Cleveland Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton is as tough as it gets, and he continues to prove he’s built for getting through this full-rebuild.
I’ll be the first to admit that Cleveland Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton is far from an ideal player, and it’s still frustrating that he doesn’t hit open shooters at times after the ball is swung to him and tends to over-dribble into traffic.
That being said, it’s clear as day at this point that Sexton is going to bring 200% effort night-in and night-out, and that he’s going to consistently score the basketball at a borderline-team leading rate in most games.
Sexton is leading the Cavaliers in scoring in this 2019-20 season with 17.6 points per game, and clearly, he’s always going to be a relentless bucket-getter for the Wine and Gold when he’s on the floor.
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Though Sexton clearly has his share of warts, and is not a natural passer, as evidenced by a career assist clip of just 3.2 per-36 minutes, as noted by Basketball Reference, and makes his share of errors defensively, getting through screens off-ball especially it seems, Sexton again is a player that no matter, will always give maximum effort.
That sort of thing, always being available and Sexton’s willingness to take constructive criticism, to me, shows that Sexton continues to prove he’s built for getting through this Cavs’ full-rebuild.
Additionally, Sexton instead of allowing criticism to get to him, is leaning into it and using it as motivation, as was transcribed recently by Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor.
"“I love the criticism because if there was no criticism then what can you work on and what can you get better at? That’s just like any job. People may say you can’t write a good story, you’re going to try to prove them wrong. So, whatever they say I can’t do I’m going to do it.”"
This is the kind of mindset that sets the right example for Cleveland’s 2019 rookie draft class in Darius Garland, Dylan Windler (who is still dealing with a reported stress reaction in his left leg) and Kevin Porter Jr.
The Cavs are putting quite an emphasis on toughness and having an outstanding work ethic in this rebuild, and the more I hear in regards to Sexton, the more he showcases that.
Though he struggled in his main role as a scorer against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday with only nine points on two-of-12 shooting, according to ESPN, Sexton did at least have three assists, and given Sexton’s mentality, I’d fully expect him to bounce back in a big way against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.
Kevin Love would also hit on how Sexton has worked his tail off to improve and is receptive as Fedor detailed, and Sexton also noted how Cleveland head coach John Beilein gets after him often in terms of yelling in-game, but Sexton, per Fedor, said how you have to “pull the good things out of that message.”
Sexton, more or less, is far from an ideal player, but you have to appreciate how he’s never going to be satisfied, and is as coachable as it gets.
Going forward, though Sexton could feasibly come off the bench as Fedor noted given the shaky fit in the starting unit with him and Garland making an undersized 1-2 combo, I’d expect Sexton to keep getting buckets for the Wine and Gold, and coupled with how the expiring Jordan Clarkson could realistically be moved by the 2020 trade deadline.
Regardless of what happens with Sexton’s role, it’s clear that he’ll continue to set the right example from an intangible standpoint for Garland, Porter and other young pieces I would think to come via future drafts.
Moreover, Sexton’s attitude, work ethic and toughness continues to prove that he’s got it mentally to play an integral role in helping the Cavs turn things around in coming years.