Darius Garland ranked No. 5 on The Step Back's 2023-24 25-under-25, ranking the best young players in the NBA. Check out the rest of the list here.
Going into the offseason, everyone knew the Cleveland Cavaliers would be prioritizing shooting. A gentleman's sweep suffered at the hands of the New York Knicks, one in which they hit just 32.7 percent from beyond the arc, underscored what had been a season-long concern.
Which, one some level, is weird considering the Cavaliers had one of the best shooting backcourts in the entire NBA.
Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell both shot better than 38.0 percent from beyond the arc last season, each averaging more than six attempts per game. They combined to hit 414 3-pointers, more than any other backcourt in the Eastern Conference. But it doesn't always feel that way.
Mitchell is streaky, almost to a fault (especially in the playoffs). He tied a career-best last season making 38.6 percent of his 3s but he made just 35.5 percent the season before and in three of his six postseason campaigns he's hit under 30 percent. He can make 3s in bunches but his shooting feels more fragile.
Garland hit a career-best 41.0 percent last season, but it was his third year in a row above 38.0 percent. He was billed as an exceptional shooter coming out of college and this all feels more like meeting expectations.
To be clear, the Cavs' shooting woes are not about Garland and Mitchell. They're about a wing rotation that heavily featured Isaac Okoro and a two-bigs frontcourt combination that made just 23 shots from beyond the arc all season long. And the Cavs are hoping that Max Strus, Ty Jerome and Georges Niang add some shooting and stretch to the rotation between the bigs and the guards.
But if the Cavs are committed to playing two bigs for large chunks of the game, and we assume that Donovan Mitchell may be due for some regression to his personal mean, then Garland is the real wild card for addressing Cleveland's biggest weakness.
Darius Garland can take the Cavs to another level with his shooting
Garland is an established offensive engine. He averaged 21.6 points and 7.8 assists per game last season. He's a savvy creator out of the pick-and-roll and his pull-up jumper makes him a dangerous threat to score from anywhere. But it feels like there is another level to be reached with his shooting, a daring, swashbuckling approach that separates the good shooters from the very great ones.
Garland's shot selection is undoubtedly a factor in his efficiency but sometimes it feels like he's too controlled. He attempted 77 3-pointers from beyond 28 feet last season, about half as many as Steph Curry and a third as many as Damian Lillard. Heck, even Fred VanVleet and Eric Gordon each attempted more than 100 from that distance. I guess it's worth mentioning that Garland shot 46.8 percent from that range.
Those are the kinds of shots that break a defense's back. That kick your personal gravity from Mercury to Jupiter. The kind of shots that open a few extra inches of space in the lane no matter which four teammates are on the court with you. Mitchell wasn't shy about shooting from that distance — he took 80 but hit just 32.5 percent.
And I think that's really what I'm getting at.
Garland is a phenomenal player. Skilled and savvy. Always ready to make the right play. But this season, I think he and the Cavs could benefit from him risking the wrong play a bit more often. He might not be Curry or Lillard but putting a little more of that heat and swagger into his game will affect the defense, and in ways that will ripple through the season. He's the one who should be pushing double-digit 3-point attempts per game, not Mitchell.
Look back to that series against the Knicks. The Cavs were abysmal from beyond the arc but Garland hit a respectable 38.7 percent. He was 4-of-9 on pull-ups and 2-of-3 from beyond 28 feet. Mitchell was 6-of-30 off the bounce and missed all four of his 28-footers. It's a small sample size but I think it speaks to something larger.
The Cavs need more shooting. Their offseason additions can help. But so can Darius Garland, if they're willing to cut him loose.
