Tuesday night in Indiana felt like a throwback. Or at least a reminder.
With Donovan Mitchell sidelined, Darius Garland took over late, scoring 14 fourth-quarter points on a spotless 7-for-7 shooting night to lift the Cavaliers to a 120-116 road win. No turnovers. No panic. Just control.
As Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports detailed, Garland diced up the Pacers’ aggressive coverage with off-ball movement, slipped into gaps, leaned on his midrange game and, when needed, stepped back and punished prevent defense from deep. Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen did their part as screeners. Garland did the rest.
“A great point guard,” Mobley told reporters afterward. “Controlled the pace. Took the easy ones. Played good basketball.”
The timing mattered. Garland finished with 29 points in a season that has been uneven at best, shaped by injuries and dips in efficiency. Yes, Indiana owns the league’s worst record. Caveats apply.
But Cleveland was also playing without Mitchell, and the Cavs have been searching for signs that their offensive balance can still exist when everything isn’t tilted toward one star.
The bigger question, as Iko frames it, is whether this was a glimpse of what’s coming or an outlier.
The Garland-Mitchell pairing still works on paper. The Cavs won 64 games with it not long ago. Mitchell, by most advanced metrics, has been even better this season. The problem is gravity and efficiency.
With Ty Jerome gone, Max Strus late to return and Mobley still developing offensively, shot creation has leaned heavily toward Mitchell. Garland has not consistently filled the secondary role.
The numbers are rough. Garland-led lineups without Mitchell are scoring at a bottom-of-the-league rate. Flip it, and Cleveland operates like a top-five offense. His efficiency has slipped, his turnover rate is up, and his rim finishing is near the bottom among guards, all signs that toe and back issues from the offseason are still lingering.
Coach Kenny Atkinson acknowledged as much last month, calling Garland “a soldier” and noting that there was no offseason or training camp runway. “We’re seeing flashes,” Atkinson said.
Tuesday was one of them.
Whether it’s a turning point or just a reminder of what Garland looks like when his body and rhythm line up is still unclear.
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