Is Darius Garland actually holding the Cleveland Cavaliers back?

Could Darius Garland be holding the Cleveland Cavaliers back?

Darius Garland was last year’s All-Star darling. Garland stepped up and led the team to the Play-In Tournament but injuries held the team back, and they were eliminated. Then the team made a trade in the offseason to get Donovan Mitchell. Since the trade, the tandem has done great work together most of the time but the two sometimes cause the offense to stall.

Both men have a nasty habit of playing hero ball, but more so Mitchell than Garland. Still, the Cavs are third in the East as of press time and are storming toward the playoffs for the first time in earnest without LeBron James since the 1990s.

Yet, Fear the Sword believes that Garland is holding the Cavaliers back. To be clear, they aren’t saying Garland is bad, they’re just saying that he’s not been playing to his typical offensive caliber. Now, the article is a few days old, but even when it came out it seemed rather humorous to think Garland is holding back the offense.

They cite how he was shooting under 40% from the floor, how he was under 31% from three, and how his assists had dropped to 8.1 per game, over a stretch of nine selected games. The article really doesn’t do a good job of pointing out how he had a hand injury, and while it was his left hand, that can still affect him when he dribbles, passes, or drives to the rim as he often times does switch to his off hand for an advantage.

I don’t think that Garland, who on the season is averaging nearly 21 points, nearly eight assists, and splits of .433/.383/.882, is an issue on offense. No more so than say, Mitchell. They can get a bit focused on the iso and trying to score, instead of letting the offense breathe in rhythm to some good passing.

But I do agree Garland is a liability.

Darius Garland has got to get better on defense

Garland’s defense has been an issue this year, just as it’s been last. Now, the addition of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen has made it so that Garland’s advanced stats won’t ever get too bad; the big men should be called the Men at Work, because they’re doing their best Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen impression out there, cleaning up the trash that gets past them.

So even if Garland whiffs on an assignment, he has the best frontcourt in the league to bail him out. Yet, they aren’t on the court all 48 minutes and there are times when Garland’s lack of defensive prowess bites the Cavs in the butt. Now, his defensive BPM is up from last year, but not by such a margin that you think he’s improved.

Garland’s defense has led to the Cavs having some rough first or fourth quarters. It wouldn’t be so bad if he were playing next to Ricky Rubio or Isaac Okoro as he did last year, but now he has Mitchell, who is also a bit of a defensive liability. Like with Garland, Mitchell has improved from the past season to this season but not so much so that you’d call him even an average defender. He, like Garland, is still negative on defense.

Now there’s no buffer like Okoro to bail out Garland. Now if Okoro is on the court, he’s filling in for Dean Wade, who himself was filling in for Lauri Markkanen, who was dealt in the Mitchell trade. And that has held back the team a bit.

The Cavs aren’t a bad defense, in fact, they’re among the league’s best. But like a good team that’s more on the scheme and the better players carrying the not-so-good ones. If the Cavs lose Mobley and Allen, and Wade doesn’t rebound right when he returns, then Garland and Mitchell’s defensive liabilities will bite the team in the butt.

Now, that’s not to say that the Cavs need to trade Garland but it is important to recognize how Garland can improve his game. Garland getting better on defense can rocket the Cavs to title contention.