Season review: Darius Garland

An injury-filled season and lackluster playoff performance leaves the Cavs and Garland in an awkward position.

It was a difficult season for Darius Garland. The former All-Star suffered through injuries and personal challenges that affected his output on the court throughout the year, so much so that the shine has seemingly come off and his future with the Cleveland Cavaliers is now in question. While there were some moments of “wow”, there were many more that left fans scratching their heads.

Garland suffered a broken jaw in a December 15th game against the Boston Celtics, an injury that would require his mouth to be wired shut. That means, for a sizable portion of the season, he was restricted to a liquid diet. Garland also has an uncanny ability to get hacked at seemingly more so than usual, resulting in blows to the face and his hands. But before the jaw injury, Garland was getting hot with at least 22 points in four of five games. Then it ended with an errant Kristaps Porzingis flail.

While it is unclear just how much the injuries, particularly his jaw, impacted his game, it’s clear that it had some effect. Before the injury, Garland was getting to the line almost five times per game. After returning, he averaged just over two free throw attempts. On a liquid diet that likely resulted in weight and muscle loss, it would make sense that he would be hesitant to drive to the rim with bigs trying to stop him. He averaged fewer points per game post-injury, as well as a lower shooting percentage overall. It was discouraging to watch from the outside, but it was surely frustrating to Garland as well.

The playoffs were more of the same. Garland did average nearly six three-point attempts per game, an indication he was regaining confidence, but the shooting numbers stayed very pedestrian overall. He got to the line less than once per game, shot 34.4% from deep, and 43.9% from the floor overall. With an ailing Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen missing more than half of the team’s playoff games, seeing Garland wilt the way he did was disappointing.

This has all culminated in an uncomfortable situation for both Garland and the Cavs. Does a trade make sense for both sides? Unlikely, considering the Cavs know Garland can play much better and his max contract extension makes a potential trade unwieldy. The best course of action, for both sides, may be to retool the roster around the backcourt and hope for improvement under a new coach.

The Cavs’ ceiling is fairly high with Mitchell being the tip of the spear, but it's even higher when Garland can complement him as the lead ball-handler. Myriad reasons didn’t allow that to happen, including injuries and poor roster construction, but it's the pathway to success for the Cavs. Relegating Garland to being the off-ball man does not optimize his skillset, and hinders the Cavs’ ability to operationalize a flowing offense.

Somewhere, deep in there, is the All-Star version of Garland. The efficient one who created his three-point shots and drilled 90% of his free throws. That player still exists, but he wasn’t that guy last season. The Cavs desperately need that version of Garland to show up next season. A new offensive mindset, perhaps one where he is the lead guard while Mitchell operates as one of the most dangerous off-ball threats in the league, would help. Maybe, and unfortunately, a change of scenery is what is needed. It's the biggest question the front office has to solve this offseason.