Unlike the first round, Garland’s issues weren’t from not being able to create lean looks.
Darius Garland struggled offensively against the Orlando Magic outside of a few bright moments. He had a difficult time playing through their length and physicality which resulted in him disappearing for extended periods when the Cleveland Cavaliers needed him most.
The stat sheet from Game 1 against the Boston Celtics tells a similar story. Fourteen points on 6-15 shooting isn’t going to cut it against a team that has the firepower Boston does. Unlike the series against the Magic, there is a pathway for him to turn it around.
Boston’s switching defense allows stars to play in space but limits how you can get others involved. We saw that in Game 1 as the Cavs finished with just 19 assists. A number that they bettered in 79 regular season games. This speaks to how Boston did a good job of sticking with their opponent on and off-ball.
This style does open up the floor for your stars to do what they do best. Donovan Mitchell did that as he scored a game-high 33 points. Garland didn’t take advantage of it, but he generated clean looks. Much cleaner than the ones he wasn’t able to convert against Orlando.
The Magic made sure Garland couldn’t get to the rim. And when he did get there, they threw a ton of bodies his way making it incredibly difficult to finish when he was there. As a result, he finished just 50% of his shots at the rim with just 26% of his looks coming there.
The extra bodies in the lane allowed his defender to play tight on the perimeter. Even when Garland got mismatches, his opponent was able to be aggressive knowing that there was help on the backside.
These clips stand in stark contrast with his misses in Game 1 in Boston. Garland was able to create daylight that simply didn’t exist in the previous series.
Garland needing to shoot more has been a constant theme. Mitchell has been mentioning it to varying degrees throughout the season. It’s unreasonable to think that this is magically going to change now which is a damning thing to say about Cleveland’s entire player development. The Cavs’ homegrown players have been unwillingness to step out of their comfort zone even when their opponent forces them into it.
Garland, though, proved he can generate great looks within his comfort zone in Game 1. Boston doesn’t have nearly the length inside that Orlando does even if they have better wings. There’s far more room on the drops and less help on the backside. This allows Garland to find daylight for jump shots and getting to the rim even though he didn’t do that much on Tuesday.
The Cavs need their three perimeter ball handlers to consistently step up if they want to make this a series. At the very least, both members of the backcourt need to outplay Derrick White. Mitchell did his part while Garland didn’t.
Even though this is the same issue as the first round, there’s a clear path to doing so. Garland just needs to break out of the slump he’s in.
