'His next step': Cavaliers hoping Darius Garland follows Steph Curry in strength progression
INDEPENDENCE — The Cavaliers, over the years, watched one specific career progression take Steph Curry's game to the next level. One of their biggest hopes for this offseason is that Darius Garland follows in Curry's footsteps, at least in this one way.
The Cavs' second-round playoff exit at the hands of the Indiana Pacers will bring questions of how the front office chooses to respond this summer. If the Cavs remain similarly constructed — which essentially means whether they keep the "core four" together — their aspirations of improvement rest more with their own development.
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A major part of that is Garland, who missed a major chunk of the playoff run with a sprained big toe.
During the regular season, Garland earned his second All-Star nod, averaging 20.6 points and 6.7 assists while shooting a career-best 47.2% from the floor. But in the playoffs, he missed the last two games of the first-round series against the Miami Heat series and the first two games of the Pacers series. After the Cavs fell behind 0-2, Garland returned but clearly wasn't as effective while playing through the injury.
Missing an All-Star is bound to hurt a team's lineup in any situation. But facing an aggressive Pacers squad that pressed the Cavs full court whenever it could, Garland's absence — in either availability or top form — was especially detrimental, as president of basketball operations Koby Altman sees it.
"I do think not having Darius in the first two games rattled us," Altman said at an end-of-the-season news conference with local reporters May 19. "You want your point guard to be able to handle that pressure.
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"Not having your All-Star point guard healthy was a big part of that. … I don't think they're able to pressure 94 feet every single time down if you have Darius there to navigate some of that stuff, to break the pressure, to get some open shots, some layups, some 3s to spray it out."
It's part of why the Cavs' early exit from the playoffs was hard for him to accept.
"Yeah, that's what makes it harder for me. It's like I'm there for the guys, but I'm not there for the guys," Garland said recently. "I'm not 100%. So that's what's making it pretty tough."
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) drives to the basket as Indiana Pacers center Thomas Bryant (3) defends during Game 5 of the second-round playoff series May 13, 2025, in Cleveland, Ohio.
Darius Garland's offseason plan centered around strength, health
Garland has been on the wrong side of some injury luck two consecutive years when it comes to the playoffs. In addition to missing four games this year, Garland played last year shortly after losing 12 pounds, the result of surgery to correct a broken jaw and needing to eat food through a straw for weeks. It impacted him, and he spent last summer trying to put the weight back on.
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The Cavs want to see the next progression with it all.
"I do think there's a level that he can get to that he hasn't tapped into yet, and it's a conversation that we've had with Darius," Altman said. "His next step is going to be, how do I get stronger?"
That's where Curry's path comes into the picture.
Cleveland Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman fields questions about the team's disappointing second-round exit in the NBA playoffs after going 64-18 in the 2024-25 regular season during a news conference, May 19, 2025.
Speaking to what they want to see from Garland this summer, particularly in coordination with Kenny Atkinson's first full offseason as coach, Altman brought up the future Hall-of-Famer who along the way put on enough muscle to stop teams from being able to push him around as much. That coincided, in part, with Curry's ascension into a star.
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"[Garland] needs to get stronger so he can compete at the highest level. It's the same thing with Steph Curry, when we [used to] pick on Steph. Now Steph's all world. Not making the comparison, but Steph got so strong over the maturation of his years, he's a different physical specimen. … The same thing has to happen with Darius."
Atkinson already spoke of the Cavs' hope Garland can carry himself more like a 28-year-old veteran than a 25-year-old youngster before he actually reaches that age. Their other goal calls for some extra time in the weight room.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Cavs All-Star Darius Garland aiming to follow Steph Curry
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