Garland is ready to lead his team.
Darius Garland spoke with confidence at the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 2025 Media Day.
“I’m the leader of this group,” said Garland. “Gotta be the head of the snake.”
Garland plays a key role as Cleveland’s harmonizer on offense. He’s the point guard — therefore, he bears the most responsibility for managing all the finer aspects of the game. This is what he means by being the ‘head of the sanke.’
“As a point guard, you have to come in with that mentality as a leader,” said Garland. ”I know the ropes now, it’s cool being an older guy in the locker room.“
Cleveland boasted the league’s most efficient offense in the regular season last year. That cratered in the playoffs, with the team struggling to score without Garland — who missed multiple games with a toe injury and was far from being himself even after returning to the floor.
Not having Garland to organize things was one of many reasons the Cavs fell to Indiana. The Cavs’ offense became dysfunctional. Ball distribution came to a halt. That’s a direct product of not having their best game manager on the floor to keep everything in place.
“My number one job right now is to stay healthy,” said Garland. “Number two is keeping everyone on the same cylinder, keep everyone engaged, keep everyone locked in together.”
The Cavaliers are hoping they can pad their depth by adding another floor general in Lonzo Ball. Now the team will have another conductor available if Garland himself isn’t there to lead the ship.
“It’s been great, having Lonzo [as] another guard who can handle the ball,” said Garland. “He has a really good IQ… that’s super cool to have another high-IQ guy out there.”
Garland did not provide an update on when he’ll make his season debut. He underwent successful surgery earlier this summer to repair a toe injury.
“I don’t know yet,” Garland said on his injury timetable. “We’ll see.”
Category: General Sports
