Cleveland Cavaliers: 3 players Darius Garland should study

3. Chris Paul

Through the years, Chris Paul has become one of the most underrated point guards in league history. A nine-time All-Defensive and eight-time All-NBA member, CP3 is the complete package that every young guard should aspire to be.

Paul is as intelligent as he is athletically gifted. Combining basketball genius with lightening quick lateral movement is a recipe for success defensively. To top things off, CP3 plays with a dog mentality that helps him be a pest on this end of the floor.

Darius Garland must study CP3’s defensive tendencies. Learning how to position himself off-ball and act as a disruptor will take Garland’s game to the next level. Above all else, he needs to understand the opponent in order to gain a competitive advantage.

Finding a way to become a plus-defender should be a major goal for Garland. The Cleveland Cavaliers are a lackluster defensive team and need to improve in this area. By studying Paul, Garland can improve as an individual and team defender.

Defense isn’t the only thing that Garland can learn from CP3. There may not be a better passer from this decade to study than Paul. He has led the league in assists four times and averages 9.7 assists per game for his career.

Understanding the games ins-and-outs is what has made Paul so effective as a two-way guard. For Garland, reaching a similar level of IQ as CP3 will take him far in this league.