As the Cleveland Cavaliers look to build a new core around LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, they also will have to contend with Kevin Love.
The “cavaliers record” is a category of player that includes LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. The Cleveland Cavaliers are one of the NBA’s most successful teams, and they have all three players in this category.
For what feels like an eternity, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been engaged in a rebuilding process. In 2018, LeBron James joined the Los Angeles Lakers. The club had traded Kyrie Irving the year before, who was disgruntled and is now widely reviled. Since then, the going has been rough, but guys like Darius Garland and youngster Evan Mobley have shown glimpses of life in Cleveland.
The name Mobley is a brand-new and interesting one. Garland, on the other hand, has made the greatest improvement and might be the most meaningful indication of optimism for a club that hasn’t had much of it recently.
And the third-year guard recently put up some eye-popping statistics in a victory against the Washington Wizards, putting him with two of the franchise’s all-time greats.
Garland has been one of the Cavaliers’ shining lights this season.
The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Darius Garland grins during the second half of a game against the Orlando Magic. | Getty Images/Ron Schwane
From year one to year two, the Vanderbilt product improved, and it is currently in its third year. Through 20 games this season, his points per game have increased from 12.3 his rookie year to a team-best 19.1.
Despite taking almost four more shots each game, his field-goal percentage has increased from 40.1 to 46.7. His 3-point percentage is 37.8 this season, up from 35.5 last year.
He’s also averaging a career-high in rebounds, but the most significant shift in his game has been in playmaking.
Garland came into the NBA as a scorer, as he demonstrated during his first season, when he only averaged 3.9 assists. Last year, it was 6.1, and in 2021-22, he’ll be averaging 7.3 dimes a night.
Given how he’s outperformed expectations as a 20-year-old rookie with a very high potential, Mobley has been the most talked-about Cleveland player.
Garland, on the other hand, has been the team’s greatest and most reliable player.
After putting up a stat line that only James and Irving have accomplished in team history, maybe he’ll receive some more notice.
Garland was up against two of Cleveland’s best players in his game versus Washington.
Tonight, Darius Garland:
8 REB 10 AST 11-17 FG 32 PTS 8 REB 10 AST 3P 5-6
He’s just the third Cavs player to score 30 points, eight rebounds, and ten assists before turning 22. LeBron James and Kyrie Irving were the other two. pic.twitter.com/7qF3vp3W4C
December 4, 2021 — StatMuse (@statmuse)
After LeBron returned home and led Cleveland to a championship, the Cavs won their first and only Championship. With the Golden State Warriors, it was a thrilling series.
With 53 seconds remaining in Game 7, Irving scored the most important shot of the series, a three-pointer in the face of Stephen Curry.
Those two guys are unquestionably the finest to have ever played in Cleveland. James is without a doubt one of the greatest players of all time. Mark Price, Brad Daugherty, Austin Carr, World B. Free, Kevin Love, and a washed-up Shawn Kemp are among the bunch.
And now Garland has achieved something that only those two guys have ever done.
The Cavaliers’ 116-101 away win against Washington on Dec. 3 was their fourth in a row, and they improved to 13-10, making them one of the season’s most pleasantly unexpected teams. And Garland is the one who has brought them there.
On 11-of-17 shooting and 5-of-6 shooting from three, the 6-foot-1 combo guard had a game-high 32 points, eight rebounds, and ten assists.
According to StatMuse, he’s just the third player in club history to have such a line before turning 22.
Putting oneself in the company of LeBron and Kyrie is a major achievement that at the very least offers the greatest player on a small-market club some credit.
Cleveland needs Garland’s aid; he’s (one of) their only chance.
The backcourt tandem of DG the PG and the frontcourt duo of 6-11 Mobley has the potential to become one of the finest pick-and-roll combinations in the NBA.
Garland also has a backcourt partner in Collin Sexton, who has established himself as one of the league’s top scorers in recent seasons. However, he’s out with a meniscus tear in his left knee and is anticipated to miss the remainder of the season. However, when he returns, he will still be just 23 years old.
The Cavaliers have finally found some optimism after years of being an NBA irrelevance. While Mobley is the most entertaining aspect of that promise, it is Garland’s squad and his duty to restore Cleveland’s relevance.
It’s not a terrible idea to play like LeBron James and Kyrie Irving to keep the train running.
NBA.com provided all data.
RELATED: LeBron James once boldly declared another NBA legend a GOAT: ‘Pound-for-Pound, Probably the Greatest Player Who Ever Played.’
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