Collin Sexton’s recent video shows he’ll grow into one of Cavs’ leaders

Collin Sexton improved leaps and bounds as a shooter last season, and a recent video shows how his reportedly amazing work ethic will allow him to grow into a leader for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Collin Sexton did not have a perfect rookie season for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018-19, as there were plenty of growing pains for him, and in the first half of the season, in particular, there was warranted criticism by many.

While his passing/running of an NBA offense and defensive ability on the perimeter against 1’s and 2’s has a ways to go to be considered competent, Sexton’s scoring was a huge bright spot in what was a rough season, and the way he improved as a three-point shooter as the year progressed, in terms of clip and volume, had to get fans and perhaps, people in the organization, extremely excited for the near future.

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We’ve hit on this time and time and time again here at KJG (as most notably demonstrated by our own Robbie DiPaola); Sexton, really before the last third of his rookie (which was post-All-Star break) season, was reluctant to take three-point shots, and his overall feel as a passer did not seem to be there.

Often, he seemed rushed, and was often taking way too many mid-range shots that were highly-contested, and passing on open and sometimes even wide-open three-point shots after quality ball-swings, and that was hurting the Cavaliers’ offense as a whole by not initiating ball-swings himself often enough as well.

Moreover, we’ve hit on many times how Sexton seemed to flip his shot selection switch post-All-Star break, and that made him a much more efficient player, especially in the 2019 NBA so heavily predicated on making three-point shots, getting to the free throw line and getting layups.

Pre-All-Star break, Sexton was averaging 15.1 points per game, but was only taking 2.7 three-point shots per game, and had an effective field goal clip of only 44.6%. Of course, after the All-Star break, Sexton was way more efficient after reportedly being scolded by teammates to take more three-point shots and stop shooting the mid-range shots as often as he was pre-All-Star break.

The results were clear, as Sexton led the Cleveland Cavaliers in post-All-Star break scoring with 20.8 points on a much-improved 55.0% effective field goal shooting clip, and he was taking 5.8 three-pointers per game in that stretch, and Sexton was not forcing the issue as often, and was showcasing better feel and was more willing to get teammates involved, even though the assist numbers didn’t necessarily show it.

Additionally, his 40.2% hit rate on triples in his first season and him breaking the Cavs’ rookie total three-pointers made record, despite coming into the NBA with perimeter shooting being a weakness of his, demonstrated just how unique Sexton’s reported work ethic is (at the time of that last link’s article Sexton had not quite broken that record yet, but he eventually did do so, by the way).

A recent video of the “Young Bull” hitting 14 straight three-point shots (courtesy of Sexton’s Twitter account) further emphasizes how Sexton’s amazing work ethic should set the example for the Cleveland Cavaliers’ young players in the coming years, and have Sexton eventually grow into being a leader for head coach John Beilein and company in the near future.

https://twitter.com/CollinSexton02/status/1144000042694598657

Now, I still want to see the 20-year-old guard improve in other areas of his game.

He only averaged 3.0 assists per game and had an atrocious defensive rating of 118.1, as he struggled in pick-and-roll defense all year long and had issues rotating to shooters, but most young guards struggle early on defensively, anyway.

Plus,with his drive and will, I believe he can improve there in those areas in due time, and anyhow, with the way Sexton improved as a perimeter shooter and turned a weakness of his game likely into a strength so soon into his NBA career, that should be an example for young players such as Darius Garland, Dylan Windler (who is 22), Kevin Porter Jr. and Ante Zizic (who is 22 as well), in regards to if they put the work in, the sky is the limit for them.

This video, to me, showcases how Sexton will be one of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ leaders in the coming years, along with him playing in all 82 games in his rookie year, and though I don’t love the possibility of a Sexton-Garland backcourt defensively in the near future, Cleveland is rebuilding, anyhow, and Sexton shouldn’t simply be relegated to the bench, as that would stunt his growth as a player on both ends of the floor.

I’m as bullish on the young guard as I’ve ever been, and it’s clear that the professionalism of veterans such as Kevin Love, Brandon Knight, Matthew Dellavedova, Tristan Thompson, and the recently-retired Channing Frye has strongly influenced Sexton in a positive way, and I believe he’ll pass down that sort of thing to other young players on the Cavs.

Player statistics for this article were gathered from NBA.com.