Cavs: Collin Sexton just turned 22, and that’s got to be frightening for opponents

Sexton’s passing and defense for the Cavs is also coming along

In his last 25 games of 2019-20, Sexton had a better 4.0 assists per outing, albeit he did have 3.1 turnovers per game in that span, but it was clear the passing feel for him was getting better.

Granted, so far this season, Sexton hasn’t broken any records with 3.4. assists per outing through seven games, although he’s consistently making more extra passes when those are there. And some dump-offs to Andre Drummond/Larry Nance Jr. have been great to see.

Moreover, while he’s not going to be a player that has the vision/passing capabilities necessarily of Garland, who is Cleveland’s primary playmaker, Sexton having an assist rate of 16.2 percent is more than fine going forward, I believe, or around that, perhaps. That’s what he’s had thus far in Year 3, and his turnover rate has only been 9.4 percent.

What’s also been nice to see was that, although there are still off-ball struggles for Collin defensively at times, he has shown improvement in that regard this season/taken better angles and seemed to be timely with his help.

But on-ball, as he proved to be more so as the season progressed, even if the team defensive metrics didn’t show it, Sexton did get better with his anticipation/resistance and contests of guards pulling up and/or looking to get into the lane.

His ball pressure has had an impact for Cleveland this season, and he appears to be more comfortable overall on-ball, and in pick-and-roll coverage, Sexton, while it is still so early on, is off to a nice start in that realm. He’s placed in the 60th percentile in PnR ball handling coverage, per Synergy, on a frequency of 43.7 percent.

Admittedly, others seemingly taking strides around him have helped, too, though, from a team standpoint, such as in Andre Drummond and JaVale McGee, to go with Larry Nance Jr., but make no mistake, Collin’s defensive growth has shown, too. He’s averaged 1.4 steals per contest early on in 2020-21.

Anyhow, all things considered, what Sexton has proven to be already as a scorer for the Cleveland Cavaliers has been something special in that of itself, but I believe with his maniacal work ethic and commitment to the game, he’ll show continued growth moving forward in other areas, too.

And when you factor in that Sexton just turned 22 years old, with what he’s already shown and how he seemingly is silencing doubters night-in and night-out, him still being just that age has to be frightening for Cavs opponents looking onward.

I couldn’t be more #Bullish about what’s to come for the still, very Young Bull.