CLEVELAND — Cleveland Cavaliers' guard Darius Garland has been a man about town in recent days. The Cavaliers star has been a big part of the club’s resurgence this season, leading Cleveland to near the top of the Eastern Conference standings.
The NBA community has noticed and rewarded him, along with teammate Jarrett Allen, a spot in this weekend’s NBA All-Star Game.
The third-year pro has spent his entire NBA tenure in Cleveland, but even he has been blown away by the city’s response to hosting one of the NBA’s showcase events.
“It’s been great. I mean, I’ve never seen Cleveland like this, so it’s super cool just to see everybody out,” Garland said Saturday. “All the fans being interactive. Everybody is smiling and happy even though it’s snowing outside, so it’s cool to see that. It’s cool just being around here. I mean, even having the All-Star in your hometown, we’re blessed.”
When the NBA All-Star Game rosters were initially announced, Garland was the lone Cavaliers player named to the roster. The league added Allen last week as an injury replacement.
Now the duo gets to be together on a team led by former Cavs star LeBron James, a native of Akron or Sunday’s All-Star Game.
“That’s my big,” Garland said about Allen. “I got to look out for him, so it’s cool having two All-Stars from the same team in the same city. It’s super cool. And we’re on the same team, so I get to throw a couple of lobs. Yeah, it’s super dope. I’m super excited.”
Garland, Allen and rookie Evan Mobley will take part in Saturday’s NBA All-Star Skills Challenge.
Going against the Cavs trio will be a team with Giannis, Thanasis and Alex Antetokounmpo. A third trio will comprise rookies Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors, Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons and Josh Giddey, of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The teams will compete in four rounds: Team shooting, team passing, team relay and half-court shot.
Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine said he took notice of Garland last summer while participating in a USA Basketball camp. Garland practiced with players that represented the United States in the Tokyo Olympics.
“He was by far one of the best players on the Select Team,” LaVine said. “That’s why he was selected to continue to play with us, and then play in some of the scrimmage games as well. Darius is really, really good. Obviously, he is here for a reason. He got the Cavs as top contenders. But in that environment what I know it’s just how quickly he picked up on the pace and the competition wasn’t anything to him. He was eager for it.”
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who coached the U.S. Olympic team, noticed something similar from Garland.
“When the level of competition went up it brought something more out of him, and that’s what all the great players have,” Spoelstra said. “When we scrimmaged against the main team, that’s where you saw a different Darius. He was playing extremely well, and everybody in the gym noticed it, to the point when they had injuries they selected him to continue on. That was a great testament to his work, his competitiveness and how he played.”