The Cavaliers have an elite offense because this player returned to All-Star form

The Cleveland Cavaliers are eating the fruits of the Darius Garland Renaissance. The 24-year-old former All-Star has been one of the NBA’s leading snipers through the start of the season, helping propel the Wine and a Gold to an 8-0 record (in 13 days). second ranked league offense and to Eastern Conference playoff contention.

“He’s a true point guard,” coach Kenny Atkinson said after Monday’s win over the Milwaukee Bucks in which Garland scored 39 points. Atkinson also praised him for his 10 assists against the Bucks two nights prior.

Garland is a threat on and off the ball who can be the trigger man or the go-to option. He’s producing 20.5 points on 66 percent true shooting and 63.6 percent effective field goals while receiving fewer touches than his peers. Considering guards who have played at least six games, 39 others average more touches and 23 players onion a higher time of possession.

Notably, his confidence is back to attack off the dribble, as his pull-up split is up 4.5 percent and his catch-and-shoot numbers have improved by 10.9 percent. Garland’s on-ball accuracy is a premium for the Cavaliers because Donovan Mitchell can stay in single coverage for longer with another shot creator present. Don’t forget that only a third of Garland’s two-pointers are assisted.

On the catch, he is so accurate (46.7 percent) that he cannot be helped on the perimeter. Only 25.9 percent of Garland’s deep attempts come from the corner, but it’s another area where he can punish rivals as it’s easiest shot in the NBA — as defenses drop off it first to bother the court — and it’s a seamless attempt for him as he drops 46.7 percent of looks.

On the half court, he is a screen trader. Defending him in drop coverage is a futile gamble because the Cavaliers have good screening to contain the point-of-attack guard. His range requires the other defender to come up, but they risk being caught on a throw by the pick-setter.

Plus, he’s getting various teammates involved — through eight outings, he’s set up five of them at least five times (Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, Mitchell, Dean Wade and Georges Niang). His top two targets on offense are Allen and Mobley via the pick-and-roll, hit-ahead passes and help off the dribble penetration. Of his 52 dimes, 44.2 percent of them have set up the big duo.

But that’s not the only way he plays; he has also increased his screening. As Mobley launches attacks on the open course, Garland has set choices for easier downhill access. As soon as the screen slides, Garland becomes a dangerous option on the sideline. Conversely, the Cavaliers who feed Garland the most are Mitchell plus Wade with nine and six assists.

For starters, he takes good care of the ball. His assist-to-turnover ratio is 2.74.

On defense, Garland’s size will always be a problem against bigger ball carriers, but he competes. Nevertheless, he is a contributor as a helper or passing lane stealer in the NBA fifth-ranked defense. On top of that, the Cavaliers have the starting unit top defensive rating of all first rotations.

To hide him, putting him on specialists or weak ball carriers is effective. For example, in the first game against the Bucks on November 2, he spent most of his time defending Gary Trent Jr. and Taurean Prince; the former was a dud that night and the latter took a shot at him. But in the win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 30, Garland checked D’Angelo Russell, a decent guard who mostly shoots from the outside.

When interviewed by sideline reporter Serena Winters after the win at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks on Oct. 28, Garland said he played aggressively and with joy. That hasn’t changed and he’s getting stronger as the season goes on. Watch out for the Cavaliers as Garland hits midseason form.

All stats reflect games played through November 5th