Darius Garland is a future star. Darius Garland averaged 12.3 PPG, 3.9 APG, and 2.6 TPG on 40% FG. Garland had an up and down 2019-20 season. He showed flashes of potential and is a great comparison to Damian Lillard.
Garland was not utilized right under John Beilein. Sexton on the court with Garland led to terrible playmaking and selfish play as they both needed the ball. Sexton is a better finisher and a scorer while Garland is a better shooter, playmaker, and passer.
Sexton’s selfish play led to frustrations from the team. As stated before, Sexton and Garland don’t work well together, and only one can be on the court for this team to be successful. Sexton as a 6th man is a better fit for the team so he gets his minutes and Garland can get rest.
Sexton would be an amazing contributor off the bench and would help the team more. Garland needs to be the starting point guard without another ball-handler on the floor. Kevin Porter Jr. as the starting SG would only help Garland be better.
Porter’s and Garland’s skill sets work well together. Garland’s points went up in January to 14.4 points per game as he was starting to find himself after starting off the season cold. He also averaged 5.3 assists.
His points and assists dropped down in February, but Garland improved as a player and showed flashes of high potential. After the All-Star break, Garland averaged 13.3 points and 4.2 assists. JB Bickerstaff taking over as head coach was great for Garland.
Garland does need to get a little bigger and control the ball better as he is becoming a consistent shooter. In wins, Garland’s stats are up from games lost. Without Sexton on the floor, Garland has better ball control and is a better playmaker, averaging roughly 15 points and 5 assists.
With Garland on the court, the Cavs’ defense is better than when Sexton is on the court. With Sexton off the floor, the Cavaliers have their highest assist ratio and percentage, meaning the ball is simply moving better.
Garland has great potential.
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