The first time LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers, things were pretty bleak in Northeast Ohio, and it wouldn’t be until LeBron returned to Cleveland after four years with the Miami Heat that the Cavs would return to their winning ways.
Fast forward to 2018, and LeBron leaves Cleveland again, this time for Southern California, signing a contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Cavaliers fell on hard times once again, but this year things seem a little different in the place some call “Believeland.”
A new era has begun, post-LeBron, and at the front of it is none other than guard Darius Garland, who has put on a show so far this NBA season.
Darius Garland tonight:
41 PTS (career high)
13 AST
5 REBHe joins LeBron as the only Cavs with 40p/10a game since 2010. pic.twitter.com/uAyGaY0qGp
— StatMuse (@statmuse) March 9, 2022
A New Face
Garland is making everyone in Cleveland forget about LeBron and is leading the Cavs into a new era of success and prosperity.
A double-double in which he scores a career-high 41 points and records 13 assists will help with that.
The Cavs sit at sixth in the Eastern Conference, enjoying a surprise season in which they have gone 38-27 and only trail the Heat by 5 1/2 games for the top spot in the conference.
Garland is the new face of the Cavs franchise and has them positioned to make some noise in the postseason, somewhere Cleveland hasn’t been since being swept by the Golden State Warriors in the 2018 NBA Finals, after which LeBron subsequently left for the Lakers.
The Cavs badly needed somebody new to take the reins after LeBron’s departure.
Garland has done just that.
He is an exciting young talent and has an extremely bright future in the NBA.
Cleveland is unfortunately going to be without their star center Jarrett Allen for some time, so they will need Garland to continue his dominance and lead the way as they prepare for the playoffs.
NEXT: Cavaliers Dealt A Tough Blow To Their Playoff Dreams