Sexton and Cedi Osman. Dellavedova’s presence gives the group an experienced conductor, a pass-first leader who provides a different dynamic to a unit that has plummeted in its effectiveness lately. While Garland has been labeled as quiet by many, Dellavedova is always talking, barking out instructions. He’s spent more time around Love and Thompson in particular, able to get the best out of Cleveland’s two most important players while Garland goes through his natural NBA growing pains.

Garland, meanwhile, gets more freedom to attack with the second unit instead of repeatedly deferring to Love, the offensive focal point, or others.

“The coaches say I’m more aggressive with the second group,” Garland said following the 125-108 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

This tweaked rotation debuted Thursday night in San Antonio, as Garland exited for the first time at the 6:39 mark of the first quarter, came back later in the first and opened the second alongside Jordan Clarkson, Kevin Porter Jr., Larry Nance Jr. and John Henson. So effective that night, Beilein went back to it versus Milwaukee.

“I think that group has really good experience, No. 1,” Beilein said. “And some guys in there are great facilitators on that team. (Garland) can feed off that and they move the ball. He does a good job of getting into spaces and then defensively that team has played really well too.”

In recent weeks, the Cavs have done lots of self-scouting, studying lineups and combinations, poring through analytics to find the best arrangements. Beilein and his entire staff looked at everything -- pairings, threesomes, foursomes and quintets. He contemplated a starting a lineup change, but decided it was more important to identify a working rotation. For him, starters versus bench isn’t all that meaningful. Plus, with the results of those recent studies inconclusive, too small of a sample size to justify a drastic change, Beilein started small, with a decision to alter Garland’s role.

On Saturday night, Beilein used mass subs. Garland. Clarkson. Porter. Nance. Henson. The five players entered with the Cavs trailing by nine points late in the first quarter.

Playing with more freedom, Garland quickly dished out a pair of assists. By the end of the quarter, the Cavs had trimmed three points off Milwaukee’s lead.

In the second quarter, Garland immediately canned a 3-pointer. Then came another. Two more assists followed. Finally a floater, one of the shots he’s been working on for months, that gave the Cavs their first lead of the game -- an impressive surge spearheaded by the Garland-led second unit.

“That one span in the first half was really beautiful and he was leading that group that was out there, getting two feet in the lane and really played well -- confident with his shot,” Beilein said of the rookie. “Then it went south so quickly in that quarter, but kept fighting.”

Not to place blame, but it didn’t start going “south” until the starters trickled back in.

“Tough day,” Beilein said when asked about his opening five. “We cannot just play guys for 24 straight minutes and we try to limit guys to eight minutes at a time and then make a sub, around then. Sometimes it varies. But that group we put in and we thought they’d hold the lead and they couldn’t do it today -- just keep the status quo. They had a tough day together so have to bounce back.”

Garland, who finished with 10 points, five assists and four rebounds in 30 minutes, downplayed his new role. He believes he carries the same mentality regardless of who he plays alongside or when he enters. He said there are “great players” in any grouping. But Garland admits the chemistry is starting build with the four other bench guys he’s now leading.

“Ball moving, a lot of bodies moving so it’s just good flow,” Garland said. “When they start making shots it opens up everything for me because I’m just giving it to ‘em, so after Kevin made the 3 and JC made a couple and Larry made a couple, everything opened up and then I got going.”

A byproduct of Beilein’s recent change has been Garland and Porter sharing the court together -- perhaps a glimpse into Cleveland’s actual backcourt of the future.

Some within the organization view Porter as a two-guard. His size, length, athleticism, improved shooting and natural scoring instincts fit the profile. Garland, the fifth-overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, was selected to be a key piece of this rebuild, identified as the point guard of the future.

Both are just 19 years old. They have a relationship that dates back years, before they were Cavaliers. Now the intriguing pairing is getting a chance to grow together.

“Me and DG, our chemistry off the court was always there and we already knew it was going to be there on the court,” Porter said. “We feed off of each other, we play off of each other. This is my brother so I’m happy that we get the chance to do it and get our chemistry where it should be in a couple of years.”

With the Garland-Sexton combo not yet working quite as well as many hoped, being outscored by more than 13 points per 100 possessions, it appears Beilein will continue to stagger those two. At least, for now, more than he did in the first month. In the process, thanks to plenty of recent research, Beilein might have found another workable five-man grouping. It’s still early in this new experiment, but it’s tough to argue with the results.

Of the lineups to log more than 25 minutes this season, Garland, Clarkson, Porter, Nance and Henson already have the best net rating (16.4). A big part of that is Garland being unlocked.

“We’re 19 and in the NBA. Both of us coming in had very high expectations and we were seeing a perspective that was a lot different than we imagined,” Porter told cleveland.com. “DG, he just has to play his game and when he’s not thinking and just goes off instincts, he’s a hooper. When he’s out there hooping, with no weight on his shoulders, he’s DG the PG. And that’s what we need.”

 

[red.]

Garland starting to figure it out more and more with the bench unit. He can play freely.

 

[Ohio]

Garland starting to figure it out more and more with the bench unit. He can play freely.

This is how he needs to play at all times!

 

[ajz20]

Garland starting to figure it out more and more with the bench unit. He can play freely.

Excited to see what he looks like a year from now if he can get in basketball shape and work on his game over the summer.

 

[roozy]

Garland starting to figure it out more and more with the bench unit. He can play freely.

He plays so much better when he 's not on the floor with Sexton. I'm not necessarily gonna blame Sexton for that but it's like he becomes passive and then just stands in the corner.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

From Fedor this morning...

"The Cavs have identified their biggest weakness on defense. They’ve been talking about being better in transition for days. It’s been a point of frustration for players and coaches. It often leads to Beilein calling timeouts and players barking at one another. Talking hasn’t done the trick. Watching film hasn’t either. A simple, profane motto didn’t work. Nothing has."

"The Cavs rank last in transition frequency and transition points per play. They are second-worst in transition points allowed per 100 possessions. They are 28th in fastbreak points allowed."

“We tend to stand and watch other than sending guys back,” Love said.

One big problem is when the Cavs spread the floor and put shooters in the corners. A shot goes up, Thompson crashes the offensive glass. If he doesn't get the rebound he is at the rim and not in a position to get back and defend a fast break. The guys in the corners are late getting back leading to the opponet fast breaking off missed shots and having a numerical advantage which results in a dunk, layup, or uncontested 3.

The guys spotting up in the corners need to start sprinting back on defense when the shot goes up as opposed to watching the shot and staying in the corner in case TT gets a rebound. Beilein has to figure out how to get players to stop ball watching when the shot goes up. Either crash the glass or get back on D. Stop hanging around doing neither.

If I'm Beilein I would start putting in Knight and McKinnie and Wade for anybody who gets caught ball watching. Those guys would be so happy to play they would hustle back on defense every time. The others would get the message. Hey, it's not like it would hurt our playoff chances.

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

Funny that it comes from Love. The guy is oblivious at this point.

 

[InBoobieWeTrust]

Funny that it comes from Love. The guy is oblivious at this point.

He's doing his best LeBron "play no D and then point at everyone else and act super mad about it " impression.