Darius Garland: Rebound season incoming?

After disappointing last season, Darius Garland is healthy and primed for a rebound.

After an offseason of speculation and trade rumors, the dust has finally settled for Darius Garland and the Cleveland Cavaliers. “I really don’t know [where the trade rumor came from], it came out and it was definitely false,” Garland told the media on Monday’s media day frenzy.

Now that the rumors are behind him, Garland can focus on the task at hand: being better than last season.

To say last season was a difficult one for Garland would be an understatement. He spent a lot of time on the shelf with a broken jaw, which resulted in weight loss that impacted his game. He suffered personal loss and other nagging injuries that added up throughout a long season. Now that he has put the weight back on and the Cavs have finalized their roster and coaching staff, Garland can focus on getting back to All-Star form. That will likely start with taking more threes.

Sound familiar? It should.

Enter new head coach Kenny Atkinson, who has been asked several times about how to maximize Garland. His answer was to generate more threes via catch-and-shoot opportunities. That means coming off ball screens and pin-downs like Stephen Curry, using motion to drag defenders around the court. This process can be duplicated with Donovan Mitchell when Garland is the ball-handler, too. Two years ago, Garland was attempting nearly five catch-and-shoot threes per game with 38.1% accuracy. That number cratered to under two attempts last season, making just 31% of them.

More catch-and-shoot shots means Garland isn't asked to create for himself as much, reducing the chances he gets dinged up driving to the basket too often. While he will still be expected to create rim pressure (an underrated aspect of today’s inside-out NBA), the Cavs will certainly need to be cautious with how much contact he takes even if he is back at his expected weight and muscle density.

Injuries are critical for Garland this year, as they were last year. With the emergence of Craig Porter Jr. to be a competent ball-handler, coupled with the return of Ty Jerome to handle some point guard duties, Garland should be able to move more freely off-ball and get cleaner looks. Remember, the Cavs acquired Mitchell to take pressure off Garland having to try and deke his way free while the rest of the offense watched. Having backup point guards to handle playmaking duties should make things easier for Garland.

The fact of the matter is though that the Cavs need much more from Garland than they got last season. Injuries certainly hampered his ability to perform, but even when he was healthy on the court things were not always positive. He had a tendency to disappear in games, shoot very poorly, and end up people-watching. His turnover rate was also equal to his sophomore season in the league (14.8%). He attempted to find passing lanes that just were not there, something one would expect out of a rookie. Injuries were not the cause of all of these issues in his game last season.

For this season, however, Garland needs to find his rhythm more often. Having backup point guards and ball handlers reduces the need for him to be on the ball as often, which will help keep him healthy. But the reality is that he needs to be less hesitant to shoot, more aggressive when he does have an open lane or opportunity to score, and to limit the turnovers. Atkinson’s offensive style should put him in better positions to succeed than the previous regime, but the real growth for Garland will come from within. The Cavs’ team ceiling will largely be dependent on him returning to the All-Star form.