Cavs: One stud and one dud from win over Nuggets

Cavs dud: Collin Sexton

Coming off a game where Collin Sexton mostly shouldered the scoring burden for the Cavs, this was definitely an off night for him on Monday. In 25 minutes, Sexton scored 14 points, had three rebounds and two assists, while shooting 3-of-5 from three but only 4-of-11 from the field overall. Granted, Sexton wasn’t the only member of the Cavaliers that struggled from the floor overall, and offensively it was a major struggle for both teams.

This was certainly a game to forget for Sexton though. He was able to hit a few shots from beyond the arc, but for the most part, he had issues getting in a rhythm.

There were a few times when he tried accelerating to the rim, but made some bad shot selections and had problems at times running into a Nuggets wall. Other times usually his mid-range jumper is pretty good, however, in this one, it just wasn’t falling when he was looking for it. It was just one of those nights for Sexton and he had problems finding any rhythm the entire game.

Now, some of that could’ve had some to do with still getting used to playing off Ricky Rubio, for some stretches, and Darius Garland was back, coming off missing the past two games because of an ankle sprain. But in general, it was a tough game for Sexton; he should be just fine, though, and on a positive note, he has shown encouraging signs as a playmaker.

In any case, as we noted, it was a grind it out kind of game for Sexton, and for the entire team, really. It feels like the team incorporating in some new pieces is still very much learning how to play with one and other, too, with Lauri Markkanen coming to mind, too. The chemistry for the entire team offensively is still a work in progress at this point.

In fairness to Sexton he’s still adjusting to a role where he’s playing more off-ball this year seemingly than in previous years and it’s been somewhat of a lesser burden, as compared to in the past.

In previous games we’ve seen signs of how things could possibly work when things are going well, but on Monday there were signs that these guys are still learning how to play and play off each others’ strengths and weaknesses.

Up next the Cavs continue a tough early season Western road trip with a visit to Staples Center, where they will take on the LA Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers. From there, they’ll have a back-to-back against the Phoenix Suns after that Lakers game before taking on the Charlotte Hornets again to finish out their road trip.