On Monday evening, the Los Angeles Clippers moved closer to the .500 mark with a convincing win over the Golden State Warriors after outscoring the Dubs by 15 points in the fourth quarter. This game marked the Clippers debut of point guard Darius Garland, who came off the bench and scored 12 points with two assists in 23 minutes of action.
After the game, Clippers star Kawhi Leonard had high praise for the performance the young guard brought to the table.
"Number one, just competitive nature...we're looking for him to get involved, get him some shots, push the transition pace for us, and just get everybody involved and call sets so we don't get stagnant at times. I think he's capable of doing that. He's an All-Star player. I'm just looking forward to playing more basketball with him," Leonard said, according to former Joe Lynn on Twitter.
Garland was brought to the Clippers after the team surprisingly traded James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers shortly before the deadline.
The 26-year-old has been a two-time All-Star in the NBA, although injury concerns have unfortunately become a major part of the story of his career in recent years, and Los Angeles will hope those concerns subside for the rest of this season and beyond.
While he may not be as adept at making plays as Harden, Garland is still a capable distributor capable of creating his own offense off the dribble, as well as a solid catch-and-shoot threat from beyond the arc.
All of these tools make him a good fit next to Leonard in Los Angeles, even if the team further depleted their roster at the deadline by sending Ivica Zubac to the Indiana Pacers.
The Clippers next face Indiana on Wednesday evening.
