INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — Darius Garland is the key for the Cavs to get to the NBA Finals. And it starts on Sunday in Game 1 of the first-round against the Miami Heat.
You can argue whether Evan Mobley or Garland will be under a stronger microscope this postseason. Mobley has experienced the biggest shift in his game this season but has already shown glimpses of his playoff potential, especially last year in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Boston Celtics, leaving fans eager for more.
As for Garland? Fans are still waiting on a playoff moment to cling to.
While this season has felt like a return to form — a redemption arc of sorts — the numbers don’t scream evolution. They whisper familiarity. Statistically, it’s an eerily similar Garland to his first All-Star nod in 2022 and even the season after. The 2023-24 season was an outlier that Garland described as the worst year of his life.
So the real question isn’t whether he’s back. It’s whether he’s grown.
“If I was to ask something more of him, I had this conversation with him. I’m like, you almost have to speed up your maturity level, leadership level,” Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson said of Garland on Thursday. “You’re 25, and I need you to be 28.”
We’ve seen the artistry. Handles so smooth they should come with a caution label. Passing vision that flows like jazz — improvised, instinctive, effortlessly elegant. And those deep 3s? They don’t just drop — they hum through Rocket Arena like a live wire, sending shockwaves through the crowd.
But in the playoffs, style isn’t what separates the elite. It’s steadiness. Maturity. A refusal to flinch.
Because sometimes Garland can get carried away in his own magic, leading to mistakes. Ones that will be much more noticeable against this version of Miami.
Yet, it’s not necessarily the mistakes that Atkinson is referencing. It’s not about whether Garland can shimmy past a trap or nail a floater in traffic. It’s about the next-play mentality. About not letting a missed call become a missed quarter. About not barking at refs.
There was a moment on Friday when Garland was caught arguing with a referee in an intrasquad scrimmage.
“I yelled at him at practice yesterday,” Atkinson said after practice on Saturday. “There was something that went on. It was a little thing, but it was like, this is what I’m talking about. And I think it was a reaction to the referee or he got hit and this is going to happen in the playoffs. You’re going to get hit. You’re going to hit you every which way. How are we going to react? Kind of that next play. You’re going to have the next play mentality because you’re going to be a target.
“He’s been stupendous this year for the most part, but we need him to take it even to another level.”
And when the Heat turn the dial up — which they will from the jump in Game 1 — how Garland responds will determine if Cleveland sprints to the next round or gets stuck in the same treadmill of unmet expectations.
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In the playoffs, momentum can pivot on a breath — one blink, one beat too slow, and it’s gone. Garland doesn’t have the luxury of frustration. Because as Atkinson knows too well, the Heat will poke and prod until they find a soft spot. And if they sense Garland’s headspace is slipping? They’ll come at him twice as hard.
This isn’t new to Garland.
Throughout the regular season, Garland has been targeted by opposing teams on the defensive end to see how he could hold up in the Cavs’ switch-heavy defense. And Atkinson has let it happen. He’s encouraged it — not to expose him, but to season him. So, when the playoffs arrive and everything tightens, Garland wouldn’t be caught off guard. He’d already be calloused.
It’s what Garland has been preparing for behind the scenes all season. And the Heat are the perfect first test for the 25-year-old.
“I go out there and be myself, have a lot of confidence, go play with some physicality, go play with some toughness,” Garland said. “Try to be as physical as much as I can though I know Miami has always been a physical team, they like to get up in you, so try to deliver some blows back and go have fun. I mean this is the best part of the year. It’s the most important part of the year, so just go out there, have fun, lead my guys and go win the series.”
To win the series, it’s not just about Garland’s defense and taking the punishment, it’s about how it will affect his body and production on the offensive end.
Miami wouldn’t be the first team to put a defender on Garland for 94-feet to disrupt his rhythm and get him out of a flow before coming back down the floor with the same intensity right at him. Over and over again. Garland won’t just be running the offense — he’ll be running a gauntlet.
“We need [him] to be great. Not good, great,” Garland’s mentor Tristan Thompson said at the end of the regular season. “Good, and we’re going to be in a long series. Great, [we] get guys out the way early. So that’s got to be the mentality.”
Last season, Garland was down nearly 20 pounds from his playing weight after suffering a fractured jaw. This year has been entirely about revenge and proving that he can a player the Cavs can rely on in the playoffs.
Atkinson, the coaching staff and Garland have done all they can behind the scenes to help their point guard improve his focus in the weight room, recovery and keep his body in the best shape possible for these moments.
But it will be keeping his emotions in check that will determine how far the Cavs go in the playoffs and if all that work will actually be put to use.
Because there’s one goal in mind for Garland and this group.
“Winning the ring,“ Garland said. ”That’s the only thing that’s successful. Winning the championship, bringing one back to Cleveland. That’s the only picture I can think of right now.”
To me, Garland’s grown. Maybe not all the way to 28, but far enough. He’s played chess all season long with the defensive coverages thrown his way. He’s learned when to push, when to probe, when to pull back. He understands now that tempo isn’t just pace — it’s control.
And if he controls this series? Cleveland walks.
I’ve got the Cavs in five.
Yes, the Heat are tough. Yes, they’ve got championship DNA. But this version of Garland? The one with a controlled fire and a killer instinct? He’ll crack their code. He doesn’t need to be the loudest voice in the room — just the calmest.
And when Garland is smiling, it usually means the Cavs are cooking.
Watch the body language. Watch the composure. If Darius Garland is nodding, smiling, and walking back on defense like he’s already seen the movie play out — then Cleveland’s about to start a different of streak.
