Cleveland Cavaliers: 3 ways Darius Garland can become a star

1. Assert himself as a scorer

Darius Garland’s greatest skill has always been his shot-creating ability. He is as smooth as they come – at times giving the indication that he can one day be a 20+ points per game scorer.

His movement across the floor is fluid. Garland changes direction with ease and his signature move has become his hesitation dribble which he uses to explode to the rim at a moment’s notice. Garland surprised a number of elite defenders last season with his springy first step.

In the few games that Garland appeared to be comfortable, his skill set was on full display. He is a natural at playing off the defenders body and can attack in a wide array of ways. His go-to shot is either the pull-up 3-pointer or a floater in the lane – but Garland displayed some great creativity during certain hot-streaks.

In a specific game against the Denver Nuggets, Garland repeatedly penetrated the paint and used some crafty footwork to score over his defender in isolation. His clutch scoring helped secure the win for Cleveland and gave us a sneak peek of what he is capable of.

Still, Garland has much to prove. He connected on more pull-up 3-pointers than any other rookie but barley shot above 30 percent on these looks. It’s obvious he has the talent to be a threat from deep but the consistency is not there yet.

His inefficiency should be solved over time as he grows more confident in his shot. This can be seen by looking at the games he was in a rhythm. Garland drilled 3 or more 3-pointers on 14 separate occasions this season – in these games, he connected on 47.5 percent of his attempts. There is an obvious correlation between his confidence and success.

Hopefully, Garland just needed to gain some experience at the NBA level and will look better in his second run. We shouldn’t judge a 20-year old by his first season – but we can look at these brief moments of promise as a reason to feel optimistic about his future.