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'I'm no punk': Darius Garland is 'accepting the challenge' from Kenny Atkinson on defense
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- 'I'm no punk': Darius Garland is 'accepting the challenge' from Kenny Atkinson on defense
CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers are bringing Darius Garland out of the shadows.
Head coach Kenny Atkinson has given Garland, a high-scoring threat each night but at times a target for opposing teams on the defensive end, a "challenge" to bolster his profile as a defender.
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Last season, particularly against teams such as the high-octane Boston Celtics , the Cavs effectively tried to hide Garland on the defensive end. That will no longer be the case.
"I just told him in the locker room, I don't want to hide him anymore," Atkinson said following the Cavs' comeback win over the Celtics Sunday night . "It's playoff [level] basketball. He's got to accept the challenge.
"He's smart. He's fast. He's strong. I don't see why he can't be a really good defender, and he's showing he can,"
In that Sunday night matchup against the defending champion Celtics, in which the Cavs mounted a comeback led by Donovan Mitchell 's 20 fourth-quarter points, Boston repeatedly tried to get Garland to switch onto star Jayson Tatum .
Boston Celtics forward Drew Peterson defends Cavaliers guard Darius Garland in the third quarter, Dec. 1, 2024, in Cleveland.
Over and over, Garland found himself in a 1-on-1 matchup with one of the toughest players in the league to defend. Tatum had plenty of success, finishing with 29 points, but Garland was able to do just enough to allow the Cavs to overtake Boston in the final two minutes.
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"They literally picked on him every single play," Atkinson said. "That's their style of play. And this goes back to me watching the playoffs last year, I think [the previous coaching staff] did different things to hide him. And my point to Darius: 'We're not hiding you. You're good enough. Accept the challenge.'"
Cavaliers guards Darius Garland (10) and Donovan Mitchell celebrate a win over the Boston Celtics, Dec. 1, 2024, in Cleveland.
Darius Garland 's defense a key factor in possible Cavaliers -Celtics playoff preview
The Cavs-Celtics matchup is a marquee pairing. Despite the Cavs starting this season on the second-best run in NBA history, behind only the 73-win Golden State Warriors in 2015-16, many will see the East as still going through Boston until somebody unseats them in the playoffs.
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It allows the Cavaliers to learn some important things leading into a possible playoff series. One element that was clear Sunday night: the Celtics are going to attack Garland as often as they possibly can. Garland kept meeting that challenge head-on.
"I think that's part of that growth [we've seen in him] is understanding that, all right, bet, I'm going to take this challenge," Mitchell said of Garland. "Yeah, you might hit a few, but at the end of the day, now I'm here."
Cavaliers guard Darius Garland drives to the basket between Boston Celtics center Al Horford (left) and forward Jayson Tatum in the fourth quarter, Dec. 1, 2024, in Cleveland.
Last year, Garland underwent jaw surgery and lost 12 pounds after he had to eat all his meals through a straw for weeks. He struggled to put the weight back on, but now at his normal playing weight, he's in a much better position to tackle a challenge like this on the defensive end.
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And he says he's happy to be out of those shadows.
"I'm no punk," Garland said after Sunday's win. "So ya'll want to try to switch and try to X me out and try to just hunt me out, it's cool. I ain't no punk though. I'm going to take a challenge."
Garland's defensive work was a focus over the offseason as he continued to put the weight back on and build up some needed muscle. He's maintained his status as an electric scorer capable of pouring in 30 or 35 each night. But he's been determined to become a more complete player.
It's all in preparation for games like Sunday's, in which Tatum at one point put his shoulder into Garland's chest in an effort to send him backward.
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"It means a lot," Garland said, speaking to no longer being hidden on the defensive end. "[Atkinson] knows the work that I put in from the offseason, even to now, just got to stay consistent with it. I'm a smaller guard. I know they're going to try to attack me, but I'm going to stay in the weight room for moments like this, trying to cave my chest in. But I'm going to keep working."
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cavaliers challenge Darius Garland on defense against Celtics
