Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland didn’t have a great season last year. It wasn’t exactly a nightmare campaign, but the former All-Star regressed.
In 57 games in 2023-24, Garland averaged 18 points, 6.5 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 33.4 minutes per game on a 44.6/37.1/83.4 shooting ratio.
It’s a significant step back from last season, when Garland averaged 21.6 points per night and had the most efficient year of his career.
So what exactly is the problem with Garland?
Tyler Watts from The Gospel of King James believes the Cavaliers’ questionable roster construction has made life incredibly difficult for the Vanderbilt product.
While Watts cites the addition of Donovan Mitchell as a reason for Garland’s inconsistent offensive production last year, he focuses on Cleveland’s two-big lineup, which made it more difficult for Garland to get into the paint.
Watts added that Garland is asked to create his own shots a little too much and gets very little help from his teammates to allow him to score easy baskets.
It should be noted, of course, that Garland had phenomenal success during Mitchell’s first season in Cleveland. It was only last year that the 24-year-old struggled, leading to speculation about a possible trade.
But the 2023-24 campaign has been a strange one for Garland and the Cavs in general. The former fifth overall pick has missed significant time due to injuries, as have Mitchell and Evan Mobley.
Perhaps a healthier season from Garland and the rest of the Cavaliers’ core will set the point guard up for a stronger year in 2024-25.
However, Watts seems to think Garland simply won’t get that opportunity in Cleveland, going so far as to say the Cavs have put him in “an impossible position.”
We’ll see if Garland can turn things around this fall, and if not, he could see his name resurface in trade rumors.
