At the trade deadline, many looked at the LA Clippers sideways for viewing Darius Garland as a building block. To some degree, the criticism was fair; He didn’t have much on his resume, had flaws in his game, and underperformed in the playoffs for the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, Garland exceeded expectations in the Clippers’ biggest game of the season, during the Play-In Tournament, proving that he truly is someone the Clippers can consider a franchise star.
While LA lost, Garland recorded 21 points, eight assists, and five rebounds, shooting 8-15 from the field and 2-4 from beyond the arc.
Garland did foul out, but in the grand scheme of things, he did not show any frustration, as most players would, and maintained a consistent flow that tormented the Warriors every time he was on the court.
That’s what matters, and at the end of the day, it backs the Clippers up for their thinking.
The LA Clippers were absolutely right about Darius Garland
The stat line Darius Garland recorded with the season on the line looks about average for him. He’s usually someone who can log 20 points and seven assists on a nightly basis, as his career averages have been around these numbers, so what’s special?
Well, off the film, the Golden State Warriors were trying their best to get the ball out of the hands of Garland and Kawhi Leonard. They succeeded with the two-time champion, who disappointed in a variety of ways, but Garland still found ways to succeed.
He was moving off the ball, navigating around screens, and ultimately did anything and everything to find a mismatch to expose.
And, none of these is the best part. Garland was most impressive in the fourth, where he made a tough and-one, then, with under seven minutes left, and the game tight, he confidently drained a filthy, contested 29-foot three-pointer.
Superstars show up in the biggest of moments, and Garland succeeded in doing just that.
Additionally, he handled the ball extremely well under a ton of pressure and dished out pinpoint passes from start to finish, which deserves credit.
So, though fans of the Clippers may be in tears, crying that the season is over, at least the front office was spot on about Garland’s potential.
This makes the future extremely exciting, especially because he is the type of player who can co-exist alongside basically anyone in the league.
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