In the past four games, the Cavaliers have achieved a record of 4 wins and 0 losses under Garland, which has surpassed the Bucks and temporarily ranked fourth in the East. As the Cavaliers' current scoring leader, Garland averaged 20.5 points, 6 rebounds and 12.8 assists per game in these four games, especially in the past two games, Garland has delivered 30 assists, becoming the Cavaliers' next person in addition to James in the past 20 years. It was with this performance that Garland won the Eastern Conference Player of the Week, the first time in his career.
Although it was just halfway through the season, Garland's performance was far better than the previous two seasons. In his first 39 games for the Cavaliers this season, Garland averaged 19.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 7.9 assists, as well as 1.3 steals per game. Although the Cavaliers have gradually changed to the "Big Five" tactics, the only person who is most suitable for partnering with this big man is Garland, and it is under Garland's strategizing that the Cavaliers can play well this season.
When Garland was drafted by the Cavaliers in 2019, his situation here was not favorable. Due to the similarity of playing styles, the cooperation between Garland and Sexton was not optimistic, and Sexton was also a player who liked to hold the ball in his hands, and after the Cavaliers had established him as the core of the team, Garland did not have many opportunities to perform on the court. However, Garland ignored this, but concentrated on doing his part, and gradually gained the trust of the Knights' management.
Since entering the NBA, Garland has been careful to develop his three-point shooting ability, because he knows that if he wants to survive in the NBA, ensuring a stable three-point shooting rate to adapt to the small-ball era is the safest way. Counting this season, Garland has entered the NBA for three seasons, his average three-point shooting rate remains at 37.3%, and in terms of performance in the same period, Garland even beat James that year.
After the three-point shooting ability gradually improved, Garland did not relax in using breakthroughs to create offensive threats. Compared to Sexton's speed-based breakthroughs, Garland knows how to use physical confrontation to gain the upper hand during the march, and Garland's ability to change direction and accelerate secondarily during the breakthrough with the ball is also very good. Whenever the Cavaliers' game enters a critical moment, Garland handles key balls better than Sexton.
Because Sexton was too focused on scoring, Garland became the player with the most passes from the Cavaliers, and during the game, Garland also knew how to read the game and observe the running position of his teammates on the field. After dribbling past halfway, Garland always directs his teammates to land and starts to deploy the attack according to the coach's tactics. Especially when working with the big men in the team, Garland always chooses the first pass after completing the blocking, creating better scoring opportunities for his teammates.
As Garland's performance on the court has gotten better and better, the Cavaliers management has gradually put the focus of their development on him, and coupled with Sexton's injury, the Cavaliers are also ready to re-integrate the team's personnel structure. Compared to Sexton, who plays more exclusively, Garland is more helpful to the Cavaliers on the offensive end and more selfless. After gradually playing a stable performance, Garland also gradually replaced Sexton as the new brother of the Cavaliers.