Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson sees similarities between Warriors superstar Stephen Curry and Darius Garland and expounds on his take from coaching the revolutionary 3-point shooter en route to a championship. Despite watching Garland miss clutch free throws in a loss to the Houston Rockets, Atkinson, a former Warriors assistant coach who helped guide Golden State to an NBA title in 2022, pointed to striking resemblances.

For starters, Garland’s two-way game compared to Curry’s approach on both ends of the floor, per Cleveland.com’s Ethan Sands.

“To me, that’s probably, as a star status, a superstar status is being able to do it both ends. And that was the Steph physical improvement we saw,” Atkinson said. “[We] saw the pictures of Steph when he was young. I know when I was with him in ’22, you couldn’t pick on him. He could guard [Jayson] Tatum. He could guard Jaylen Brown. You could switch with him. He could hold his own and then do it on the other end.

“That’s gonna be Darius. And that’s what he’s doing right now with his habits and how he’s getting stronger.”

Garland reacted to Atkinson’s comparison after a 132-126 win against the Raptors on January 9.

“He’s one of the greatest players to ever play this game, especially at the position that I am and a smaller guard,” Garland said. “So, it’s super cool just having that comparison from [Atkinson]. I watch so much film on Steph, so I try to implement some of the stuff that he does into my game and try to do it my way.”

Both players dealt with nagging injuries before and after entering the NBA, which delayed their progress toward their potential. A torn meniscus ended Garland’s collegiate season early, and ankle injuries plagued Darius Garland and Stephen Curry’s early years.

Last season, Darius suffered a jaw fracture that caused him to miss six weeks. However, he’s on pace this year to make his second All-Star appearance in next month’s All-Star Game.

Donovan Mitchell reacts to Darius Garland missing free throws

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Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) celebrates in the fourth quarter against the Houston Rockets at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse

David Richard-Imagn Images

Head coach Kenny Atkinson’s Cavs are dealing with injuries while leaning on All-Star Donovan Mitchell and point guard Darius Garland’s steady production. After Garland missed a pair of critical free throws at the end of the Cavs’ 135-131 loss to the Rockets, Mitchell defended his backcourt mat, per SB Nation’s Jackson Flickinger.

“I’d rather it now than in June,” Mitchell said. “At the end of the day, we wouldn’t have gotten those free throws if you didn’t do what you do. He’s been great all year, great in the fourth all year. It happens. It happens to everybody.”

The Cavs will host the Pistons on Monday.