Three Christmas wishes for the Cleveland Cavaliers

#3: Collin Sexton lives up to the hype

The first thing on the Cavaliers Christmas list this year is for Collin Sexton to live up to the hype that he has generated this offseason. Near the time of the Cavs voluntary in-market mini bubble which featured some team runs, Sexton was noted to have put on 10-to-15 pounds of muscle during the quarantine.

Knowing the insane work ethic that Sexton has, and with how he was noticeably bigger/stronger heading into his second season, those reports from late September weren’t shocking, really. Along with this, Sexton has reportedly worked on his passing/playmaking.

With Sexton already having shown positive signs on-ball defensively (albeit the team defensive stats weren’t ideal), while also proving to make finishing strides, if he were to bulk up and become a better passer he’d be a more complete player.

Along with this, he would be the closest thing that the Cavaliers have had to a franchise player since LeBron James left for the Los Angeles Lakers.

According to Basketball Reference, Sexton is projected to have per 36-minute statistics of 21.5 points on 46.9 percent shooting, including shooting 39.8 percent from three-point range. That’s to go with 3.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 0.9 steals per game in 2020-21.

It is likely that if Sexton proves that he has made the jump he is projected to make, it would not be unrealistic to think that he could get his minutes bumped up to 36 a night.

If Sexton can lead the Cavaliers to a winning record with these stats, it would be difficult to make a case for him to not make an All-Star game. Along with this, if he makes the playmaking jump that is being wished for and promised, his assist numbers could almost be increased by say, two per game. These are wishes, to reiterate.