3 ways Matthew Dellavedova can improve Collin Sexton’s game for Cavs
By Dan Gilinsky
#2: Sexton getting more respectable on D
The proverbial elephant in the film room with the rook has really been the ineffectiveness of Cleveland’s defense with him on the floor. On the season, the Cavs haven’t played great team defense, as you probably has seen when watching their games.
The starting defense has been especially poor, and yes, injuries have played a part in that, but Sexton had a rough time against opposing primary ball-handlers (namely point guards).
Defending in the pick-and-roll in today’s league is one of the hardest things for young perimeter players to grasp consistently, and that’s really seemed to hoodwink Sexton. With the Cavs’ bigs typically dropping, that’s either allowed the opposing ball-handler to hoist a loosely-contested jumper or get a full head of steam going into the paint, which has led to defenses collapsing and getting an uncontested jumper or getting a high-percentage shot near the basket.
With Sexton on the floor, the Cavs’ defense is forced to scramble due to the inherent mismatches.
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Now Cedi Osman (who I thought could be a key defensive piece on the wing) hasn’t played well on that end (as he has the worst defensive rating of any qualified Cavalier this season, per NBA.com), and it’s not all Sexton.
That being said, Dellavedova, a physical and instinctive both individual and team defender, should tangibly help Sexton in how he defends opponents, and in the mean time, will likely continue to mostly defend non-playmakers.
Sexton, like Delly, brings undeniable toughness and effort on every possession, and does reportedly have a heck of a work ethic, and going forward this season, I would expect Dellavedova to help Sexton improve his team defense when it comes to timing of rotations and aiding in the defensive rebounding effort (which has been a problem).
Sexton at times playing on the same floor with Delly and/or Patrick McCaw‘s ball-pressure against opposing primary ball-handlers could allow him to make plays by getting weak-side deflections and help-side steals as well.
Delly hasn’t had a huge sample size with the Cavs (only 11 games), but his defensive rating of 104.0 (which would qualify as third on Cleveland this season, per NBA.com) gives a glimpse as to how he can help Sexton improve on that end going forward.
Sexton’s just 20, though, and with how good NBA perimeter players are, particularly off the dribble as jump shooters, improving his defense considerably will take a long time.
The third way Dellavedova could improve Sexton’s game in the near future is shot-selection.