Cavs: Collin Sexton-Darius Garland pairing should have plenty of preseason work

In order to get into a rhythm, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ backcourt pairing of Collin Sexton and Darius Garland should have plenty of minutes together when they are playing in preseason action.

At this point, fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers seem to know that a huge part of the near future will be what plays it with the young backcourt pairing of Collin Sexton and Darius Garland.

Both of those players were Cleveland’s top draft selections in 2018 and 2019 (with Sexton as the only pick in 2018), and both would seem to project as key pieces for the team in the coming years and hopefully, for a long time.

As KJG contributors have often mentioned, there will be growing pains with this young duo, though. Sexton (20) and Garland (19) are players going into their second and first NBA seasons, and both will need the ball in their hands a good chunk of possessions, and for young guards, that’s understandable.

Though there will undoubtedly be those growing pains with the Sexton-Garland pairing, the Cavaliers need to play both young guards a considerable amount of minutes together to see if the two can coexist in due time, and in a rebuilding situation, that should definitely be the case when wins aren’t realistically going to come all too often, anyhow.

This pairing should get acclimated on the floor together in game action right away in the preseason, too, because they’ll need to establish some rhythm with the regular season quickly approaching following that.

Darius Garland did not play at all in Summer League for the Cleveland Cavaliers, as they wanted to not risk anything with him only appearing in five games (per Sports Reference) due to a reported meniscus tear that ended his freshman season at Vanderblit, but he needs to get plenty of preseason run to help prepare him for the long season ahead, and getting work with Sexton a good chunk would be sensible.

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Garland seems to be the Cavs’ lead playmaker in 2019-20, and hopefully head coach John Beilein and the coaching staff will see Garland’s good passing vision on display some in minutes in the preseason.

That vision and ability to make precise passes on quick hits to rollers, such as likely Larry Nance Jr. and perhaps Kevin Love and/or Ante Zizic, along with wraparound dishes to the opposite corner/on the wing to Sexton, Cedi Osman and others, such as Dylan Windler and Kevin Porter Jr., could be something that translates early on, and again, getting the chemistry down more should begin in preseason for Garland a good chunk of minutes.

Garland needs to get in basketball shape, and he’s seemingly getting there, as was reported by Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor, and though Garland likely won’t play over half of preseason games given that other players, such as training camp invitees J.P. Macura and Daniel Hamilton will need in-game chances to prove themselves to Cleveland, Garland should spend the minutes he is on the floor mostly with Sexton.

Sexton and Garland are both highly capable catch-and-shoot players, as evidenced by both shooting 40.2% (per Basketball Reference) and 47.8% (per Sports Reference) from three-point land in 2018-19, respectively.

They will both need to have the ball in their hands still a considerable amount of the time, still, though, and the fit of both as seemingly likely starters is unclear as this point, but I would think if they get some more work in preseason, that won’t hurt the chances they can get into a decent rhythm fairly early on in the 2019-20 season.

I understand that the Cleveland Cavaliers have three other veteran guards in Brandon Knight, Jordan Clarkson and Matthew Dellavedova (that are all expiring, by the way) but in the preseason, it’s not about getting veterans a ton of minutes.

Sexton came on well to end his rookie campaign, but his usage (24.7% last year, per NBA.com) should go down with Kevin Love (who only appeared in 22 games last year, mostly due to reported toe surgery) likely more on the floor much more often with Sexton, and again, Garland’s usage should cut into Sexton’s I would think a good amount, too.

Plus, with Sexton only going into his second year, getting him plenty of preseason reps, especially alongside Garland, would be a reasonable move by the coaching staff to help make sure that Sexton starts off next season trending upward as a decision-maker in settled offense and in transition.

Yes, both Sexton and Garland, as we’ve referenced many times, will struggle as a backcourt pairing on the defensive end, but the Cavs’ team defense likely will anyway with no players that are guaranteed to project as plus players there.

So once again, considering the Sexton-Garland backcourt pairing experiment is such a key part of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ future, getting them plenty of minutes in preseason action would be wise, so their adjustment is a bit smoother in the regular season.