Darius Garland Finding Way To Impact Game Without Scoring
Darius Garland was easily the Cavs' best player during the 2021-22 season, especially after Collin Sexton was ruled out for the year with a knee injury. Last season DG averaged 21.7 points, 46.2 FG%, and 38.3 3P% leading him to his first career All-Star game. However, this season has been a little bit of a different story.
During the 2022-23 season Garland is currently averaging 20.7 points a game which isn't too much lower than last year, but this is with his efficiency taking a little bit of a hit.
He's shooting 43.2 percent from the field and 38.2 percent from three. Each of these is down from the previous season. There may be an explanation for this though.
Garland was the primary ball handler and scorer for the Cavs last season and had a higher usage percentage. When Cleveland traded for Donovan Mitchell that was sure to change.
Mitchell has provided a massive boost for Cleveland's offense while also taking away some of the ball-handling duties from Garland. This has been part of the reason that DG's stats may look a little different than in the past.
Even with Garland's scoring numbers down, he's still finding a way to make his presence known when he's on the court. This has to do with how he's distributing the ball to his teammates.
The point guard is currently averaging 7.8 assists per game which is the most on the Cavs. This is also the fifth most assists a player averages in the NBA.
Just because a player isn't scoring, doesn't mean they're any less valuable on the court and DG has shown that.
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