Garland has been incredible in his time with the Clippers so far.
The Los Angeles Clippers are starting to look like a team that nobody wants to see in the play-in tournament, and a lot of that has to do with the guy running the show at the point.
Darius Garland has only been in a Clippers uniform for about a month now, but the effect he's had on the offense is already hard to ignore.
After Los Angeles rolled past the Toronto Raptors 119-94 on Wednesday night for their third straight win, head coach Tyronn Lue broke down what Garland's shooting range has done for the team's spacing.
"Just gives us more space, more spacing on the floor," Lue said. "When a guy can shoot from that far out, now you gotta close out higher and now he can put the ball on the floor and get into the paint and make a play."
Garland Has Been on Fire Since Arriving
It's one thing to say a player stretches the defense, but Garland is actually backing it up with the numbers.
In 11 games since making his Clippers debut on March 2, he's averaging 21.1 points and 6.8 assists while shooting over 50 percent from three on more than seven attempts per game.
That's an absurd clip, especially considering he shot just 36 percent from deep during his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier this season before the trade.
And these aren't wide-open catch-and-shoot looks either.
Garland has been pulling up from well beyond the arc, bombing 35-footers and even a logo three against the Spurs that had the whole building buzzing.
The 41-point, 11-assist explosion he had against Dallas last week was the kind of performance that makes you wonder what this duo could become with a full offseason together.
What It Means for the Clippers Going Forward
The reason Lue's comments matter so much is because of what Garland's range does for everyone else on the floor.
When defenses have to close out higher on the point guard, it opens up driving lanes, creates cutting opportunities, and gives Kawhi Leonard easier looks from his spots.
Leonard is putting up 28.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.6 assists this season while shooting over 50 percent from the field, and having a guard who can pull defenders out that far only helps him operate more freely.
The two of them have a plus-17 net rating together in their limited minutes so far, and the Clippers are posting a 128.4 offensive rating with Garland on the court.
That number won't last forever, but it tells you something about how well these two fit together even this early on.
Los Angeles sits at 37-36 with nine games left, holding onto the eighth spot in the Western Conference by half a game over the Portland Trail Blazers.
That's a wild place to be for a team that was 6-21 at one point this season and looked like it was heading for the lottery.
The Harden-for-Garland swap raised eyebrows in February, but nights like the Raptors blowout are exactly why the front office made the move.
A younger, quicker point guard who can light it up from 30 feet and still make the right reads in the pick-and-roll is a tough combination to deal with, and if both Garland and Leonard stay healthy down the stretch, this team has the kind of upside that could make them a real problem in the postseason.