Collin Sexton is a player that has taken a significant leap forward this season for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Here, though, we’ll focus on three areas where Sexton needs to improve next season to keep on an upward trajectory.
It’s evident that the Cleveland Cavaliers should feel encouraged about Collin Sexton‘s outlook moving forward as a key piece for them.
The 21-year-old has far exceeded expectations in his second season, and at this time with NBA’s season suspended due to concerns regarding the novel coronavirus, Sexton has averaged 20.8 points per game, and virtually led the Cavs in scoring all year.
In terms of reported updates involving a potential 2019-20 season resumption, you can view those here and at this link, and quickly, we’ll touch on a few updates.
Per Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor, the Cavs are looking to reopen practice facilities on a limited workout-basis on Friday, due to the NBA giving the go-ahead for teams with less restrictive social distancing guidelines. Along with that initial report from Fedor, the New York Times‘ Marc Stein had this further update involving that from the league.
The Cavaliers, according to a team spokesman, will indeed make their practice facility open to players Friday for voluntary workouts ... once the league makes it official and allows facilities to re-open in states (like Ohio) where shelter-in-place restrictions have been eased
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 6, 2020
Granted, 92.3 The Fan’s Daryl Ruiter noted how Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said how players returning to Cleveland will abide by a “14-day quarantine” before conducting individual workouts, and that would relate to Sexton and Andre Drummond, for example.
The Associated Press‘ Tom Withers touched on Bickerstaff doesn’t see “many players” that were out of town returning for workouts, but we’ll see. Head coaches for NBA teams that will be holding voluntary workouts also won’t be able to “participate or observe” those workouts for players, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, though Wojnarowski did note how “six assistant coaches or player development personnel” will be able to supervise.
In terms of a possible return/the general sense involving a possible NBA season resumption, Bickerstaff said, per Withers, how he’s unaware at this time of the league wanting implementing a “short cut” to a resumption and that the NBA has not said it plans to “exclude any teams.”
Whether or not we do eventually see sort of season resumption, though, it is again clear that Sexton took positives this season as a scorer in the mid-range and painted area, and it was nice to see Sexton change speeds to help him manipulate matchups in the pick-and-roll game.
The young guard has shot 38.0 percent from three-point range, exhibited better cutting feel going to the basket, and shown growth as a passer mostly related to drive-and-kicks. He has gotten better on-ball defensively on the perimeter, too.
So what are a few areas where Sexton needs to get better next season that first come to mind?
The first two areas relate to Sexton becoming more versatile as a passer, of which we’ll get into now.
#1: Improving on post entry passes
Sexton showed better passing feel and more willingness post-All-Star leading into the hiatus, and though Darius Garland missing the Cavs’ last five games leading into the hiatus had some to do with it, it was good to see Sexton have 4.2 assists per outing in that span.
He was doing a commendable job hitting dump-offs to bigs such as Drummond, Larry Nance Jr. and Tristan Thompson after drives, and Sexton has displaying better recognition at hitting spray-outs to shooters such as Kevin Love and Cedi Osman, which was the case more so since February-ish.
Though I’d say Garland and Kevin Porter Jr. are in the same boat here, even with Sexton not feasibly a primary playmaker nearly as much next season as opposed to Garland, Sexton needs to improve on his post entry passes.
With the Cavs still reportedly viewing Love as a key piece for them that can help their young pieces develop, I’d prefer to see Sexton should better timing in getting his post entries into Love earlier.
The same goes for Drummond, who even though he seemingly could be a trade candidate next season near the deadline, will reportedly likely opt into his $28.8 milllion player option for next season, per Fedor, and hopefully, Sexton can get the ball easier into Drummond to get the Cavs’ offense better looks and with more time to operate in the shot clock. I’d include Nance in that realm, too.
If Sexton improves with his post entries, along with those other youngsters, the Cavs’ offense would again have much more time to operate, and far too often, it’s taken Sexton and those others too much time to get those in.
Sexton seemed to improve in that regard and was more decisive with the ball post-All-Star in settled offense, but I haven’t see that nearly enough, and hopefully, with more film study and work with Bickerstaff, assistant coach Lindsay Gottlieb and others, Sexton can get the ball in earlier clock to Love to score/playmake.
Plus, if Sexton does so, he could very well get the back and get more shooting opportunities via relocation, and he’s proven to be a heck of a catch-and-shoot threat and is a better finisher near the rim.
The next improvement/focus area for Sexton also is in the passing realm, and plays off the first.
#2: Improving his feel in relation to ball reversals
The next passing area where Sexton needs to improve next season relates to ball reversals.
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Somewhat coincided with improving on his post entries, if those are more so closed off by ball-denials and strong side help on the other side, it’d be beneficial for Sexton to utilize ball reversals more often next season.
That’s been something I’ve been encouraged to see from the likes of Garland and Cedi Osman, for example, and even Nance and Love.
Sexton had shown better feel when hitting strong side spray-outs to shooters after drives and he’s shown improved feel in hitting dump-offs, as was previously mentioned, and that’s a big positive to me, as it makes him a bit less predictable.
Moving forward, though, if Sexton shows more willingness/recognition in terms of reversing the ball and initiating ball-swings that way, it will put more stress on weak side defenders and bigs near the rim if Sexton can get the offense going in the other direction.
That would lead to defenses needing to rotate more, and not being able to key in on Sexton as a driver and would allow for back side pin-downs/flare screens to eventually get the likes of Garland, feasibly Love and others, such as hopefully a healthier Dylan Windler, productive shots in set offense more frequently.
In relation to that, the likes of KPJ, Osman, and others are more than capable of hitting those passes, too.
So basically, if the early-clock post entries are not there for Sexton, I’d just like to see him get the ball going with the simple dish in the opposite direction as a counter. Sexton will get more than enough of his own touches anyhow, and he’d realistically be the eventual recipient of those ball-swings after reversals, too.
Lastly, the third area Sexton needs to improve next season relates to the defensive end.
#3: Improving on closeouts as a rotator
The third area that jumps out that Sexton needs to improve on next season is his closeouts as a rotator.
On-ball, Sexton has honestly gotten better at walling off drivers, and he’s shown better anticipation when it comes to pull-ups, and his contests in those instances have improved as compared to his first season.
To me, Sexton having a defensive rating of 117.0 thus far in 2019-20, per NBA.com, is somewhat misleading when looking at how Garland, who has struggled mightily on-ball and hasn’t been a whole better at getting through off-ball screens to contest, has had a defensive rating of 113.8.
Anyhow, it is clear that Sexton still has room to improve in regards to his closeouts as a team defender/rotator to shooters. That’s understandable for a player that’s only 21 years of age, and especially with how only the Washington Wizards have had a worse defensive rating to this point this season.
Considering Sexton has shown positive signs in terms of as being a strong side stunter off-ball to opposing drivers, though, I’d think that with more film study/experience, coupled with Sexton’s recovery speed/quickness, that he could get much better even next season when it comes to closeouts to shooters.
At any rate, Sexton only placing in the 34th percentile in terms of his primary defense against spot-ups in 2019-20, per Synergy Sports, has been underwhelming.
That being said, with Sexton being a tireless worker and with how he’s improved on-ball in deterring drivers/pull-ups, I’m hopeful he can improve in being more disciplined with his closeouts to shooters to deter drives off those after closing out too hard.
Also, I’d imagine he could deter shots more if he’s more timely/on-point with his contests. After all, even with him only being 6-foot-1, Sexton does have a plus 6-foot-6 wingspan.