Cavs: This is key to watch for Collin Sexton as scorer in Year 4

I know he has tunnel vision at times; I’m not saying he doesn’t, but it’s no secret that the Cleveland Cavaliers need Collin Sexton to score in bunches.

One shouldn’t be discounting that the dude had 24.3 points per contest last season, particularly with the inconsistencies for the Cavs and the unfortunate injury issues they had throughout 2020-21.

Scorers like Sexton don’t just grow on trees, and while it’s not yet certain if he could potentially receive a max-type deal from Cleveland, it’s a plus that him/his representation and the team do have mutual interest in him being around long-term, of which KJG’s Mack Perry hit on.

Sexton again needs to show continued growth for the Cavs, and team defense/rotational feel and him showing further development as a secondary playmaker are two areas I’ll be looking out for from him moving forward. Him having 4.4 assists per contest in Year 3 was a step in the right direction, though.

Nonetheless, as a scorer, it’s apparent that he does need to take more three-point attempts game-to-game next season/looking onward. The Cavaliers have reportedly been stressing for him and Darius Garland to attempt more triples from here, which is the right call, anyhow, and to that point, Garland did state at the team’s Media Day that he’s been working on extending his range.

I would think that Sexton’s been doing the same, for what it’s worth, over the offseason, to go with other parts of his game.

That said, one area that comes to mind that I’d like to see him stress more game-to-game in Year 4 is the off-the-bounce game from three.

It wasn’t a high volume in Year 2 at 9.5 percent, but Sexton did hit a respectable 35.0 percent of his pull-up triple attempts then, per NBA.com’s shot tracking data. Last year, on a frequency of 10.3 percent, that was a 31.3 percent hit rate, again, per NBA.com’s shot tracking data.

The step back game from deep could possibly be more of a focus in that realm for him, though. But in a general sense, look for a step forward as far as off-the-bounce threes from Sexton.

Along those lines, per a report from Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor, Sexton has, to go with other things, such as quickening his decision-making in pick-and-roll, been “focused on taking more off-the-dribble 3-pointers.” 

Cavs: Sexton seeking out more threes off-the-bounce is a key to watch for him as a scorer in Year 4.

Sexton is Cleveland’s best driving presence on the floor, and the strides he’s made with his strength in recent years have paid dividends for him.

That, and the change-of-pace Sexton has shown have led to him getting to the free throw line often throughout games, which I’d imagine will still be the case for the foreseeable future. He had 6.4 free throw attempts per outing in Year 3, and those looks can get him in-rhythm.

As we touched on, however, and as Fedor’s report noted, next season, it seems that him taking more triples off-the-bounce should be a point of emphasis for him as a scorer. Now, the efficiency dipped last season in that regard, but him then hitting nine-of-23 (39.1 percent) from deep on step back triple attempts, per NBA.com’s shooting data, does lead to me think we could see more of those attempts from him this season.

Granted, in regards to the frequency of off-the-dribble threes, it’s difficult to pinpoint that for now heading into the season, but we should see a meaningful difference.

Now, at times, I’m sure Sexton will still take some mid-range pull-ups, and in instances throughout games, he’ll need to take those and/or floaters. Those will still be in-play, but it is evident that Sexton, just as with Garland, as we alluded to, needs to look to pull more off-the-bounce from beyond the arc.

I do firmly believe, too, that if he does that more game-to-game, and sticks to it, with the strides he’s made as a three-point shooter overall in his career, that he could be more than respectable if he does truly “let it fly,” of which he said at Media Day, via Fedor.

If Sexton has that approach, it only aid him more as a slasher, and with Sexton’s scoring capabilities, more willingness to fire from deep off-the-bounce should help his secondary playmaking impact, too.

Hopefully, we see this approach play out involving Sexton as a scorer in Year 4.