With stabilty and a roster that is not expected to see a major overhaul, Collin Sexton is a breakout candidate in year two.
Circumstances beyond his control. That is the theme for Collin Sexton during his rookie year in Cleveland. The Cavaliers were as unstable as unstable gets. The firing of Tyronn Lue, Larry Drew’s initial refusal to accept the interim head coach position, injuries to key players and trades of others all played factors in Sexton’s rookie campaign.
Collin Sexton came off the bench to start the year as George Hill was still the starter. Hill was eventually traded clearing the way for Sexton. The problem was the team had already experienced an injury that derailed any chance of not being a bottom feeder. Kevin Love injured his foot four games into the season and with it the Cavaliers season was essentially over. Love’s injury triggered a series of events that did not help Collin Sexton. Lue was fired shortly after and by mid-December the trades began. The roster was essentially gutted by the trade deadline. Essentially Sexton did not have much of a chance to succeed due to circumstances beyond his control. Things should be different for his sophomore campaign.
Barring a trade or another injury, Kevin Love will be back for the Cavaliers. Having a player like Love will only help open things up for Sexton. Add in the likes of Cedi Osman and Tristan Thompson along with rookies Darius Garland, Dylan Windler, and Kevin Porter Jr., things should come a bit easier for Sexton. Especially now since he will now have a head coach in John Beilein who is not in a lame duck situation. Beilein was brought in to help Sexton and the incoming rookies develop and put together a better on court product than last year.
Now some circumstances that Collin Sexton can control
One glaring issue when watching Collin Sexton play early on. He took too many deep two-pointers and not enough three-pointers. This goes against the current playing style of the NBA. Sexton would take many shots about a step in front of the three-point line. This is poor shot selection. Having to shoot the ball nearly as far as three-pointer but have it only worth two is not a recipe for success. Once Sexton ditched the deep two and embrace the three his season changed. Sexton was scoring more and a better rate. This should lead to better shooting performances down the road.
The other area that Collin Sexton needs to work on is his court vision when driving the lane. Sexton frequently ends up with tunnel vision and fails to see his teammates that are open. This leads to contested layups and turnovers. These are obvious rookie errors that must be eliminated in year two. Something that the new coaching staff can focus on and help Sexton eliminate taking poor shots and find the open outside shooter instead. With this Sexton’s assist numbers will increase as the team is able to score more frequently.
If Collin Sexton is able to continue his better shot selection and improve his passing, he is certainly poised to break out during the 2019-2020 season.