Cavs: One stud and one dud from their W over the Raptors on Friday

Cavs dud: Collin Sexton

This is one of the toughest games for Collin Sexton that I’ve seen since the Cavs drafted him eighth overall in 2018.

For the game, he had nine points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal, but Sexton only shot 1-of-5 from deep and struggled overall from the field, only shooting 4-of-17. Again this is one of the toughest games he’s had as a Cavalier, in my opinion. He was sloppy with the ball, he struggled to find a rhythm and was playing out of control at times.

The biggest issue was at the end of the game, where he also inexcusably committed two near-turnovers that could’ve cost them the contest. At the end of the day it ultimately didn’t cost the Cavs as they were able to pull out a tough win on the road at the end. Even still, this was one of Sexton’s worst games as a Cavalier, but to Sexton’s credit, he did atone for it a bit, by winning a crucial jump ball against Gary Trent Jr.

Other than that, it was one of the off nights for Sexton. Some of it could be Sexton is still adjusting to a new role, to some degree. He’s obviously is in a new role, primarily much more so off-ball, also with Rubio in the fold, and it’s apparent, and he’s going through the ups and downs of it.

In any case, this was an important win for the Cavaliers on the young 2021-22 season. This was more than just a highly anticipated matchup with the two early season frontrunners for Rookie of the Year in Mobley and Barnes.

The Raptors are a good team who factor to be in contention for the play-in. To have a comeback win like this in a tough building against a good team is an important building block.

The Cavs were 8-7 at one point at the beginning of last season, but some of it was based off a so-so schdule. And when the Cavs went on a Western road trip, the losses piled up and the bottom fell out.

Conversely, this time around, they’ve started 6-4 and gone against some really good, contending  teams on the road, they’ve been beating. It’s early, but this time around it feels different.