If the Cleveland Cavaliers were to make a starting lineup change in coming games, as has been recently suggested, they should have Kevin Porter Jr. take Collin Sexton’s spot for a number of reasons.
Coming into the 2019-20 season for the Cleveland Cavaliers, it was always going to be about the development of the young players.
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With that, many expected the Cavs to have more than their fair share of losses, considering they’re in the midst of a full scale rebuild.
With all the youth the Cavaliers have, there will be tons of growing pains along the way as the Wine and Gold and their fans have witnessed this year, and positive steps by the young guys will show in some wins, but a lot of losses will come.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the year so far is the early growth of rookie Kevin Porter Jr. Porter came in as someone who was very raw, but his talent is undeniable.
Again he came in needing a lot of work, but considering where he was at the start of the season, the amount of growth Porter’s had since is impressive.
Early in his rookie season, he would hesitate on open catch-and-shoot three-pointers and he is now at least shooting them with much more confidence.
Porter is shooting only 32.2% from three-point land on the year on 2.6 attempts per game, but in his last 12 games, he’s hit 42.9% of his shots from deep on a similar 2.9 attemps per outing, according to NBA.com.
This isn’t just about his game on Wednesday against the Houston Rockets, either. Coming into that contest, you could see Porter continuing to mature, continuing to gain confidence, and the game is starting to come to him more.
Against the Rockets, he finally had his breakout game as a professional, where he scored a team-high 24 points on nine-of-15 shooting, including six-of-nine from three-point range, to go with three assists, as shown by ESPN. Though Porter had trouble defensively in matchups on-ball against James Harden, that’s hardly a big deal, and Harden was knocking down so many tough shots on his way to a ridiculous 55-point game.
Porter did still compete at such a high level, and he came away with three steals in the game, too, and his timing with that for a rookie is something else.
This isn’t to say that Porter is a finished prospect, as he’s still only 19 years old. The end of the game offered the growing pains a rookie in the NBA will have, and a crucial turnover on an in-bound pass in the last few moments ultimately put the game on ice, but he also showed how far he’s come and a glimpse of the player he could eventually be in that Houston game.
Still, KPJ was a a huge part of the Cavs’ second unit igniting a comeback from a 14-point deficit at one point.
The starting lineup has struggled mightily, mostly in these last 15 games after a surprising start to the regular season. Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com even suggested that it was time for a starting lineup change after a 110-88 road loss to the Boston Celtics on Monday.
In my opinion, if a lineup change is going to take place, the Cavs should insert Porter into the starting lineup and move Collin Sexton, who is really manning the 2, to the bench.
What Porter would bring to the starters over Sexton
That swap was one of Fedor’s suggested starting lineup changes, too, along with Fedor stating the Cleveland Cavaliers could potentially move Darius Garland to the bench and start Matthew Dellavedova or perhaps Brandon Knight at the 2 alongside Sexton, or put Porter in at the 2 with Sexton at the 1 and have Garland again, come off the bench.
If the starting lineup were to change for Cleveland head coach John Beilein, the Porter-for-Sexton swap in the starting lineup is the one that makes the most sense to me.
I think the recent growth and play of Porter again makes him deserving of more minutes and I believe they should insert him into the starting lineup. He would give the Cavs more size at a listed 6-foot-4 and 203 pounds, and Porter also has the potential to be a good defender.
This isn’t a knock on Sexton either, as he’s improved defensively, but at a listed 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, he has limitations with his size, as Fedor demonstrated. Having two small guards in Garland and Sexton has put the Cavaliers in a tough spot on defense in a bunch of minutes in 2019-20.
Again this isn’t a knock on Sexton at all, as I believe he’s going to be a very good player, but I have believed for a long time that his best role will ultimately be as instant offense in the role of a sixth man off the bench, just like some in the Cavs’ organization have reportedly also said to members of the local media, such as Fedor.
Sexton would get buckets in a big way off the bench
A lot of good players have had long successful careers and have had impact on winning teams in that sixth man role, just look at Lou Williams for the LA Clippers.
Along with that, Collin Sexton is somebody we’ve seen already who can get buckets in a big way.
He’s currently leading the Cavs in scoring with 17.3 points per game, according to NBA.com. Plus, just like Jordan Clarkson (who looks to be a nice trade chip as an expiring player and has been mentioned in trade rumors), does for Cleveland now, Sexton is someone who can be a dynamic sixth man scorer off the bench, or if Clarkson is on the floor with him a bunch, can still score a ton as a reserve as a key option, anyhow.
Darius Garland is still adjusting to the NBA and is coming off a reported meniscus tear he suffered in college at Vanderbilt last year, and as Fedor hit on, he’s still not likely completely back from that yet.
I think Garland with his handle, elite shooting capability from deep, which we’re seeing more of now, and playmaking should keep him starting over Sexton.
No starting lineup made this year will lead to a bunch of wins, because of the amount of youth playing big minutes, but Garland and Porter could be the backcourt of the future, and Beilein and the Cleveland Cavaliers should see how they can grow together and build chemistry as a backcourt this year.
I also think moving Sexton to the bench now benefits him as well. I firmly believe Sexton’s future in the NBA is as a sixth man coming off the bench and he can have a big impact in that role. If that’s going to ultimately be his role, the Cavs should just put him in that role now.
The Cavs are in the early stages of a full scale rebuild, but by putting Porter in the starting lineup, they could get some clarity and would get a look at their potential backcourt of the future.