Sexton should start for Cavs at SG: Team chemistry
Collin Sexton has been with the Cavs for four seasons, the third-longest tenured player on the roster behind Kevin Love and Cedi Osman. He has grown up on the Cavaliers, and alongside players like Darius Garland and Isaac Okoro. Entering last season, the narrative was about this young core of players, five starters who were all 23 and under with a blaze of upside.
For all of the potential issues with Garland eclipsing Sexton in the team hierarchy, there has never been a whiff of poor chemistry with this group, especially attached to Sexton’s name. He was frequently present last season on the bench in street clothes, cheering his team on. Even when he couldn’t play he was a part of the team.
His competitive fire also helps to drive his teammates to play harder. No one on the team and perhaps in the league goes harder than Sexton, and it manifests in tiny plays like offensive rebounds in a sea of trees, or tough finishes through contact. His fire ignites the rest of the team.
That fire isn’t coming from Caris LeVert. He may seem like a player who can replicate what Sexton does on the court at a larger size, and to an extent that is true, but Sexton brings something intangible to the table that LeVert just doesn’t have.