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Cleveland Cavaliers: Final evaluations and rookie/soph grades from 2019-20

By Tony Pesta

MIAMI, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 22: Darius Garland #10 of the Cleveland Cavaliers in action against the Miami Heat during the first half at American Airlines Arena on February 22, 2020 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 22: Darius Garland #10 of the Cleveland Cavaliers in action against the Miami Heat during the first half at American Airlines Arena on February 22, 2020 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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Cleveland Cavaliers (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Cleveland Cavaliers (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

Darius Garland

Grade: C+

Darius Garland’s rookie season was about as bumpy as it could be. On top of playing alongside another undersized, ball-dominant point guard, Garland also had to deal with rocky management from the front office and a head coach who gave up on the team midway through the year.

This isn’t even mentioning the fact that he played only five games in college before a knee injury kept him sidelined until the NBA season. All of this is a lot for a top prospect to handle and it didn’t help that he was joining a team that had won just 19 games the season prior.

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It was obvious Garland wasn’t going to be an instant success story. It should be no surprise that the 20-year-old stumbled out the gate. This didn’t stop the Cavaliers from thrusting Garland into the starting lineup immediately and forcing him to learn on the go.

His first 16 games were not memorable. He looked incredibly hesitant to shoot and as a result connected on less than 35 percent of his 3-point attempts. This was a troublesome look for a player whose biggest strength coming out of college was his shooting ability.

As the coaching staff continued to encourage Garland to shoot, he gradually became more comfortable in his role. He was quicker to pull off the dribble and began shooting at a better rate. In particular, Garland was skilled at scoring in the mid-range. Garland has a soft floater and he used this to drill nearly 50 percent of his 74 attempts in the lane.

One thing Garland showed us in his debut season is that he is dedicated to improving. He has quickly developed as a passer and is beginning to make quicker and smarter reads with the ball in his hands. Down the final 26 games of the season, Garland was dishing out 5.1 assists a night.

While he has shown promise as a shooter and playmaker, Garland is not on his way to being a solid defender. His frail 6’1″ frame makes him an easy target for opponents and without proper teammates to help him he will never have a positive impact on this end of the floor.

Regardless, his high-IQ on offense leads us to believe that there is a slither of a chance that it could translate to defense one day. Take Stephen Curry, for example, another undersized guard who has managed to become reliable on defense due to not only a great system around him but his intelligence to place himself in positions for success.

Garland began the year slow. But, by the second half of the season, he had a strong stretch to bump his per-game numbers to 12.3 points and 3.9 assists. He shot 40.1 percent from the floor and 35.3 percent from deep. These numbers won’t blow you away but they are good enough to deliver a bit of optimism. Overall, this was a slightly better than average rookie campaign for DG.

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