Good, bad and ugly: Assessing Cleveland Cavaliers season thus far
By Ryan Piers
The good: Young guards playing well
Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman put all his chips in on the team’s backcourt. He thinks Darius Garland and Collin Sexton are pocket aces. The future of a quick rebuild is the hands of his turnover-prone, yet sometimes electrifying, young ball handlers.
The good news is they’ve been pretty solid this season. Not Luka Doncic-Earth shattering or league changing, but good.
Sexton is shooting, passing and scoring at about the same clip that he did last season. His 17.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game stat line is comparable to his 2018-19 numbers. It was his intense yet inconsistent play on defense last year that concerned critics.
But this season his defensive rating is up leading to an improved win share total (0.4 compared to a negative total last season).
Following a shaky start, Garland’s recent flashes of potential ease concerns. He’s averaging 16.0 points and 2.6 assists over his past five games. More importantly, he looks like the ready-made NBA point guard the Cavs expected. Garland is shooting more confidently from deep. He’s forgoing mid-range jumpers for opportunities at the rim.
https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1194423824072101888
Like in this clip, where he puts Philadelphia 76ers forward Matisse Thybull on skates. Could he have pulled up at the right elbow? Sure. But Garland opts for the higher percentage shot in the paint.
Of course, we can’t forget Kevin Porter Jr. Nabbed via trade on draft night, the combo guard is proving NBA worthy. His 113 points are the fourth-most of any rookie drafted outside the top 13. And that’s a player who only saw time in 21 games at USC. So that make three guards to build around in a guard-driven league. It’s a good sign for the Cavs.