Cavs: It’s safe to say Collin Sexton is floor spacer from here

Collin Sexton again led the Cleveland Cavaliers in scoring last season after doing so in Year 2, then with 20.8 points per game; in Year 3, he did so with 24.3 points per outing.

His change-of-pace off-the-bounce was again on display, which made Sexton so difficult to account for as a three-level scorer. He was able to typically get to his spots on-ball, and in the pick-and-roll, he took advantage of when bigs were dropping, leading to floaters/push shots and in-rhythm md-range pull-ups.

Now, I would like to see him attempt a bit more three-point looks game-to-game from here, but it’s apparent that he’s going to generally be efficient in how he’s getting his production. A true shooting rate of 57.3 percent was nothing to sneeze at, given the circumstances and Cleveland’s barrage of injuries last season, such as to Kevin Love for much of that, and Larry Nance Jr., too.

Sexton himself did some time because of an ankle sprain earlier on, a bit with a hamstring strain later on and then a few games due to a concussion, also. Albeit I wouldn’t expect that to be much of an issue, by and large, as Sexton didn’t miss a game in his first two seasons.

Anyway, at this point, it’s evident that the young guard is going to get his share of buckets on-ball when he’s in there, even with his presence in that way leading to plenty of attention from opposing defenses. The speed/quickness and improved strength for Collin over the past two offseasons has aided him on-ball, too.

That said, Sexton has shown signs of growth off-ball as he’s gotten more experience, and his catch-and-shoot abilities/feel for seeking out those looks has come along as well. Of course, the growth/bounce-back season for Darius Garland as Cleveland’s primary playmaker, which was often showcased in 2020-21 and even more post-All-Star, helped Sexton as a catch-and-shoot player, too.

Others factor into that sort of thing via ball-swings/drive-and-kicks, along with Garland, though, and players such as Isaac Okoro, particularly as the season wore on, come to mind, and Cedi Osman, for instance.

But no matter how you slice it, it’s nice to know that looking onward, that Sexton is a floor spacing presence for Cleveland, which aids others.

Cleveland Cavaliers: It’s safe to say Sexton’s a floor spacer from here.

Last season, even with a rough patch in March when he knocked in just 33.9 percent of his three-point attempts, Sexton had a 37.1 percent hit rate from three overall. Through his first three seasons, his three-point shooting clip has been 38.5 percent, for further context.

It’s been good to see as a Cavs fan Collin be, for the most part, a very respectable shooter from deep in his career so far. His tireless work ethic has had plenty to do with that, but it’s still been impressive to see himself prove himself in that way.

Coming into the league, Sexton was not necessarily known as a deep shooter heading into college basketball, and in his lone collegiate season at Alabama, he hit a lower 33.6 percent of his three-point attempts.

With the Cavaliers though, he’s clearly established himself as a viable shooter off-the-catch and that’s aided him in other ways, and will continue to help open up the floor more for others.

It was encouraging that Sexton was able to get a bit more opportunities game-to-game for spot-ups too, and he delivered in those situations the vast majority of the time. According to Synergy Sports, he placed in the 83rd percentile in terms of spot-up scoring, which was a step forward from his first two seasons.

Again, I would like to see Sexton continue to take more three-point looks in general, as in the spot-up realm, for example, he had an effective field goal shooting clip of 58.6 percent in those situations.

Albeit overall, it’s again safe to say that Collin, who could seemingly be locked-up long-term this offseason, is a player that teams must be hesitant to rotate off of with his catch-and-shoot viability/track record thus far with Cleveland.

That’s nice to know for others, such as Garland, Okoro and Jarrett Allen, among other Cavs and a potential draft selection such as Jonathan Kuminga or Scottie Barnes.

And if Sexton can make further strides as an off-ball player, as I believe he will with better chemistry alongside Garland/others, perhaps more spot-up opportunities and/or on occasion, off-movement looks, can come for him.