3125
by rusty2
Thanks to his 31-point outburst, Sexton is averaging 20.1 points on the season. He ranks 28th in the NBA. He sits 15th in the Eastern Conference. He’s the third-best scorer from his acclaimed 2018 NBA Draft class, trailing just Dallas MVP candidate Luka Doncic and Atlanta All-Star Trae Young. And he is hitting those marks efficiently and often within the flow of the offense.
His shooting percentage is up to 46.1% overall, more than three percentage points higher than last season. His 3-point numbers have risen after a slow start, now hitting a respectable 38.2% from deep. He has scored in double figures every game since Dec. 23 -- the night Jordan Clarkson was traded to Utah and more scoring responsibility was heaped on Sexton’s shoulders. During this stretch, Sexton has been one of the conference’s best, ranking seventh in scoring. He has 29 games already with at least 20 points, surpassing last season’s total with 23 games still remaining. Not bad for a chastised sophomore.
So, is Bickerstaff right? Is Sexton, at just 21, too often taken for granted?
“Yeah. For sure,” Kevin Love told cleveland.com. “He can score the s--- out it. More goes into being an all-around player, but he’s such a good scorer. He’s doing it consistently for us.”
Sexton has plenty of room to grow. He still gets torched on the defensive end. Friday night was the latest example. Sexton, Darius Garland and Cedi Osman were often targeted by the Pelicans -- both in the half court and in transition. That’s been a running theme throughout the season, one of the pratfalls of an unconventional, undersized and young backcourt.
“Just taking the one on one challenge. That’s it,” Sexton said. “Don’t allow your man to beat you and create rotations. Once your man gets past you then someone has to help. Once it sprays out then everyone is in a rotation. When it’s like that it’s tough.”
Sexton also has to improve his decision-making. His shot creation for others remains a work in progress. While he’s not a true point guard -- the Cavs recognize as much, drafting Garland to fill that role -- Sexton admitted recently that playmaking is part of his evolution. Scoring is his foundation. It always will be, and he’s really good at it. But he continues to make encouraging strides as a distributor.
Teammate Larry Nance Jr. pointed to one example following Wednesday’s win against the Philadelphia 76ers, as Sexton dropped the ball off to Nance late in the game instead of attempting a more difficult left-handed finish in traffic.
“It might seem trivial, but that goes a long way,” Nance said that night.
On Friday, Sexton finished with three assists. He’s seeing the floor better, recognizing passes that are available. In 11 February games, Sexton is averaging 4.1 assists -- his best passing month ever. He has multiple assists in 18 consecutive games.
At this stage of his development, Sexton is ahead of where many thought he would be. He continues to raise the figurative ceiling.
His second-year scoring numbers are in proximity with second-year Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving and Devin Booker. The sophomore numbers are better than those put up by Bradley Beal, Russell Westbrook -- a guy one Cavs coach recently used as an interesting comparison -- D’Angelo Russell, Kemba Walker, DeMar DeRozan and De’Aaron Fox, among others.
No matter how bad the team is, no matter what the opponent looks like, scoring at such an efficient rate shouldn’t be taken for granted.
“Collin is a rare guy where he can roll out of bed and get you 20 and it’s not common in the NBA. He has the ability to do that,” Bickerstaff said.