Key notes: Garland, Atkinson, Mathurin, Vucevic

After a disappointing 2023-24 season in which he struggled with a serious jaw injury and the death of his grandmother, Cavaliers guard Darius Garland started this fall with the intention of experiencing a year of recovery. So far, so good, as Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor writes in a subscriber-only story.

The sample size is small, but in four games (all Cavaliers wins), Garland was red-hot, averaging 19.3 points per game on .547/.500/1,000 shooting. Monday's performance in New York was his best game so far this season, as he scored 34 points on 12 of 19 shooting in a six-point win over the Knicks. He was also impressive on defense with two steals and two blocked shots.

As Fedor points out, there was a lot of speculation over the spring and summer that the Cavaliers might try to trade Garland to balance the roster, but Donovan Mitchell always believed in his backcourt mate and was confident Garland could regain his All-Star form this season.

“I’m happy for him because he went through a lot of nonsense last year.” Mitchell said. “You have to learn from it and grow. Sometimes things get shitty, and I think he sensed that. That's four games, but I have no doubt that he will be exactly that for us this season. This is what he was like when he was drafted. This was him when he was an All-Star. I know what type of player he is. I know we can be a match. You see it.

“These are probably the four best games we’ve ever put together. It will stay that way because we continue to believe in what we can do. He’s full of confidence this year.”

Here's more from around Central:

• New head coach Kenny Atkinson has a positive early influence on the 4-0 Cavalierssaid Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. “You feel (Atkinson’s presence), you see it in the group.” Mitchell said. “Just the movement of the offense. You notice that it’s different.” Garland agreed, adding that Atkinson was “really good for us” and gave the Cavs stars “a lot of freedom” on offense.
• He has returned from a shoulder injury that sidelined him for the final month or more of the 2023-24 regular season and the entire postseason. Pacemaker wing Benedict Mathurin his playing time has decreased in each game since he logged 28 minutes in the team's opener last Wednesday. As Alex Golden of Setting the Pace tweets, head coach Rick Carlisle He cited rebounding and defense as reasons why Mathurin played just 14 minutes in Monday's loss to Orlando, adding during an appearance on 107.5 FM in Indiana that there are only a limited number of backup minutes left. “(Ben) Sheppard ended up getting more minutes than Mathurin and (Jarace) Walker (on Monday)”, Carlisle said. “It's just part of the whole thing. Mathurin is obviously a very important player and he shot the ball well in the first two games, but it’s not just about scoring.”
• Veterans Center Nikola Vucevic has gotten off to a strong start this season Bullsaveraged 20.8 points per game on .517/.424/.909 shooting in four appearances. If Vucevic's strong play continues, it could increase his value ahead of the February trade deadline, but he continues to insist he isn't considering the possibility of being dealt, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “I see and hear the rumors. People in my life talk to me about it, but I don't get too involved in it,” Vucevic said. “I suppose if something were to happen or get worse they would come and talk to me, but at the moment I'm not thinking about it.”