The Cleveland Cavaliers are rolling and Darius Garland continues to play a key part in the team’s success. The Cavs guard has just been named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the second time this season, the NBA announced Monday. He joins Nikola Jokic and Jayson Tatum as the only players in the Association to win the award more than once so far in the 2024-25 campaign, per Brett Seigel.
As you can see above, Garland averaged 26 points and 7.7 assists in three appearances last week, also shooting 52.8% from the field. The Vanderbilt product is posting career highs in points and three-point percentage, averaging 20.9 ppg while draining 42.9% of his triples.
After trade rumors swirled for a lot of the offseason, Garland is fully proving his worth to the Cavs, who look like a legitimate title contender. Sunday’s 108-93 loss to the Indiana Pacers ended a 12-game winning streak for Kenny Atkinson’s squad. They also beat the OKC Thunder last week in a battle between two of the top teams in the league.
Garland’s best game last week came against Toronto on January 9. He torched the rebuilding Raptors, balling out for 40 points in 35 minutes of action. The 24-year-old also dished out nine assists and was 4 for 7 from downtown.
He scored 20 points as well in the loss to the Pacers, which led the Cavs. It was a very quiet night for the second-highest-scoring club in the Association. They average 122.1 ppg. Cleveland has a chance at revenge on Tuesday as they visit Indy.
Garland will be looking to keep it rolling. With Donovan Mitchell struggling so far this month when it comes to scoring the rock, his co-star has been picking up the offensive slack alongside Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.
This latest POTW is a well-deserved award for Garland and a testament to how much he’s improved since last season.
The youngster is locked in.
