The Cleveland Cavaliers were removed from the NBA playoffs, and Darius Garland came for criticism.
It was a huge shock to see the Cleveland Cavaliers smashed 4-1 at the hands of the Indiana Pacers after 64 wins and destroying the Miami Heat 4-0 in the opening playoff round.
This has sparked intense criticism and there is a long way to go for the Cavs to return and try again next year.
In confronting the Pacers, head coach Kenny Atkinson simply reflected that physicality and mentality were two important aspects that led to their downfall.
Donovan Mitchell averaged 34.2 points per game during the series, but his teammates didn’t measure.
The Cavaliers player who struggled most was Darius Garland, who received harsh criticism from Kendrick Perkins.
Garland may get a pass for some as he chose to play in the left big thumbs that sidelined for the first two games of the series and two games with the Heat.
The All-Star Guard averaged 14.0 points and 4.0 assists while shooting 34.2% from the field (16.7% from Threes).
In a must-see game 5, Garland finished with just 11 points in a 4-16 shooting in 33 minutes at a loss that ended the 114-105 season.
“Look at yourself in the mirror, see what’s inside, and use it,” Garland recalled at the end of the season press conference.
“I was definitely not myself. It was pretty uncomfortable, but like I said, I tried to do anything to win the game.
“I didn’t want to lay out them, so I’m just happy I got out there. Even if we weren’t all 100%, we were all trying to put our best feet forward.
“So I’m happy I went out there, it doesn’t matter if I’m injured or not.
“They wanted me there. I wanted to be there, and I’m happy they went out and joined the war.”
All season, Garland was relatively healthy and played 75 games. He averaged 20.6 points with 6.7 assists and 2.9 rebounds.
Jeff Teague previously said that the success of the Cavs lies in the firepower of Garland and Mitchell. But in the most important times, Mitchell was the only one who appeared.
Regardless of what happens in this upcoming offseason, Garland has always had that love and admiration for the Cleveland city and the Cavs fanbase.
“It’s a lot of love for this city. I’m calling it now like my second home,” Garland said.
“I love the people here, it reminds me of where Gary, Indiana grew up, so it really feels like home to me. I’m really grateful to everyone here.