Darius Garland says Cavaliers ‘have to take care of the ball’ in playoffs to win championship

Darius Garland says the Cleveland Cavaliers “have to take care of the ball” in the 2025 playoffs to win the NBA championship. 

“The possessions really slow down, the possessions lessen in the playoffs, so you really have to take care of the ball, really have to rebound the ball on the defensive end and try to get some easy ones,” Garland told RG. “Because it’s really tough to score in the half court during a playoff series. Just getting a couple rounds under our belts has really helped us, especially last year going against Boston. I think that really flipped the switch in our head just to be ready to play all games, be ready for the physicality and really just take care of the ball on the offensive end, trying to get a shot or rebound every possession.”

Garland and the Cavaliers have the top record in the East. They are looking to avenge last year’s loss to the Boston Celtics in the second round. 

Cleveland is led by Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. Garland has been impressed by what he’s seen from Mobley this season, particularly on offense. 

“Evan was really a dunker the last couple years and now moving him to the three-point line, which is really helping us a lot,” Garland said. “Especially for our guards in the backcourt really to get downhill and be aggressive. Now they really have to respect his three ball ‘cause he’s really knocking them down right now and shooting them with confidence. That was really a big change for us just to spread the floor a little bit with all the ball-handling and the skill that we have just to create some more confusions and get downhill.”

The Cavaliers are first in the NBA in points per game and offensive rating.