Cleveland, Ohio What transpires while no one is looking frequently determines whether a player is good or great.
Host Ethan Sands and columnist Jimmy Watkins of Cleveland.com analyze Kyrie Irving’s shocking admission of the negative habits he developed during his early Cleveland years and how the current Cavaliers administration is attempting to prevent Darius Garland from falling into the same traps in an enlightening episode of the Wine and Gold Talk podcast.
A unique look into the unseen difficulties young athletes have on rebuilding teams was offered by Irving’s open admission on his Twitch show.
As Sands directly cited Irving, “As a young player, a lot of bad habits form when you’re on a team that’s not winning a lot of games.” And that’s exactly what happened to me. back when I was really little. I was riddled with negative habits.
Given that Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson has been concentrating on changing Garland’s habits, this confession has a different impact.
Sands clarified, According to what Kenny Atkinson has told us, Darius has been encouraged to focus more on his habits than his on-court performance. That implies a diet and a gym workout schedule.
It’s a remarkable parallel.
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Both players had impressive offensive abilities, were top draft selections on rebuilding teams when they joined the league, and had to learn how to form long-lasting professional habits away from the pressure of winning a championship.
Watkins eloquently described how these circumstances might lead to troublesome patterns: When you’re the star on a team that is guaranteed a spot in the lottery. Additionally, you don’t have a lot of expectations. As in, get buckets. That’s sufficient.
On a team with 25 wins, this scoring tunnel vision could be effective, but when championship hopes arise, it is revealed.
According to the podcast conversation, these young guards are in a “sink-or-swim” situation when a great teammate is abruptly brought in—LeBron James for Kyrie, Mitchell for Garland.
The recognition of how young these guys are in the midst of these difficulties is what makes this discussion so intriguing.
According to Watkins, Donovan Mitchell appeared when Darius Garland was 23 years old.
According to the podcast, Garland might have a big edge over Irving in this regard because of the advantages of historical learning.
Garland is getting focused coaching from Atkinson and appears to be enjoying the process, whereas Irving had to learn difficult lessons about professional habits through trial and error (and eventually championship success).
Sands highlights that many of the habit improvements entail strength and conditioning to enhance Garland’s defensive talents and points out that his next step is on the defensive end of the floor.
The organization’s approach to nurturing emerging talent has matured as a result of this behind-the-scenes emphasis on habits rather than just talents.
From Cleveland to Boston to Brooklyn to Dallas, Irving’s career has shown that skill alone is insufficient. A player’s ultimate ceiling is frequently determined by the habits they develop early in their career.
It is hoped by Cavaliers supporters that Garland is learning these lessons more quickly than Irving did, which might position him for a more stable career path with fewer side trips.
This week’s podcast is available here:
