The Cavs have struggled to generate threes with Garland on the court as demonstrated by their two recent losses.
Donovan Mitchell didn’t have any fear that Darius Garland would fit into what had made the Cleveland Cavaliers offense so successful shortly before his return on Jan. 31.
“With [Darius Garland], I think it’s even more seamless,” Mitchell said. “The way we’ve been playing fits him. He’s a guy who can get downhill, create, shoot off the catch. It’s a no-brainer given his abilities.”
So far it’s been anything but seamless. Especially in their two recent losses without Mitchell.
There’s been a lot of fair and unfair criticism lobbed Garland’s way. One that is fair, is that this team isn’t generating three-point attempts when he’s on the floor. That was on display this week as the Cavaliers didn’t produce 30 or more threes in their two losses to the Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers. They’re now 4-5 in games where that happens.
The three-point volume supplemented their offense in the time without Garland and Evan Mobley. From the date both injuries were announced to Garland’s return, the Cavaliers averaged 41.5 threes per game (second during that stretch). Since, they’re averaging just 35.3 (14th in that span). On the season, lineups without Garland are taking 40.9% of their shots from distance (87th percentile) while lineups with him are only attempting 33.9% of their shots behind the arc (34th percentile). The 7% on/off differential is among the sharpest in the league.
Garland simply doesn’t attempt many threes and his inability to make the defense collapse when he does attack makes it difficult for him to find open shooters. Only 6.2 of his passes per game result in three-point looks, 10.1 of his passes end up in two-point attempts, and he’s taking just five 5.2 per game. For comparison, Mitchell’s passes lead to 7.6 three-point attempts per game, 8.4 two-point attempts, and he’s taking 9.1 threes himself.
Turnovers have been a recurring issue this season. A lot of these come from trying to get the ball to bigs in too tight of spaces. It’s becoming increasingly clear that when Garland does get around a pick at the top of the key, there’s only a few choices. It’s either going to be a midrange shot, attempt near the basket, floater, pass to a big, or a turnover trying to force it to one.
Kicking out to an open shooter is a rare outcome. The situation has to be just right for him to see over the defense considering how late into the paint he attempts the passes to his bigs.
This comes back to Garland not being able to make the defense collapse when he’s coming off of screens. He’s done a better job of finishing inside the arc this season but taking a short midrange floater that elite guards hit 50% of the time isn’t as efficient as getting to the rim, finding open shooters, or just pulling up from distance.
The most simple solution to this issue would be increasing pull-up three-point shooting, especially when coming off of screens. Garland is currently attempting just 2.8 per game last season which is 30th in the league. This is the fewest he’s attempted since the 2020-21 season. He attempted 3.4 per game last season.
It’s worth pointing out how pure his shot is when he does attempt these. Taking pull-up threes more consistently will cause the defense to react as seen in Sunday’s win over the Washington Wizards where he tied a season-high with nine three-point attempts
Garland often lets great be the enemy of good. His constant desire to try and get the perfect shot often leaves him forcing something later in the shot clock or trying to fit a pass into a spot he has no business attempting.
It’s difficult to run a modern NBA offense with a 6’ 1” guard as one of the primary ball handlers if they aren't generating many high-quality threes. Relying on a steady diet of tough twos in the paint is difficult in the regular season and nearly impossible in the postseason as we’ve seen with Garland the last few springs.
The silver lining is that Garland has the skills to overcome this. He’s one of the few guys in the league who can’t take a bad three due to his range and ability to hit difficult shots. However, this doesn’t matter nearly as much if the attempts aren’t there. Defenses still don’t have to guard him until the top of the arc with his current volume.
The Cavs have had their most success this season without Garland. He has the skills to fit into what made them successful when he was sidelined. But he has to alter his thought process to do so.
Mitchell is right even if he’s been incorrect in the short term. Garland can seamlessly fit into what the team wants. He has the skills to do so. It’s just whether he can apply them the right way.
