Garland thinks he can shoot ‘eight or nine’ threes a game
Garland is confident he will get more outside looks in Kenny Atkinson’s offense.
Everyone wants Darius Garland to shoot more threes for the Cleveland Cavaliers this season. Garland is confident he’ll be able to do it.
New head coach Kenny Atkinson hasn’t specifically told Garland how many threes he wants him to take a night. “The ballpark is around eight or nine” a game according to Garland. That’s a number he’s confident he can get to.
“I got enough bullets in my clip,” Garland said with a smile.
Attempting more threes has been a team-wide emphasis in training camp. This goes for Garland who is one of the best shooters on the team but hasn’t averaged seven or more three-point attempts a game in his career. A different offensive philosophy could help him do so.
“Kenny is a big three-point attempt guy,” Garland said. “We try and get as many threes as we can. Try to get out in transition, walk up threes. He’s been on me and [Donovan Mitchell] about those in transition as well and even Max [Strus]. We can’t turn down any shots. Threes have been a big emphasis of training camp.”
The Cavs have upped their three-point volume each of the past three seasons. They were seventh in three-point frequency last year with 39% of their shots coming from beyond the arc. Those attempts, however, came in lineups their core wasn’t on the court together. Only 31.9% of Cleveland’s shots were threes when Garland, Mitchell, and the two bigs shared the floor (9th percentile).
Atkinson is much more data-focused than the previous regime. Even though this has been a talking point for a few seasons, there’s reason to believe the Cavs will be a high-volume three-point team even when they have their core out there.
“[There’s] just different ways I get to shots,” Garland said when asked about how Atkinson’s offense impacts his game. “I get to a lot more threes, a lot more off-ball actions, even walk-up threes and transitions coming off screens in half-court settings. Just shooting the ones I’m pretty confident in taking. I can’t turn down any.”