The Cleveland Cavaliers started a four-game homestand on Wednesday night, a welcome reprieve after a road-heavy start to the year. It was a close, defensive affair against the Washington Wizards that ended in a disappointing 97-94 loss. They are now 2-2 at home to balance out their 5-3 road record.
Wednesday night’s game was also meaningful for another reason, as it was the first game the team played this season without Collin Sexton. Their starting shooting guard and the team’s leading scorer will be out for an extended period of time with a meniscus injury.
The Cavs played their first game Wednesday night without Collin Sexton. What did the starters, rotation look like and what is the future outlook?
We wrote on Tuesday about how the Cavs can try to replace Sexton. The team had a few different options heading into the game against the Wizards, and head coach J.B. Bickerstaff got another option unlocked when Isaac Okoro was deemed healthy enough to play.
That’s the button Bickerstaff ended up pressing, starting Okoro at shooting guard alongside Darius Garland, electing to keep a rejuvenated Ricky Rubio coming off of the bench. He worked hard to lay the groundwork before the announcement, building on his preseason assertions that Okoro’s best position is at the 2:
#Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff just shared that Isaac Okoro's best, and natural, position is at the two and believes that's where he can play at his best.
— Evan Dammarell (@AmNotEvan) November 9, 2021
Bickerstaff played Okoro 28 minutes in his return from injury, and defensively he brought an element that Sexton never could. He was glued to Bradley Beal for many of his minutes and made life exceedingly difficult for the All-Star guard, a major part of harrying him to a 4-of-19 shooting night. As a team, the Wizards shot just 41.7 percent from the field.
The offense was a different story, and we see the bind that this coaching staff is in. With Lauri Markkanen and Kevin Love still sidelined in health and safety protocols, and now Sexton on the shelf, there aren’t a lot of offensive creators to call upon and the spacing has gotten even tighter. Okoro was 1-for-4 from the field, including 0-2 from deep, and the Wizards were quite comfortable leaving him wide open to pack the paint.
The other beneficiary of more minutes in the absence of Sexton was Cedi Osman, who played 29 minutes off the bench as the primary backup at both the 2 and the 3. His shooting is a necessity for the rotation now, and while he mustered just 1-for-4 from deep (he probably needs a few more attempts) the Wizards were guarding him. Against teams with fewer backcourt threats, it might be more helpful to play Osman ahead of Okoro, whether he starts or not; they essentially tied in minutes Wednesday night.
What was interesting is that neither Ricky Rubio nor Dylan Windler saw an uptick in playing time. Rubio played less than 28 minutes, fewer than Okoro, Osman and the same as Dean Wade. Given the long layoff since their last game on Sunday this was borderline shocking. Rubio led the team with 20 points and presumably will play more moving forward.
Windler is less likely to see more playing time. Despite his obvious physical tools and skillset, and his consistent shooting this season, Bickerstaff is unwilling to commit a major role to him, and it’s possible that once Markkanen and Love are back he is the odd man out in the rotation. He played just 13 minutes against the Wizards.
If Okoro got the minutes from Sexton, Evan Mobley and Darius Garland got the usage. Both tried to shoulder the scoring load in Sexton’s absence and they combined for 31 shots, although just six assists between them. Mobley in particular handled the ball more initiating offense, where in past games he has been able to benefit a little more from other players creating an advantage and then hitting him with the pass.
Garland got up a season-high 16 field goal attempts, and matched his season-high with 10 3-point attempts. On the Cavs’ final possession of the game it was Garland taking the shot, a good look at a 3-pointer that just didn’t go down. His growth into the top option on this team will both significantly influence their record and give a picture of the long-term future of this core.
The offense will be better when Markkanen and Love return, providing more spacing and shifting some of the offensive load around. Yet for all of Sexton’s shortcomings, he is still a talented scorer and a high-motor player, and he will certainly be missed.
For now the Cavs will seek to replace him with a team effort, with Okoro getting the first stab at his minutes, Mobley some of his shots and Garland the bulk of his role. They will try to win with their defense and seek to grow the right environment for Sexton to return into as they push for the play-in game later in the season.