Growing pains will again be the Cleveland Cavaliers best friend

The Cleveland Cavaliers have an exciting young core but fans and management need to realize that growing pains will be all too real this year.

Many fans were stoked when the Cleveland Cavaliers drafted Collin Sexton and extended Kevin Love’s contract. The full rebuild was avoided and they will remain relevant for the distant future.

While many think that staying relevant immediately means the Cavaliers will have a .500 record, that’ll be much harder said than done, especially with a core this young and inexperienced.

The Cavs young core is made up of three young players leading the way with a seasoned, five-time All-Star by their side. Those three are none other than Collin Sexton (19), Cedi Osman (23) and Rodney Hood (25). Ante Zizic, who doesn’t have the same weight on his shoulders, is also part of the youth movement.

All four are easily able to have a breakout year but, conversely, all four may also fail to reach their lofty expectations.

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Sexton, who is drawing comparisons to Russell Westbrook and other gritty winners, makes his living by being quicker than players and outworking his opponent. He averaged 19.6 points per game in the Las Vegas Summer League along with 3.4 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game.

This season, however, Sexton won’t be able to rely solely on being quicker than most of his point guard counterparts. Going up against Kyle Lowry, John Wall, Kris Dunn and other lightning-quick guards, Sexton may struggle to find his range and rhythm, possibly leading fans to wonder if he was the right man for the rebuild.

For Osman, while he showcased a developed jumper and capable playmaking abilities in the summer league, the real NBA will be far different. Last season, Osman played just 11 minutes per game and averaged under five points per game.

Do we really expect him to go from that to over 10-15 per game?

Cavalier fans are setting expectations that might not be realistic for this young core.

At 25-years-old and entering his fifth season, Hood should be the only player that needs to live up to his expectations. Hood is expected to sign a long-term contract with the Cavaliers, meaning that Hood will be a free agent when he’s in the prime of his career. For Hood, it’ll be more about playing for that next and hopefully huge contract.

Hood averaged 6.0 fewer points per game with the Cavs (10.8) than he did with the Jazz prior to his mid-season trade. Having yet found his rhythm in Cleveland, it’ll be intriguing to see if Hood can get going after Cleveland has made an effort to keep him as part of their long-term future.

All that to say, the Cleveland Cavaliers and their fan base need to come back down to earth and realize that Sexton, Hood, Love and Osman don’t have the intangibles to lead this team to a top-6 seed in the East, if they end up even making the postseason at all.

Growing pains will be prominent this season and it’s something everyone involved should expect.

* Al stats gathered from www.basketball-reference.com