Cleveland Cavaliers: Official midseason report cards

Collin Sexton’s midseason Grade: A

No other player on the Cleveland Cavaliers’ roster, or perhaps the entire league, has made more notable leaps in their development than Collin Sexton. Transforming from an ‘inefficient’ scorer with a historically bad assist-to-turnover ratio, Sexton has reversed the narrative and taken big steps towards becoming a star.

His scoring is the first thing that stands out. Sexton is averaging a career-high 23.1 points on the best shooting splits of his career. His straight-line speed is leaving opponents in the dust as the muscle he added during the offseason is allowing him to finish over taller players, something he struggled with in the past.

Sexton is making defenses pay for sagging off him by consistently drilling pull-up mid-range shots and floaters. Though there has been a conscious effort to limit these shots in favor of 3-pointers, there’s no denying Sexton is mastering the lost art of the mid-range.

One area he has improved the most is playmaking. Sexton is dishing a career-best 4.1 assists and is playing with more focus. His assist-to-turnover ratio has jumped from 1.22 to 1.54, a significant increase that marks his growth as a playmaker.

Some issues still plague Sexton’s game. He is prone to tunnel-vision plays that lead to ill-advised shots and turnovers. And, he and Darius Garland are both towards the bottom of the league as a defensive backcourt for the second year in a row.

Yet, Sexton plays with as much energy as anyone in the NBA. He leaves it all out on the court every night and frequently stays after the game to work out. Cleveland can’t ask for much more out of the 22-year-old guard and it’s becoming clear that Sexton is the future of Cavs’ basketball.