The addition of Donovan Mitchell this past offseason changed a lot of things for the Cleveland Cavaliers. After defeating the Miami Heat on Wednesday night, 104-100, the Cavs now have a 42-26 record. They remain well on their way to making the postseason for the first time without LeBron James since 1998. But it wasn’t Mitchell who led the way for the Cavs this time; it was Darius Garland who took command, despite having gone under the radar despite posting better numbers this season than in his All-Star 2021-22 campaign.
Against the Heat, Garland led the Cavs in scoring and assists, dropping 25 points and seven dimes to lead the way amid a poor shooting night from Mitchell. In fact, Garland impressed Mitchell so much with his razzle-dazzle moves that Spida could not help but express his euphoria over his backcourt mate’s solid performance with a rhyme.
Posting on his official Twitter account, Donovan Mitchell echoed the great New York Knicks point guard and current color commentator Walt “Clyde” Frazier with his praise for Darius Garland.
“DG THE PG @dariusgarland22 ‼️‼️‼️” Mitchell wrote.
Of course, that rhyme pales in comparison to Walt Frazier’s iconic “posting and toasting” line; perhaps Donovan Mitchell is saving his more impressive feats of wordplay after a more explosive performance from Darius Garland.
Perhaps Mitchell could bring out “Garland in command” for when the Cavs point guard takes over a game or maybe even “Darius drops a deuce” when he nails a crucial two-point field goal. (These are all cringeworthy; how Frazier manages to make these sorts of rhymes work and roll off the tongue is simply marvelous.)
Nevertheless, as one might glean from the Cavs’ efforts against the Heat, it’s the plethora of talent they have that makes them such a frightening team to face. Everyone knows that Donovan Mitchell can explode at any given night. He even went off for 71 earlier this year.
But Darius Garland’s presence puts the Cavs at such an enviable position of having two incredible ball-handlers setting the table for them. The hope now is that Mitchell and Garland continue their synergy and lead the Cavs to a deep playoff run.