Darius Garland deserves an All-Star nomination, but NBA fans continue overlooking his remarkable impact on the Cleveland Cavaliers this year.
Darius Garland may not be a nationwide superstar yet, but he will be soon. In his third NBA season, Garland’s made a significant leap in ability and production. Garland’s growth is not only impacting his individual status, either. As a team, the Cleveland Cavaliers are playing great basketball and currently sit a couple of games back of first place. However, despite Garland’s crucial contributions, many attribute the Cavs’ success to their overwhelming size advantage.
That said, this article is not a debate about who’s more important to the Cavaliers. No, this article is all about why Darius Garland is a bonafide All-Star, regardless of what NBA voters say. As of January 20th, the updated All-Star ballot results are as follows:
https://twitter.com/NBAPR/status/1484224352962949120?s=20
Initially, this ballot does not scream: “What the hell is wrong with voters?” However, by taking a second look, it is a somewhat confusing leaderboard of players. First and foremost, get Kyrie Irving off of this list right away. Secondly, several players’ vote totals are boosted by notoriety and not so much their actual on-court play. Specifically, players not worthy of an All-Star nod include Carmelo Anthony, LaMarcus Aldridge, Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, and, sadly enough, Klay Thompson.
However, once again, that is not the primary purpose of this article. So, to stop beating around the bush, here are the reasons why Darius Garland is headed towards his first-career NBA All-Star Game.
Hometown Hero
The 2022 NBA All-Star Game is located in none other than Cleveland, Ohio. While this in of itself should not warrant a representative, the Cavs’ record alongside it does. With a 28-19 record, the Cavaliers rank fourth in the eastern conference. Therefore, someone on the Cavs simply must make it. And, as it appears, someone might.
Jarrett Allen is in sixth place for frontcourt players with 507,074 votes. Moreover, it is justifiable that everyone above him honestly earned their spots. However, the same is not true for Darius Garland. With 343,551 votes, Garland holds the ninth most votes amongst eastern conference guards. Derrick Rose is directly above him, though, with a whopping 147,104 additional votes, which makes no sense, but more on this later.
For now, though, let’s determine, in the scenario only one Cavalier makes it, who it should be. Look, truthfully, both guys in their own right deserve the honor. Allen is one of the NBA’s best threats above the rim on both ends of the court. Whereas, nobody affects the Cavaliers’ offensive play quite like Garland because of his scoring and distributing.
Allen’s shoes are not easily filled, but much more so than Garland’s. Not because one is better than the other, but rather due to Cleveland’s positional depth. With Ricky Rubio and Collin Sexton out for the year, the Cavs’ do not have another lethal guard scorer on their roster. In comparison, if Allen missed time, the Cavs’ could cover it up with other big men like Evan Mobley, Lauri Markkanen, and Kevin Love. Therefore, by strictly considering team value, the pick should be Darius Garland. That said, Allen’s path to becoming an All-Star should be easier with 160,000+ extra votes and the All-Star roster including three frontcourt reserves versus two guard reserves.
All-Star Game Roster Availability
When fan voting ends, the NBA will take the million or so votes for Kyrie Irving and immediately throw them out. Kyrie is phenomenal at basketball, but with only seven games played, he does not even come close to deserving an All-Star honor. With him out of the way, we should establish who are no-doubters for the game.
The All-Star roster allows for two starting guards, two backups, and two people who play any position. It is also important to note the reserves are selected by the 30 NBA coaches and not the fans. Therefore, the voting discrepancy between Garland and Rose is irrelevant. Nonetheless, it is all but guaranteed that DeMar DeRozan, Trae Young, Zach LaVine, and James Harden will comprise the four specified guard slots.
As a result, Darius Garland and every other fringe all-star will be fighting for the same spots. Therefore, we should now clarify which frontcourt players are likely headed to Cleveland. Clearly, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Joel Embiid will start for the eastern conference. Subsequently, Jayson Tatum and Jimmy Butler appear to be next in line. After that, voting numbers take a huge dip, with Jarrett Allen as the next highest vote-getter. And with Bam Adebayo and Pascal Siakkam playing in just 22 and 31 games, respectively, considering them as all-star representatives seems unlikely.
Therefore, in opposition to earlier statements, Jarrett Allen’s destined is to play in this year’s All-Star game, regardless of Darius Garland’s status. However, Cleveland’s constant hate from the outside world could easily result in a noteworthy snub. Nevertheless, with no other clear frontcourt frontrunners, the final two positionless players should go to guards. Finally, the article arrives at the main point.
Darius Garland vs. LaMelo Ball vs. Fred VanVleet
Unfortunately, another player in the east is pretty much a lock to play. LaMelo Ball‘s popularity is well-deserved, but maybe not to the extent that the voting results show. Of course, the Ball family endures monumental media focus, but LaMelo is truthfully very talented and should play in Cleveland. However, he is honestly not that much better than Garland.
Of course, LaMelo’s height, alongside his teammates’ lack thereof, provides him with numerous rebounding opportunities. Even so, Garland is averaging just four fewer boards a night (3.3 vs. 7.3). Beyond that, the two players’ numbers line up pretty similarly. On a nightly basis, Garland averages 0.8 more points, 0.5 more assists, but 0.4 fewer steals. Not to mention Garland is making a little more than 5% more of his shot attempts compared to Ball.
Nonetheless, Ball is going to be an All-Star because of his popularity. The next competitor for the final spot is Fred VanVleet. When initially looking at his numbers, VanVleet appears to be an All-Star caliber player. However, in comparison to Garland, VanVleet’s additional 1.9 ppg, 1.4 rpg, and 0.5 spg possibly arise from an extra 3.4 minutes on the floor. But, more importantly, look at the two players’ teams. Garland’s leading a 5th seeded Cavaliers’ team, while VanVleet’s Raptors sit in ninth place with a .500 record (22-22).
Can the Celtics have Two All-Stars Again?
The final two players in consideration include Derrick Rose and Jaylen Brown. Primarily, Rose is just not an All-Star. Sure, everyone would love to see it, but he simply doesn’t deserve it. In just 24 games played, Rose averages 12 ppg, 3 rpg, and 4 apg, which alone is enough to realize his unworthiness.
Jaylen Brown, though, does warrant genuine deliberation. His 23.9 ppg, 6.5 rpg, and 4 apg are all on-par with All-Star level players. However, like last season, it is unclear whether or not the .500 (24-24) Celtics’ should send two players to an All-Star game. This reason alone should not carry too much weight, but it is important to note. Although Brown is tremendously talented and should be playing in Cleveland, the roster does not warrant his presence.
Simply put, the NBA should just expand the roster by one player each. However, that is not how this works. If it comes down to whether or not the Cleveland Cavaliers or Boston Celtics should send two players, it should be Cleveland. Not only is it taking place in their home city, but their record is also noticeably better than Boston’s.
Other players like Julius Randle, Khris Middleton, and many more should be mentioned. But, by just looking at the latest voting update, the final two spots for the eastern conference’s roster should be LaMelo Ball and Darius Garland. Not including Garland would dishonor the soon-to-be 22-year-old season, as well as the local fan’s interests. Therefore, for everything said in this article, NBA coaches will hopefully not fall into the same trap as fans and overlook Darius Garland’s impeccable season.
