Cleveland Cavaliers: 3 ways Collin Sexton can improve
By Tony Pesta
2. Playmaking
Similar to the last topic, we need to talk about Collin Sexton’s role as a playmaker. The point guard position may be more scoring oriented than ever before, but that doesn’t mean the starting 1 should ignore playmaking altogether.
Last season, the league average for assists per game at the starting point guard position was 5.8 a game. As for Sexton, he dished out just 3.0 assists a night, which gives him the 106th-lowest average in the league.
Now, a few things played a role in Sexton’s low assist numbers. For starters, he is a rookie point guard who already had questions around his playmaking ability before he was drafted. No one was surprised that this was one of his weaknesses as it was predicted long before he hit the floor.
The fact that the Cleveland Cavaliers had one of the worst offenses in the league didn’t help. The Cavaliers scored just 104.5 points per game, the second-lowest in the NBA. They also ranked in the bottom 10 for 3-pointers made and bottom three for overall field goal percentage.
When you add all of this up, it would be hard for any player to average solid assist numbers in this role. Let alone an inexperienced rookie with underdeveloped playmaking abilities.
Next season, Collin will have more offensive firepower around him. Kevin Love is a great offensive player when he is healthy and rookie Darius Garland could light it up from downtown.
Sexton now has the tools around him to be a good passer, the question is, will he make the changes necessary?
Sexton’s final five games last season:
- CLE @ PHO: 21 points, 3 assists
- CLE @ SAC: 19 points, 3 assists
- CLE @ GSW: 27 points, 4 assists
- CLE vs. SA: 16 points, 4 assists
- CLE vs. CHO: 18 points, 10 assists
We saw glimpses of Sexton attempting to focus more on assisting his teammates last year. Towards the back end of the season, Collin actually bumped his assist numbers up to 4.1 a game across the final 18 games.
He even racked up his first double-double in the final game of the year versus Charlotte.
The potential is there for Sexton. As he enters his second season, look for Sexton to continue to increase his offensive awareness and set up teammates more often.