Collin Sexton nearing Cavs’ rookie 3-point record proves his work ethic

Collin Sexton continues to make positive strides in his rookie season for the Cleveland Cavaliers, and him almost securing a rookie record already proves that.

In his rookie season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, it hasn’t been all smooth sailing for point guard Collin Sexton. Nonetheless, nobody can say that the first-year professional hasn’t put the work in to be the best he can be this year as just a baby in the NBA, and Sexton on the cusp of breaking the Cavs’ rookie made three-pointers record proves that.

As we’ve touched on continuously here at KJG, one of Sexton’s biggest knocks coming into the season was his inability to knock down three-point shots. In one season at Alabama, Sexton only hit 33.6 percent of his triples, and that was against college competition, combined with there being a shorter NCAA distance for threes.

This season for Cleveland, though, Sexton has shot 39.4 percent from deep (per NBA.com), and is just five made triples away from tying Kyrie Irving‘s Cavs’ rookie made threes record of 73 (h/t FanSided’s Factory of Sadness’ Nick Dudukovich).

Although, Dudukovich mentioned, Irving got that in “just 51 games because he was injured,” as compared to Sexton being at that rate after 61 games played. For comparison’s sake, Irving shot 39.9 percent from deep in year one, per Basketball Reference.

With Sexton (barring a catastrophic injury occurring) eclipsing that record from Irving, though, it’s a pat on the back for the “Young Bull,” as is Sexton being active in every game for the Cleveland Cavaliers this year, too.

In a grueling season, that’s a feat in itself, and with Irving’s injury concerns when he was with Cleveland (and since he’s been on the Boston Celtics as well), that durability is a testament to Sexton working hard to be active for the Cavs whenever his number has been called.

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While Sexton’s passing (just 3.4 assists per 36 minutes, per Basketball Reference) has a ways to go, he’s shown good signs so far in the second half of the season, as he’s passing more when driving into the paint, and initiating ball-swings, eventually leading to more open shots for teammates.

Although Sexton will still take some ill-advised highly-contested mid-range jumpers with plenty on the shot clock at times, he’s showing that he is capable of adjusting his game by taking more three-point shots as the year’s progressed, and has shown he’s getting more comfortable playing off the ball, which was not the case consistently earlier in the season.

Sexton converting on 45.5 percent of his catch-and-shoot three-point attempts this year (per NBA.com) is a big plus.

His three-point attempts per game have increased each month, and he seems to be improving as a decision-maker in screen-and-roll especially, both in terms of his scoring and passing out of that set.

Matthew Dellavedova‘s influence has reportedly had some to do with that, and that’s encouraging knowing the rookie is willing to learn.

Sexton’s work ethic seems to be the reason his shooting and overall feel as a point guard on the offensive end have improved, most notably, though.

Recently, Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor highlighted how the Cleveland Cavaliers rookie is a “true gym rat,” and even detailed how after a game in which Cleveland lost to the Dallas Mavericks early this month, that Sexton “went straight to the practice facility,” and put up “about 700 shots, according to a source.”

I understand that Sexton’s played 30.5 minutes per game this season, and that he’s stepped into probably a much bigger role and with more usage than the Cavs would have initially thought he would have going into this year.

However, Kevin Love missing the majority of this season due to reported toe surgery probably put more of an onus on Sexton (along with others) to be handling more of a burden.

It’s been nice to see the youngster’s perimeter shooting work paying off, and yes, players shoot way more threes now than before, but getting the Cleveland Cavaliers’ rookie made three record didn’t seem like a totally safe bet for Sexton coming into this season. In due time, I think Sexton can become more knowledgable as an NBA defender, and improve against opposing point guards in particular.

That’s not easy, but given his perimeter shooting improvement over the course of this year, I’m not going to count that aspect of his potential improvement out yet, especially with more film room time with an instinctive defender in Delly. For now, kudos to Sexton for that record.