The Cleveland Cavaliers are off to an amazing 4-0 start in the 2024 NBA season. The play of point guard Darius Garland has been a major factor in the team’s hot start to the year. The sixth-year guard is averaging 19.3 points in just 28 minutes per game. He also is shooting a stellar 54.7 field goal percentage on 53 attempts. Garland has been impressive each game, but really took over in the 110-104 win over the New York Knicks on Oct. 28 in Madison Square Garden.
Darius Garland’s Scoring Against New York
Garland has already proven to be an incredible scorer in his NBA career. He has been a true all-star caliber point guard on offense. He has shot 38.6 percent from three-point range, proving to be a real threat from deep. He has also totaled 6.7 assists per game as he has been one of the league’s best playmakers. He showed his top-tier talent in both of those aspects once again against the Knicks.
Garland put up 34 points, going 12-of-19 from the field. He lit it up from beyond the arc with five threes as well on the night, including a huge one from the corner to take the lead with under seven minutes to go in the game. The Knicks would make numerous pushes late in the fourth quarter after the Cavs took control late. Each time they fought back, Garland halted all of their momentum. His biggest bucket came on a deep three from the top of the arc to push the lead to eight with under four minutes left. His 15 fourth-quarter points were the nail in the coffin.
Garland’s Defensive Performance
Despite the exceptional outing on offense for Garland, his defensive performance stood out more than anything. Head coach Kenny Atkinson challenged him with the task of guarding all-star Jalen Brunson. He held Brunson to just 8-of-24 from the field and 21 points total. The biggest moment of the entire night came with under 90 seconds to go. Garland found himself one-on-one with Brunson on an isolation drive. He stayed glued to him and made the stop, blocking his shot attempt to keep it a two-possession game.
Garland finished with two blocks and two steals in his tough matchup with the Knicks’ leading scorer. He made timely stops late in the game and did a solid job throughout the night on the defensive side of the floor. His improvement as a defender can help him take yet another big step as a leader for the Cavaliers.
Looking Ahead for the Season
There were many trade rumors centering around Garland in the offseason. Many people shared the belief that him and star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell could not coexist in the backcourt together. They both are scoring guards and seem to prefer to have the ball in their hands. Through the first four games this year, it seems that the two are taking a better approach together under their new head coach. This team is playing with a much better pace and the two have made it clear to the media that they want to play together.
Garland providing more consistency has to be the first step for his improvement. The next step is one he seemed to take last night, that being his ability to defend. Garland took the challenge from Atkinson in stride and got key stops against one of the league’s best scorers. Putting his performance on both sides of the floor together could be vital to this team’s effort to make a deep playoff run this season.
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