INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- At one point during the Cleveland Cavaliers’ narrow loss to the Brooklyn Nets Monday night, head coach John Beilein threatened to bench rookie point guard Darius Garland.

The Nets had shifted to a zone defense and Garland turned down an in-rhythm, open look from 3-point range that might’ve made the Nets reconsider the defensive strategy switch.

“He told me after the timeout that I need to shoot the ball, believe in myself and everyone is confident in my shot,” Garland said Tuesday afternoon following practice at Cleveland Clinic Courts. "So stay confident in myself.”

Seconds later, Garland drilled a pair of 3-pointers, making the Nets pay for going to a zone.

“You can’t test coach,” Garland said with a smile. "He’s always going to stand on his word.”

Message received. The Cavs are trying to keep Garland aggressive throughout games. They’ve been drilling a specific mantra before tipoff and reminding him during stoppages: Aggressive, observe, aggressive. That’s how coaches want Garland to approach his decision-making coming off screens, assertively forcing defenders to react first. At one point this season, a few staff members felt Garland was observing first, trying to figure out how the defense was going to play him. The Cavs need Garland to dictate terms, not the other way around.

With each game, Garland looks more comfortable.

“It’s starting to slow down for me a lot,” Garland said. "Teammates getting me involved a lot more. Taking it one game at a time. It’s starting to come. Putting extra shots up after practice and coming a lot earlier before practice. Starting to pay off now. Just happy it’s starting to fall.”

Garland, the No. 5 pick of the 2019 NBA Draft, has scored double figures in eight of the last 10 games, including six of seven. He recently poured in a career-high 23 points on 9-of-16 (56.2%) from the field and 5-of-8 (62.5%) from 3-point range in a loss versus Dallas. Since going two consecutive matchups without making a triple, Garland is hitting 41.4% from beyond the arc over the last seven. He’s also grown more comfortable attacking blitzing defenses, which caught him off guard initially.

Almost a quarter of the way through his rookie season, Garland is starting to show the upside that members of the organization first noticed during pre-college camps, before his freshman season at Vanderbilt was wiped away by a knee injury that required surgery and a clean-up procedure.

Garland’s shot is falling, which is where his success begins. He’s worked his way back into playing shape, dropping weight and body fat since showing up to training camp not feeling -- or looking -- like his old self.

The next step: Developing a more reliable floater.

“I mean, it’s iffy right now for me,” Garland admitted. "Just have to stay confident in myself. I work on it every day so I can keep using it. All the coaches keep telling me to shoot it.”

According to NBA.com stats, Garland is 18-of-41 (43.9%) on three separate types of floaters. He is shooting just 36.1% on attempts inside 15 feet. On shots ranging from 5-15 feet, which is about floater range, Garland is just 16-of-50 (32%)

The talented rookie said one of the challenges has been getting his touch back. He was injured in his fifth college game. He didn’t participate in NBA Summer League and missed parts of training camp and the preseason. He was clearly rusty at the start of the season and it takes a while to get that playing rhythm back. Plus, he’s had to adjust to the usual complications rookies encounter in the NBA.

“All the guys are athletic and longer than they were in college; so, just making that adjustment,” Garland said.

Garland has worked on changing the trajectory of his “giant killer," especially in recent matchups -- Friday against 7-foot-3 Kristaps Porzingis or Monday with the Nets and 6-foot-11 Jarrett Allen.

Garland has taken some tips from teammate Collin Sexton, who continues to display a deft scoring touch around the rim. Following shootaround Monday morning, Garland was practicing alongside one of the player development coaches on that floater, which will be an important shot, especially as opponents attempt to run him off the 3-point line as the season progresses.

#Cavs rookie Darius Garland working on his floater game over length today pic.twitter.com/G4EUACDLCM — Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) November 25, 2019

But, as that post-shootaround session showed, the floater is clearly in the development stages. One member of the organization pointed out that Garland shoots it a different way every time, with a slightly altered release depending on where he is on the floor.

“There’s no consistency yet,” he said.

Sometimes it looks like a jumper. Other times it looks like a runner. On Monday morning, Garland wasn’t even going game speed either. Hours later, on Cleveland’s first offensive possession against the Nets, Garland wanted to test that extra work in a game environment. Dribbling around a Tristan Thompson screen, going to his left, Garland rose up and flipped the ball over Allen’s outstretched left limb. It bounced three times, took a peek and rattled out as Garland shook his head in disbelief.

Like many things in his rookie campaign, that floater is getting there. Just not quite. Yet.

“Still having trouble with the length when he gets to the rim," Beilein said.

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