CLEVELAND — Darius Garland wasn’t simply chilling on his patio playing the recent air after the Cavaliers traded for three-time All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell on Sept. 1.
For a pair hours on a daily basis for 2 weeks, Garland would sit down in entrance of a small tv out of doors at his house in Nashville, staring at movie of Mitchell’s 5 years with the Utah Jazz.
First-time All-Star level guard Garland focused on ultimate season, when 35-year-old veteran Mike Conley used to be in large part operating the Jazz offense. But Garland additionally went again to 2017-18, when Mitchell entered the league because the 13th total select of Louisville.
“That’s when he was really aggressive. He had a chip on his shoulder,” Garland mentioned after Wednesday’s shootaround. “He still does to this day, but he had a real chip on his shoulder coming in. You could see the aggressiveness coming out a lot, too.”
Some of what Garland noticed on movie got here to existence Wednesday night time within the Cavs’ 105-99 preseason victory over the Atlanta Hawks at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
As the brand new backcourt pair tries to jell sooner than the Oct. 19 season opener in Toronto, Mitchell noticed giant growth in opposition to the Hawks.
It wasn’t only a play in the second one quarter when he drove the lane and kicked the ball to Garland within the nook for an open 3. With middle Robin Lopez and Garland within the 3rd quarter, Mitchell mentioned they ran the similar motion effectively 4 occasions in a row and he can most effective consider if middle Jarrett Allen or middle/ahead Evan Mobley were within the sport.
“I go set the pindown for the big and [Garland] comes up,” Mitchell mentioned. “Obviously it was Rolo, but now you’ve got to think, ‘Is that Evan? Is that Jarrett? What does that look like?’ That’s something I ran in Utah a bunch of times.
“That’s what I try to bring, different stuff. Not to come in and try to overrule anything, but making things a little bit easier for both of us. That’s something I’m really comfortable with and to see us continuously get better at it.”
Mitchell mentioned the Cavs “really unlocked a few things” with Garland, but didn’t want to reveal too many details.
“I think we saw a bunch of things that make the game a lot easier for both of us and where we like to be,” Mitchell mentioned. “Putting ourselves in the same action.
“That third quarter really opened my eyes at least, he obviously knows the system, knows where he likes to get going. But for me, like, ‘OK, we can manipulate it here and not having to continuously run.’ I think we’re good. We can be much better. I think we’re in a really good place and can continue to build.”
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Coach J.B. Bickerstaff may not play his starters much in Friday’s preseason finale at Orlando with the regular season opener Oct. 19 at Toronto. But he’s pleased with the time Mitchell and Garland have put in trying to learn about each other.
“Donovan and DG work extremely well together. They study together,” Bickerstaff mentioned Tuesday. “We talked about the willingness to make something work and a willingness to help somebody besides yourself.
“Taking time to watch another guy so that you can help him speaks to Darius’ character and leadership because he understands the value of it. I think it definitely helps. It gives him a better understanding of where he can put him and where he can deliver the ball to him. And then what the floor should look like around him when he does.”
Garland’s motivation to watch Mitchell’s Utah film was twofold. He wanted to see how Mitchell retained his aggressiveness when playing off the ball and also where he likes his passes.
“Just seeing his aggressiveness off the ball when him and Mike were playing together, that’s pretty effective for me,” Garland mentioned. “Just see where he likes the ball and some actions that they used to run in Utah where he likes to get it.
“Where he likes his shots, where he’s more effective scoring, where he can help us a lot more. Just trying to figure it out, not even really talking more, it’s just playing and figuring it out throughout the game.”
Mitchell said he and Garland had a conversation Tuesday about spacing, with Mitchell seeking Garland’s input.
“We’re both saying the same thing, just in different languages,” Mitchell said.
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Another aspect is putting each other in their sweet spots to shoot while also positioning with guards Caris LeVert or Isaac Okoro, the top candidates for the starting small forward spot, and Mobley, sidelined in preseason with a sprained ankle.
“That all goes into being a point guard, a leader and being a talented young player in this league,” Mitchell said. “We’re both going to help each other out.”
Allen sees the growing chemistry between Mitchell and Garland, which will be essential if the Cavs are to secure a top six seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
“It’s been good. You can see ‘em working together on the offensive end,” Allen said Wednesday. “One play one person will take it up, the next the other will take it up. They’re kind of telling each other how to run the offense and figure out what’s best for us.”
Bickerstaff doesn’t believe it will require weeks for Mitchell and Garland to jell.
“I don’t think so. It will take time for all of us to get it figured out,” Bickerstaff mentioned pregame. “Those guys are so talented that they’ll find ways to score.
“What we have to do is find a way to have a complete offensive system. That’s what’s more impactful. Donovan and Darius on their own could go out and get 25 to 30. But how does that impact everybody else? I think that’s the thing that is going to take us some time. It just takes game reps at game speed to do it.”
Mitchell could hardly contain his enthusiasm for what he’s building with Garland.
“There’s things that J.B. put in that we didn’t really run tonight. I’m like, ‘OK, I can see how we work here, and we work here.’ And that’s exciting,” Mitchell said. “That’s what keeps you going and we still haven’t played Evan Mobley yet. I’m excited. I think we all are, and we can be better.”
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.