Whenever you listen to Kevin Durant talk about basketball, it's interesting. He is one of the best players in the NBA, but he does not sugarcoat anything, especially when discussing basketball. He has gotten into fights with random fans and the media online when talking about basketball, which does not include just fans insulting him. This was true recently when talking about Darius Garland of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Durant recently joined the Mind the Game podcast with LeBron James and Steve Nash. In it, they talked about all sorts of things in the NBA and how the game has evolved. The idea of smaller guards came up, and Darius Garland of the Cavaliers was used as the prime example because he is a great player. Durant pointed out that players will still go right at him due to his size.
Durant said on the podcast, “If you want to beat the Cleveland Cavs, you go at [Darius] Garland, most of the time.”
Garland's size is the issue. He is 6-feet-1 inch and weighs 192 pounds, making him the Cavaliers' smallest player. It makes sense why teams would single him out, especially with Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen down low as a dynamic duo on defense.
For perspective, he averaged 1.2 steals per game last season, but did not make much of an impact rebounding or with blocks for the Cavaliers. If someone the size of Kevin Durant went after Garland, he would be able to score at will, so the strategy they talked about on the podcast makes a lot of sense.
Garland was the jumping-off point for a larger point about seeing fewer and fewer smaller guards enter the NBA. This is because they are liabilities on defense, especially since the NBA has only gotten better overall on offense.
Height is not the only difference between a good and bad defender. Chris Paul has been one of the best defensive guards during his entire career, but despite being only 6 feet, he has been one of the best players of his generation. We have also seen other smaller guards recently become good defenders, like Fred VanVleet, Kyle Lowry, and Mike Conley, who have all stood out.
Durant's comments to LeBron James and Steve Nash are not a dig at Garland directly, but more of an indication of how basketball players think when they are heading into games against smaller guards like him.
