3 questions concerning Cleveland Cavaliers’ future

3. Can Garland become a star?

The No. 5 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, Darius Garland, has had an up-and-down season for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Garland entered the league with high expectations. Dubbed the most talented player outside of the top three prospects by many analysts, the Cavaliers took a chance on the undersized point guard despite already have drafted Collin Sexton the year prior.

Early on, Garland appeared rusty after missing most of his lone collegiate season due to a knee injury. Through his first 14 games, DG was scoring just 9.1 points per game on 33.8 percent shooting.

It’s obvious that he wasn’t playing with confidence. The young guard passed up many opportunities to shoot and played it safe more often than not. As he has grown more comfortable within the offense, his shot attempts have steadily increased.

He is shooting much more frequently, attempting nearly double the number of 3-pointers in his recent stretch than he did in his first 14 games.

His efficiency has improved as well. Garland is now shooting above 40 percent from the floor and 36.9 percent from deep. He has scored 12 or more points in each of his last five games.

The question is, will this shifty ball handler ever become a true star in the NBA? He has proven to be a deadly shooter when in rhythm, but has yet to put any consistent runs together.

As a playmaker, Garland has been doing his best but is far from being elite. He leads the team with 3.2 assists per game, but may never become a good enough passer to justify his position as the starting point guard.

It’s still too early to tell if Garland is going to pan out in the NBA. He has shown some promise but until he is able to add some consistency to his game we will have to question his potential.