There's a little Steve Nash in the exciting Darius Garland

What makes Darius Garland so good? What areas of his game can he improve? The Most Improved Player of the Year candidate is leading the Cleveland Cavaliers surprising offense with his incredible passing and shot making. This detailed film room analysis looks at the Cavs star guard, incorporating data and stats to understand how impactful he might be.

Twitter: @elgee35

Ben Taylor is the author of Thinking Basketball, a Nylon Calculus contributor, creator of the Backpicks Top 40 series & host of the Thinking Basketball podcast.

Stats courtesy:
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Footage in this video is owned by the NBA and its partners. It is intended for critique and education.

Music by csus (instrumental)

#ThinkingBasketball

[pinkrabbits]

Man, he is just so good. Was super high on him coming out of Vanderbilt even with the meniscus injury he had. A complete natural with the ball. Makes the game look fun. This young Cleveland team is great to watch

[DeemDaDream]

Garland is special. Something that we take for granted is his ability to function as a guard with offense that plays 3 bigs. A lot of his decision making isn’t highlighted in the stats. Making that pass to mismatch in the post or the pass to the high post to let a big do a high lo. Those are things that take great recognition. His numbers aren’t going to be ass gaudy as those point guards who play on teams that run the 4 out with 2 guards 2 wings and a center or some similar variation, but his ability to function with those players creates an environment that allows Mark, Mobley, and Allen to play at the same time which leads to the cavs having more versatility on defense

[DreamHoopz]

What Cleveland has built over the years is special too watch

[michaeljoyner]

Played against him back in high school. Dropped 43 and 15 assists on us without breaking a sweat. To this day he is the best, most naturally gifted player I've ever lined up against.

[Ninox]

One of my fav players to watch, so silky good

[Deondre_Clark]

Is player development in general improving? Are players working harder? It seems like there are SO MANY guys leveling up at the same time. It also seems like more vets continue to add skills to their game as opposed to just plateauing.

[YourBudTevin]

I’ve seen all your videos at least twice I need more content!!!!

Jokes aside, this is the best in depth stuff anywhere. Tv, YouTube, etc. you’re the best at what you do already. Please continue

[TerraRider]

A friend of mine mentioned this channel to me and now I'm hooked. This guy deserves his own show on ESPN. How's he still at 300k subs bruh?!?!?!

[SuperDamon]

Man it's cool to see Garland getting some legitimate recognition finally, been telling my friends all year to watch out for him. Wanted the Bulls to get him badly when he was drafted. Cleveland has a deadly all-star combo between he & Mobley for years to come.

[clawxxchris]

The pump fake, give and go cut, into the lob pass is what dreams are made of. That is some 200IQ basketball right there.

[camctrail]

I'm really liking these little player analysis videos, and I'd love to see one done for Fred VanVleet. The guy has taken Kyle Lowry's torch and run with it this season, and he's playing himself into All NBA contention

Or Tyrese Haliburton, the prototype of a pure PG that the NBA seems to be lacking in recent years. I said he'd be the steal of his draft class before the draft happened and so far I think I'm being proven right ;)

[bmebuzz]

First heard of Darius Garland since Dime Drop vid before he was drafted, been a big fan since.
Amazing video as always from Thinking Basketball

[seangadus]

I have seen Garland in person 3 times so far this year, and his development as a 21 year old has been pretty incredible. He is a solid 3 point shooter and a great passer. He loves getting Mobley and Allen some thunderous dunks. He is so much fun to watch. Go Cavs :)

[dootjai]

Question though: Ben has covered quite a few short point guards in different videos like Morant, Mitchell etc., and most of them have mediocre defence at best. So what makes Chris Paul such a good defender back in his prime? (obviously he's dropped off now)

[israelschuman]

My goodness that shot is gorgeous to watch

[derekwang]

Something about the way you breakdown players is both entertaining but informative. Hopefully Garland does put on some muscle and help this upstart Cavs team even more. Well done!

[ifheavenwashuman]

It’s incredible that yet another 6’2 Point Guard has changed the direction of a franchise at such a rapid pace. It’s unbelievable. I hope we as fans of the sport don’t get comfortable and expect that kind of stuff to be normal because it just isn’t.

[SportsU]

Yeah I watched the Cavs Blazers game last night and he has good moves and can shoot outside and over bigs

[tdW]

Garland's saving grace is definitely that ultra quick shooting stroke along with having the offensive playmaking instincts. So I like the Mark Price comparison. The kids def should look up the 'what could have been' Cavs squad with the core Daugherty and Price. Maybe that is something the Cavs group should sorta build towards the first few years and see how Mobley's offensive game shapes up.

[coreyjohnson]

You're amazing with these break downs of players. I studied the game for a while now but you make me look like a preschoolers with this stuff. Breaking it down to a science. Keep up the amazing work.