The Domination of Darius Garland
What’s better than having one clutch guard? Having two! Affectionately called DG the PG (point guard), Cavaliers star Darius Garland was recently named Eastern Conference Player of the Week. His impressive performances in games played from November 4th through November 10th earned him this recognition for only the second time in his career. In elite company, Garland is the seventh Cavaliers player to win the award multiple times. As the Cavs’ undefeated hot streak continues, Garland received the accolade a week following Donovan Mitchell.
A major highlight during his extraordinary week was Garland shooting 61.9% from the field against the Milwaukee Bucks. He scored a spectacular 39 points, with seven three-pointers made and dishing out eight assists. That game moved Garland up in Cavs history as just the fifth player to rack up those stats. In the following game against the New Orleans Pelicans, Garland almost posted a double-double scoring 14 points and a game-high nine assists in 30 minutes. During the monstrous display versus the Golden State Warriors, he finished with 27 points, six assists and three steals in 30 minutes. In the final game of the week, Garland helped the team rally from behind to beat the Brooklyn Nets by five. Getting back to the basics over the summer, he ranks second in three-pointers made, sixth in assists per game (7.3) and tied for seventh in points per game (25).
“I really went back to square one over the offseason, just trying to polish my game, trying to clean up some of the things that I was doing,” Garland said. “Just trying to do all the little things to help put me in these position that I am in right now.”
Garland joined the Cleveland Cavaliers team when he was drafted in the 1st round of the 2019 NBA Draft. Since then, he’s been the fastest Cavs player to reach 500 career assists and named 2020 NBA All-Rookie Second Team and 2022 NBA All-Star. These notable achievements helped lay the foundation for what we are witnessing from Garland almost a month into the 2024 season. Giving him more freedom and responsibility, Coach Kenny Atkinson feels Garland is a complete point guard who has a great IQ and control of end-of-game situations. Riddled with several rough patches last season, Garland’s bounce back indicates he has the potential to keep soaring.
Partnership pays dividends and it is evident now more than ever that the return on that thinking is through the roof. Garland’s leadership makes the Cavs more cohesive in a way that brings out the very best in everyone. Their core of Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, Garland and Mitchell are leading the charge with help from an amazing bench. You can tell just by watching this team that they genuinely enjoy playing together and have fun doing it.
Tune in Friday night to see the Cavs take on the Chicago Bulls and see firsthand, per DG the PG, the team’s special chemistry.
