Cleveland Cavaliers: Evaluating Collin Sexton so far

By Tony Pesta | Oct 21, 2018

TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 17: Collin Sexton #2 of the Cleveland Cavaliers dribbles the ball as Serge Ibaka #9 of the Toronto Raptors defends in the first half of the NBA season opener at Scotiabank Arena on October 17, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /

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Cleveland Cavaliers (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

Negatives

Head coach Tyronn Lue elected to have Sexton come off the bench to start the season. This decision quickly became justified as Collin struggled in his debut. Numerous rookie mistakes led to Sexton finishing his first NBA game with four turnovers and four fouls as he shot just 2-for-7 from the field en route to nine points.

Sexton fell victim to a few unfortunate foul calls in his first game, most of which were a direct result of his high-intensity defense. There were many instances in which Collin was overplaying opponents, making it easier for veteran players to force him into bad fouls.

Similarly, his turnovers came from his clear inexperience and uncertainty on the court. With a player as fast as Sexton, there is no time for him to think about his next move. He often hesitated too much in his first game and made unforced errors because of it.

These problems should solve themselves as he becomes more accustomed to the NBA lifestyle. There is an obvious learning curve that Sexton will find himself going through this season.

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