Cleveland Cavaliers: 3 things to watch for in preseason action

#2: If Osman and Sexton can pick up where they left off

As we’ve often referenced here at KJG, Osman and Sexton had big roles in 2018-19 for Cleveland, and seem to have established themselves as key pieces for the coming years.

In his first season playing a considerable minutes-share for the Wine and Gold, Osman averaged 13.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 32.2 minutes per game, while shooting 34.8% from three-point range (per Basketball Reference), but the three-point shooting was streaky.

He had a tough season defensively, but it didn’t help that he was often guarding out of position against bigger 4’s, and though he has a long way to go on that end of the floor, he has NBA wing size at a listed 6-foot-8 and 215 pounds, and is an above-average athlete on the perimeter, so if he puts the work in and Cleveland is not nearly as decimated by injuries in coming years, maybe he can be more competent there.

Nonetheless, Osman, just like Sexton, seems to have a tremendous work ethic, and it’ll be interesting to see if #TheFirstCedi can show he can improve all-around in the season by being in a good rhythm when appearing in preseason.

Sexton was second among qualified Cavs in scoring last season (just behind Jordan Clarkson at 16.8 points per game), as he had 16.7 points and had 3.0 assists in 31.8 minutes per game, per Basketball Reference.

Sexton, as KJG contributors have often highlighted, also closed the 2018-19 season on a scoring tear, and I would think he should have high expectations for year two.

He led Cleveland in post-All-Star break scoring with 20.8 points per game and did so on a very efficient (especially compared to Pre-All-Star break) 58.5% true shooting, including a 41.3% clip from three-point range on 5.8 attempts per game (per NBA.com).

I’ll be interested to see, though, if Sexton can adjust to defenders potentially not going under screens as much, and whether or not Sexton is quicker as a decison-maker in halfcourt offense.

It’s understandable for both Osman and Sexton to maybe be a bit off, given that it’s only preseason and both might not play a bunch, along with Cleveland working in other players, but I’d still like to see Osman and Sexton show signs of continued improvement from last year, given that both will be asked to solidify themselves as key parts of Cleveland’s future in 2019-20.