Can the Cavaliers, as currently constructed, find a way back to contending in the East?

On Tuesday night, Cavs point guard Darius Garland put together his most impressive fourth quarter of the season: 14 points on a perfect 7-for-7 shooting, two assists and zero turnovers in a narrow 120-116 road win over Indiana.

It was a virtuoso showing for Garland. He used his off-ball speed to find gaps in Indiana’s aggressive defensive scheme and trusted his midrange bag time and time again. When the Pacers showed prevent, Garland stepped out and punished them from deep. Bigs Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen did well to create angles via screening, allowing Garland to handle the rest.

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“A great point guard,” Mobley told reporters after the game. “Controlled the pace. Took the easy ones. Played good basketball.”

The significance and timing of Garland’s late-game mastery — he led all players with 29 points — in a season where the veteran guard has struggled with both injury and efficiency, cannot be lost in translation. Yes, the Pacers (6-31) are the worst team in the NBA by a decent enough margin that impressive performances against them could come with caveats. But Cleveland, which was without its water, blood and oxygen supply (otherwise known as Donovan Mitchell) for this game, has been crying out for a change in its fortunes.

Recent results — the Cavs have won four out of five after a lifeless late-December blowout loss in Houston — suggest an uptick in the vibes department, but two related questions remain: Can Cleveland, as currently constructed, find a way to contend in the East? And is the version of Garland we saw on Tuesday an illusion or a sign of things to come?

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Up to this point, as far as the specific question about Garland is concerned, the unfortunate reality is that the aforementioned performance feels like an aberration.

Watch a Cavs game and it doesn’t take long to identify the issue with the Garland-Mitchell pairing. Not necessarily from a height standpoint, although the historical success rate of smaller backcourts isn’t as robust as their larger counterparts. We’re still less than a year removed from Cleveland winning 64 games with the identical…

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Author : Kelly Iko

Publish date : 2026-01-08 16:01:00

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