Darius Garland's Struggles Against Blazers Reveal Future Clippers Problem

Darius Garland's Clippers tenure has been an undeniable success so far. He was able to put his toe injury behind him, has been healthy and playing significant minutes while shooting the lights out. The Clippers have been excellent when he has been on the court, and the future of the franchise looks much brighter with him in place of James Harden.

At the same time, Garland has struggled immensely in the biggest games of the season for the Clippers, highlighting a big potential problem. His two games against Portland, including last night's loss against the Blazers, were particularly concerning.

Darius Garland Continues to Struggle Against Elite Defenses

Garland was consistently struggling to get separation and create good shots against the Blazers' solid and physical defenders. Matched up against a bigger and stronger Toumani Camara for most of the game, Garland couldn't make an impact offensively. In fact, per NBA.com's matchup data, Garland was 0/5 from the field and had zero points when defended by Camara. The talented point guard ended up finishing the game with 16 points on 5/16 from the field and 2/8 from three.

Camara is one of the best and most versatile defenders in the league. At six-foot-seven and 230 pounds, he has a significant strength and length advantage over Garland. This consistently bothered Garland, not only on Friday, but also in the previous game, when the two teams matched up. Garland had 20 points, four assists, and five turnovers on 7/17 shooting against the Blazers on March 31. The Clippers lost his minutes by seven points in that game.

Garland also had one of his worst performances of the season against the Spurs last week. Against San Antonio's quality perimeter defenders, Garland went 5/17 from the field for 11 points in 29 minutes of action.

This has been a trend for Garland throughout his career. Bigger and more physical defenders can slow Garland down. In the four playoff series he has played during his time in Cleveland, Garland wasn't able to be as productive as he was in the regular season. As the overall quality and intensity of opposing defenses go up, Garland's efficiency tends to go down.

In his last three years in Cleveland, Garland had a 58.5% True Shooting in the regular season. In the playoffs, his efficiency took a tumble, going down to 54.3%. His turnover rate went up, and free-throw frequency went down compared to his regular-season numbers.

This is to be expected from an undersized point guard. In the current era, the NBA is defined by intensity, physicality, and athleticism. A six-foot-one guard like Garland's struggles are understandable. This puts pressure on the Clippers to build the optimal roster around Garland to make up for his shortcomings at the highest level. The front office needs to keep this in mind when making decisions going forward.