Three players have clearly exceeded expectations in the 2019-20 season thus far for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
We’re still not certain if the 2019-20 season will end up playing out, at least in some capacity, for NBA teams. A step toward a potential resumption came recently, though, and this will apply to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
According to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Saturday, the NBA will allow players to have individual workouts in team practice facilities beginning on Friday in areas where restrictions will end up being loosened in relation to the novel coronavirus pandemic, and teams where that doesn’t apply will work with the league to accommodate players.
This should enable the Cavs to at least gain a bit of momentum such as how they were seemingly heading in the right direction post-All-Star break heading into the league’s season suspension.
The squad seemed much more bought-in when J.B. Bickerstaff took over as the Cavaliers head coach, and that was evident by their better overall play.
Anyhow, while the Cavs’ overall record of just 19-46 to this point in the 2019-20 season is anything but impressive, there have been three players that I believe have clearly exceeded expectations this season.
The first one is a promising rookie with tons of potential.
#3: Kevin Porter Jr.
It’s not been all the time that Kevin Porter Jr. has played really well, but as a bench contributor that only started in four games at USC in his lone collegiate season, even with showing a bunch of talent, Porter having 10.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game in averaging just 23.2 minutes has been great to see.
The 19-year-old is one of the Cavs’ best young pieces, and arguably has the highest ceiling of them. His finishing at the rim has jumped out throughout the season, and that’s been his bread-and-butter to rely on.
Though he’s not been efficient on pull-ups, as evidenced by just a 34.0 percent effective field goal shooting clip, per NBA.com’s shot tracking data, him hitting 40.7 percent of his catch-and-shoot three-point attempts thus far has been outstanding to see, too.
Additionally, Porter having an assist rate of 14.7 percent as a score-first perimeter player has been particularly noteworthy. His feel as a passer, mostly displayed in hitting dump-offs to pieces such as Larry Nance Jr. and making the proper extra passes to players such as Kevin Love and Darius Garland has been a key positive.
Moreover, we’ve seen plenty of instances of Porter’s ability to go off in stretches as a scorer, and with his handle, even though it hasn’t led to shots falling all the time, it’s evident that with his ability to manipulate matchups in the pick-and-roll and finish, and with his passing feel and athleticism, he has barely scratched the surface. His cutting feel has gotten better as the year has progressed, too.
Defensively, while him navigating through off-ball screens to contest needs work, Porter has often shown the ability to jump passing lanes, as evidenced by 1.4 steals per-36 minutes, per Basketball Reference, and he has the instincts to make plays at times as a helper at the rim. Plus, he has demonstrated the capability to mirror opposing ball-handlers very well when he’s been seemingly fully keyed-in and knows where screeners are coming.
While it’s not his natural position, either, Porter appearing mostly at the 3 position, with Dylan Windler not being able to play at all to this point given complications involving a stress reaction in his left leg, KPJ has done an admirable job in his matchups. Plus, Porter has shown he’s a very willing rebounder, too.
Porter is far from a finished product, but he again has exceeded my expectations thus far in 2019-20, and I firmly believe the Cavs’, and I just hope he can stay healthy moving forward. He had missed Cleveland’s last three games heading into the hiatus due to a concussion, and a 10-game stretch in January due to a left knee sprain.
Again, though, KPJ is coming.
#2: Larry Nance Jr.
Another player that has clearly exceeded expectations and has done so in the second-biggest way, if you will, is Nance.
Thus far this season, he’s put up what is currently on track to be a career-best with 10.1 points per game, and he’s continued on in his upward trajectory as a three-point shooter. Jr. has hit 35.2 percent of his 2.8 triple attempts, which are going to be career-highs, too.
In addition, him displaying an improved post game and showcasing the capability to play the 3 in certain matchups for Bickerstaff and the Cleveland Cavaliers has been especially encouraging in regards to Nance.
Along with that, Nance has again been a good screener/hand-off player, and he’s been a rock-solid rebounder on both ends of the floor, as shown by him putting up 7.3 boards per contest.
He also displayed his feel as a passing big, and much more so in recent months leading into the hiatus, as evidenced by him averaging 2.5 assists per outing in February and 3.2 helpers per game post-All-Star, as indicated by NBA.com.
Plus, Nance has consistently been one of the Cavs’ best defenders, and arguably their best team defensive contributor. That was even more so the case post-All-Star, too, as he put up 1.6 steals per outing in that stretch.
Going forward, while Nance I’d hope can stay healthy (he’s not appeared in over 67 games in his near-five-year career), I’d expect that he’ll continue to have a key role for the Cavs, as he keeps getting better.
#1: Collin Sexton
Collin Sexton has still has room to grow as a passer in terms of his vision, and his team defensive feel I’d argue needs work (though it’s gotten better as a rotator), but I did not nearly see him putting up 20.8 points per game and virtually leading Cleveland all season in scoring.
More from King James Gospel
- 3 possible starting lineups for Cleveland Cavaliers in 2023-24
- The Cavaliers may have snagged a hidden gem in Craig Porter Jr.
- 4 players the Cavaliers should pursue in 2024 free agency
- 6 players Cavaliers might replace Jarrett Allen with by the trade deadline
- This stat is one to keep an eye on for Cavaliers’ Max Strus in years ahead
Realistically, I couldn’t have been more wrong predicting that Sexton would only put up 13.2 points per outing before the season.
To me and I’d imagine the Cavs, though, Sexton has shattered expectations.
The 21-year-old has improved as a scorer on the interior, and him getting stronger this past offseason paid off in that regard, and Sexton has shown the ability to change speeds more regularly, which was not something we saw really at all in his rookie season.
He’s also shown improvement as a cutter, and he’s hit 38.0 percent of his three-point attempts thus far this season, and he was hitting 43.1 percent of his deep attempts post-All-Star.
Plus, Sexton has shown growth as a passer, in terms of seeing spray-outs to shooters when help comes and he’d been finding dump-offs more frequently really from February until the hiatus, and his defensive positioning on the ball and him anticipating pull-ups more has been great to see.
Sexton has also averaged 1.0 steals per game as compared to just 0.5 per outing as a rookie, and his active hands have led to him breaking up hand-offs on occasion. Leading into the hiatus, he was consistently getting transition opportunities after ball-denials/leak-outs, too.
Projecting toward next season, the ultra-durable Sexton should definitely be the Cavs’ primary option, and hopefully, we’ll see him continue to make strides in other areas.