Darius Garland convinces Cavs he's teammate-of-year material by embracing Donovan Mitchell

CLEVELAND — Darius Garland could have become a malcontent.

But instead of pouting or behaving selfishly when the Cavaliers traded for All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell in a September blockbuster with the Utah Jazz, Garland embraced Cleveland's new leading scorer.

Upon Mitchell's arrival, Garland experienced what he considers "a smooth-sailing step back" from his previous role as the offense's top threat. Mitchell scored a game-high 40 points as the Cavs defeated the visiting Indiana Pacers 115-105 on Sunday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mitchell became the first player in franchise history to score at least 40 points in three consecutive games — a "legendary" stretch in Garland's book.

“It's really important having a guy his caliber come in and try to help this team get over the hump, make the next push," Garland said. "It means a lot to all of us. It's super cool just to have another guy like him, to be honest with you. So I take pride in it, just trying to make him feel comfortable coming to a new situation like this, something totally different than Utah."

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Garland's attitude is the top reason he's a candidate for the 2022-23 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award and the NBA Sportsmanship Award.

"I want to be a good teammate," said Garland, the fifth overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. "[As a point guard, I'm the] head of the snake of this team, so it's cool just to have other people see the value."

Garland and 11 other NBA players were named finalists for the teammate of the year award last week in voting by a panel of league executives. Last year's recipient, Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday, was announced April 26. On Monday, the NBA announced Garland is one of six finalists for its top sportsmanship honor, which went to Brooklyn Nets guard Patty Mills last year on April 22. Players will select the winners of both awards.

“This whole year is an example of what a great teammate he is,” Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of Garland. “When you are a 23-year-old kid who's just kind of coming into your own, coming off an All-Star year, he could have very easily felt some kind of way about Donovan coming and joining this team.

“He could have continued through the year to feel some kind of way about Donovan's shots, Donovan's attention, Donovan's successes. But he never once had any concern, any issue with that. All he's ever done is support, and I think that speaks to who he is as a person and as a teammate.”

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Garland scored 20 points and registered six assists, three rebounds and two steals in 39 minutes to help the Cavs (49-30) finish their season series against the Pacers (34-45) with a 3-1 advantage. With the first of Garland's two successful 3-pointers, he passed Wesley Person for the eighth spot on the Cavs' all-time 3-pointers made list (552).

A native of Gary, Indiana, Garland is averaging 21.7 points, 7.8 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals for the playoff-bound Cavs. Last season, Garland led Cleveland with 21.7 points per game, a reason he received in July a five-year, $193 million rookie max contract extension, which could be worth up to $231 million with escalators.

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Mitchell pointed to Garland's energy, leadership qualities and maturity as reasons he deserves the teammate of the year award.

"I think he has the pulse of the group," Mitchell said. "He has everybody's ear. At a young age to have everybody's ear, that's something that speaks a lot about his character.

"He's always standing up on the bench cheering for guys, always giving his two cents. When things are going well and things aren't going well, he's always the same guy, the same teammate for us."

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Cleveland sits fourth in the Eastern Conference standings with three regular-season games left and will likely face the fifth-place New York Knicks (46-33) to open the postseason, which begins April 15. The Knicks clinched a playoff berth Sunday with their 118-109 win over the Washington Wizards. With road games Tuesday and Thursday against the Orlando Magic (34-44), the Cavs are one victory away from clinching home-court advantage in Round 1.

Garland's contributions to chemistry and camaraderie for a team headed to the playoffs for the first time since 2018 are not evident in box scores.

“His character off the court and on the court — he always brings everyone together,” Cavs forward Evan Mobley said.

Bickerstaff cited Garland's interactions with Mobley as additional evidence he's teammate-of-the-year material.

“He knows what Evan is capable of, and he tries to kick-start Evan time and time again, like force feed him the ball at times, having private conversations with him,” Bickerstaff said. “He just is willing to do for other people.

“Obviously, he's a hell of a talent and an individual player, but that's not his priority. His priority is just his teammates, and there's something about him that people just want to be around and people want to support him and have his back. And to me, that's because of his willingness to do for everybody else.”

Darius Garland learned about the intricacies of the NBA as a child

Growing up the son of former NBA point guard Winston Garland didn't hurt the younger Garland's knack for professionalism.

“His dad playing the position at the level that he did gives him a knowledge that a lot of people don't have,” Bickerstaff said. “Being a point guard in the NBA, it's not an easy job. … It is your responsibility that everybody is taken care of, [and] that mentality is not always easy.

“But I think Winnie is the perfect person who can walk Darius through all that stuff and teach him it at a young age where you're not developing bad habits or selfish habits and then trying to change. This is who Darius has always been, and a ton of credit [goes to] Winnie and [Garland's mother] Felicia for raising him the way that they have.”

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Winston Garland played seven NBA seasons spanning 1987-95 and shared the court with Hall of Fame teammates, including Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets) and Chris Mullin, Mitch Richmond and Tim Hardaway (Golden State Warriors).

It's a safe bet father and son have talked about facilitating for a prolific scorer like Mitchell, who's averaging 28 points this season.

“I know what Donovan can do on the floor,” Darius Garland said. “He's an elite scorer, and sometimes he needs the ball in his hands a lot more than I do when he's getting going or when he's hot.

“I just try to play my role and just try to help him because he does the same for me. When I'm getting going, he knows to just get me the ball and let me rock out.”

Garland conceded he had prepared himself mentally in the offseason to “shoot all the shots I can,” but then he accepted the need to adjust after Mitchell's arrival.

A consummate teammate indeed.

Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cavs rave about Darius Garland after embracing Donovan Mitchell