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Just a few seasons ago, it looked and felt like the Cleveland Cavaliers were going to build around Darius Garland. When he signed his max contract extension in 2022, the thought was he would wear the number 10 in Wine and Gold for a long, long time.
But, life comes at you fast in the NBA. When Cleveland acquired Donovan Mitchell that same summer, it signaled that the team was ready to contend and envisioned a dynamic backcourt leading the way.
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The fit between the two had its ups and downs. The Cavs didn’t have enough supporting pieces to surround the duo in 2023, leading to a quick playoff exit. In 2024, Garland battled a broken jaw that compromised him significantly.
2025 was the best year for the backcourt, with Garland and Mitchell both being named All-Stars and leading Cleveland to 64 wins. Unfortunately, Garland broke down in the playoffs thanks to a toe injury and the Cavs bowed out in the second round. The toe injury lingered into this past season, and Cleveland could not run the risk of another unhealthy Garland run, leading to the James Harden trade.
Now Garland is with the Los Angeles Clippers, where he has said multiple times that he is happy. Recently, he went on a podcast with Lonzo Ball, saying he got his joy back for basketball. He later elaborated saying that he’s happy to have the ball in his hands again and be the primary decision maker.
That is the part that causes me to pause.
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Why? Well, I’ll give you one guess as to who led Cleveland in touches per game last year: Darius Garland with 64. He was also second in clutch time usage at about 27%.
This season, his touches went up to 68 per game during his time with the Cavs, which would be four more than he had on average with the Clippers in 19 games.
What about 2023-24? It was Mitchell with 79, but Garland wasn’t far behind with 75.
Even if you go all the way back to 2022-23, Garland led the team in touches with 77 per game, which was NINE more than Mitchell. He also led them in that same category in the postseason.
So, make that two coaches in J.B. Bickerstaff and Kenny Atkinson that put the ball in Garland’s hands…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/darius-garland-comments-getting-joy-143000336.html
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Publish date : 2026-06-05 14:30:00
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