Cleveland Cavaliers: Keys to success for each young star

Collin Sexton

Defense

It hasn’t been exactly fair for Collin Sexton to be criticized for his defense in his first two seasons. The Cavaliers are sorely lacking defensive talent and only so much blame can be placed on an undersized guard who wasn’t even old enough to drink until midway through his sophomore season.

However, now is the time for Sexton to prove himself on defense. He has always shown a strong effort on this end even if the results aren’t there yet. His long arms and quick feet should be able to make up for his short stature. But, most promising is the massive amounts of muscle it seems he has put on over the offseason.

Along with Isaac Okoro, Sexton can help turn the tides for Cleveland on defense. He might not be an elite defender but Sexton is more than competent of being a reliable perimeter threat next season.

Decision Making

Much of Sexton’s issues boil down to decision making. It can be frustrating for fans and teammates to watch one of Sexton’s erratic drives to the hoop that often results in him getting blocked or stripped. In fact, Sexton was blocked more than any other player in the 2018-19 NBA season.

Sexton slowly began to improve his decision making last year. The game appeared to slow down to him as he surprised everyone with crisp passes to teammates. Rather than forcing the issue, Sexton looked to draw attention on drives and kick to open shooters. Sexton recorded 4.3 assists per game in the final month of the season, the strongest stretch of his playmaking career.

Of course, decision making goes farther than the offensive end. One of the keys to becoming a better defender will be learning how to place himself in winning positions on defense. Sexton will need to combine his physical gifts with basketball knowledge to transform into a positive defender.

Scoring

At the end of the day, scoring is what Sexton does best. Despite being labeled a shot chucker, Sexton is a surprisingly efficient scorer, having posted a team-high 20.8 points on nearly 50 percent shooting last season.

Sexton ended his sophomore season on a blazing hot streak from the 3-point line. In a 32 game stretch, Sexton connected on 46.0 percent of his pull-up 3-point attempts. This was the highest percentage of anyone to attempt at least 60 3-pointers, above names like Trae Young, Damian Lillard, James Harden and Luka Doncic.

The Cavaliers will rely heavily on Sexton to produce points next season. And he seems ready for the challenge.