Darius Garland: Master of Deception

[@unclefuncledan]

Garland gives me all the joy I get from watching Kyrie without all the baggage. It's like he's playing in the 3rd person knowing how multiple defenders are watching him and he flicks the ball right in the blind spot.

[@anpherknee]

I definitely try to let guys be their own guy when I talk about them but the kyrie parallels was definitely all up in that footage lol Just an uncanny amount of control while doing the most ridiculous stuff imaginable. Mans puttin on for all the undershirt hoopers out there looool

[@rba7712]

The control and balance are similar with DG and Kyrie, but their actual games -- in terms of what they attempt to accomplish on the floor -- are completely different. Kyrie is a walking bucket. Best handle I've ever seen and best finisher under 6-foot-4 I've ever seen. He's out there to put a bucket on you first and foremost. When all else fails, Kyrie will set up a teammate, but it doesn't seem to be something that comes naturally to him. Garland is completely the opposite. He seems to get way more joy out of teammates scoring than himself. It was actually a problem early in his career because he wants others to flourish so badly, he wasn't aggressive enough to move the defense. The increased usage this year changed all of that. But he has way more in common with Steve Nash and Steph Curry than Kyrie, imo. A born leader and point guard. Great scorers are not that difficult to find in the NBA in 2022. Guys like Garland? An absolute gem. He contributed more to winning basketball this year than Kyrie ever did in his pre-LeBron Cavs years. I can't say enough about this guy. Like you said, he's an assassin and fierce competitor, but does it all with a smile and a joy that is contagious to his teammates. This Cavs team is going to be *really good* in a couple years.

[@anpherknee]

@@rba7712 yes functionally he is much more egalitarian in his approach on the court than kyrie for sure but from a pure entertainment factor of "Im bout to cook this dude", when he get to dancing, only kyrie and a few others bring that level of aesthetic entertainment lol

[@splashnba]

ive honestly always thought of garand of a new generation chris paul with his passing ability and scoring when needed, also nice vid!

[@anpherknee]

Appreciate it fam, he definitely has the skills to affect the game in similar ways, tho that cp3 feller is relentless at making people pay at all times looool With some more basketball under his belt, maybe he can turn into the mismatch generating nightmare cp3 is for 48 mins

[@williammckay6273]

Huge DG fan. Really hope he can bulk up so he doesn’t get picked on down low by bigger guards and he can get to the line more.

[@Kemet3.0]

Actually, the mix between Curry and CP3.

[@chrisisslick]

That's what I've been saying too, very Cp3 like.

[@monkeyduhluffy]

i clicked on this so fast. been excited for this one

[@anpherknee]

less gooooooo lol

[@lukaskriz9697]

Watching this man hoop is something special. so shifty and crafty

[@mcrinney6659]

I love garland. Though I don't think he's the main player to build a champ team around, I think he's the perfect player next to mobley

[@anpherknee]

Guys with his physical profile rarely are those type of guys, which is fine, all they need is a little more creation from the wing spot and they might be in business (Poor okoro I hope he learn how to shoot 😥)

[@michaelbyrne9246]

Amazing video, and as a Cavs fan one thing I want to make clear for the viewers is that after Rubio and Sexton went down, Garland was the team's only dependable ball handler and playmaker for the entire second half of the season, and the Cavs roster wasn't constructed as a space team. Garland was usually operating as the sole ball handler in a crowded half court. His ability to take lids odd defenses working in those conditions was amazing. What I'm looking forward end to seeing more of next season is possibly Garland without the ball action. He moves well without the ball and his ability to catch and shoot can come in handy. With a LeVert/Allen pick and roll with DG on the wing waiting to shoot there could be some nice sets next year.

[@xyasuke99]

Having Donovan Mitchell on the Cavs right now pretty much fixes all those problems

[@maxforstag]

Nice video. DG's handle and creative finishing ability remind me a lot of Kyrie and his shiftiness a bit of Steve Nash. Some of these lobs and passes are insane. Gonna be real interesting to see if my Cavs can take the next step this season.

[@killerra]

I was so bummed about the Cavs not making the Playoffs that I had to wait a couple weeks before watching this one lmao. Great breakdown on how he constantly probes the defense. It must be super annoying to deal with him lurking the perimeter.

[@anpherknee]

I wasnt bummed about anything in particular so I don't have an excuse as to why it took me over a month to see and reply to this lmao Thanks for watching fam

[@bjyrad785]

He just keeps getting better.

[@PensFan35]

His elusiveness rating in madden would be 99. One issue with this next-level body control tho is that he actually ranked just outside the top 50 in personal fouls drawn. Maybe/hopefully we see this number rise alongside his stardom. He’s such a great free throw shooter it would be a waste not to develop some additional fishing skills.

[@anpherknee]

absolutely. I didn't get into it into the video, but while we can put respect on how crazily skilled the stuff he does on the basketball court is, some of it is admittedly high variance, and we saw in that 2nd play in game that the glass is a little less kind and those more elusive attempts are a little less precise in high leverage situations, so him getting to the line more consistently is the next step for sure to stabilize that production

[@rba7712]

@@anpherknee Can we also agree that he doesn't get a favorable whistle? Garland doesn't sell contact which I guess is a trait young guards need to learn, but I actually like that he doesn't spend his time flopping around and trying to trick officials into bailing him out. He is almost always looking to score or create, not draw a whistle. I'm sure he will mature and grow into that awareness to draw more FTAs, but I also think his lack of flopping is where the league needs to go. *shrug*

[@anpherknee]

@@rba7712 for sure The last thing ima do is advocate for somebody to be a whistle merchant lmao He has a similar problem to the one I described in the edwards video where he prolly just need to take a lil off the fastball to help these awful refs actually see what happened when he actually gets fouled lol

[@prin5258]

Banger of a vid.

[@anpherknee]

appreciate it fam

[@cannebergeframboise]

damn show us 1 passing highlight, Mr. Knee!

[@cannebergeframboise]

i appreciate you and this is an excellent breakdown of the Darius Garland shiftiness

[@anpherknee]

Good things come to those who wait fam 👀

[@danielsanford1763]

W video W KZbinr

[@anpherknee]

W comment my good brother we appreciate dat

[@MoreTruths]

He is a Nightmare

[@tagtheroller]

Is it possible for you to miss

[@anpherknee]

I have been called "the chris Paul game 6 vs the pelicans" of KZbin shooty hoops discussions before 🤔 Lol

[@tagtheroller]

@@anpherknee shooty hoops my new favorite thing fr

[@gaberouse7374]

Jesus loves you and God bless