With his 25 point effort in the Cavaliers 107-102 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, Collin Sexton did something that has not been done in over 20 years.

Collin Sexton scored 25 points on 10-18 shooting Wednesday and with that accomplished something that has not been accomplished since Tim Duncan did it in the 1997-98 season. This was the seventh straight game from Collin Sexton scoring 23 or more points. Sexton had to be informed after the game of this accomplishment.

This is an encouraging sign for the Cavaliers moving forward. Scoring 23 points in seven straight games as a rookie is no small feat. There is a reason it has been over 20 years since this last happened. After some early struggles and a decline in performance Collin Sexton is turning things around.

Of course the return of key players and developing chemistry certainly helps. Kevin Love has been absent for the majority of his rookie campaign. Tristan Thompson also missed a significant amount of time. Having other teammates that opponents can key in on defensively certainly takes the pressure off of Sexton.

Collin Sexton is currently converting 42.3 percent of his shots from the field this season. Sexton is nearly as efficient from deep, his 41.8 percent conversion rate has led to his rookie record for three-pointers made that continues to grow as each game passes. Sexton is also making 83.7 percent of his free throws. All of this leads to his 16.2 points per game this season.

There are 10 games remaining this season. This is more than enough time for Collin Sexton to potentially extend his 23+ points scored streak. There is also enough time to continue to develop as a player and end with something to build upon for next season. Sexton appears to have a bright future ahead of him.

Cleveland Cavaliers rookie point guard Collin Sexton broke the team record of three-pointers made by a rookie previously held by Kyrie Irving.

It was only a matter of time but Collin Sexton broke the team record for three-pointers made. Sexton has made 76 three-pointers on the year after Friday night’s loss to Miami. The record was previously held by Kyrie Irving. Irving made 73 three-pointers during the 2011-12 season.

As the season progressed it appeared that Collin Sexton was going to claim this record for his own. Sexton is having a good year shooting from deep (38.8 percent) and is making them quite regularly. Add in the fact that this particular Cavaliers team needs scoring help and it was inevitable. Sexton is the third-highest scorer on the team. Second-highest if Kevin Love is excluded. The reason for that being his 50 game absence due to injury. Love’s injury changed the overall look of the team and who needed to scour if the Cavaliers were going to win. While the Cavaliers did not win many games, it did provide Collin Sexton with ample opportunities to score.

There is also the fact that the modern NBA is much different than the NBA of seven years ago. The dependence on the three-ball lends itself to record such as this being broken. There is also the fact that Kyrie Irving only appeared in 51 games as a rookie and Collin Sexton has appeared in 66. One might think that if Irving and Sexton played in the same number of games that Irving could have the advantage in the three-point department.

As the season continues Collin Sexton will add to his Cavaliers team record. There are plenty of chances to do so and the team is not exactly in the playoff hunt. Letting Collin Sexton add to his record over the final 16 games is the right thing to do.

Cleveland Cavaliers rookie point guard Collin Sexton was trending downward for a couple months, but has now rebounded from his downward trend.

Collin Sexton’s play in the months of December and January were not good. As each month passed Sexton appeared to struggle more and more. Now as the Cleveland Cavaliers head into the All-Star Break, Collin Sexton appears to have rebounded and playing at a much higher level.

In six games in February Collin Sexton is averaging 21.2 points per game. This is on a much improved 41.4 percent from the field, 42.4 percent from deep and 85 percent from the charity stripe. Sexton’s improvement also comes with an increased volume of shots made. Often times an improved percentage is a result of less volume, but this is not the case. Sexton is taking and making more shots in February than any other month. Averaging eight makes on 19.3 shot attempts per game. This includes making 2.3 three-pointers on 5.5 attempts per game.

Collin Sexton is even improving in non-scoring categories. During this recent run, Collin Sexton is averaging 3.5 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game. Both of these are are the highest rate of any month of his career thus far. Sexton also averaged 3.7 rebounds during the month of December. The next highest assist rate was in January with 3.1.

The improvement from Collin Sexton shows a potentially bright future

The ability to rebound from poor performances is one of the more overlooked aspects in sports. Collin Sexton went through a lot of poor performances and finally appears to have rebounded. Rather than continuing a downward spiral, Sexton has been able to bounce back and play at a level that more accurately portrays his talent.

While the Cleveland Cavaliers have only come out victorious in one of the contests, having a rookie point guard in Sexton that has displayed the ability to be a productive starter in the league is a bright spot. It is about the long game for Cleveland and not the immediate results in the standings. As long as Collin Sexton can continue his upward trend, the Cavaliers may have a piece to build around for the future.

Cleveland Cavaliers rookie point guard Collin Sexton has been trending downward in regards to on-court performance since November

Collin Sexton has endured a rough rookie season. The Cleveland Cavaliers are one of the worst teams in the league and Sexton is being tasked with leading a relatively uninspiring unit. Besides playing for a team with an awful record, Sexton experienced his worst month since turning pro.

In the month of January Collin Sexton only made 36.2 percent of his shots. In fact Sexton’s field goal percentage has dropped in consecutive months. From 45 percent in November to 40.2 percent in December and now 36.2 percent in January. This drop in efficiency is not a good trend for the Cavaliers rookie.

Coinciding with Sexton’s drop in field goal percentage, points scored per game have also dropped in three straight months. Sexton scored 16.1 points in November, 14.8 points in December and now 13.3 points in January. These numbers are hardly encouraging and quite a cause for concern.

A drop in minutes per game could hypothetically be to blame, (31.3 minutes in November, 30.7 in December, 29.5 in January), however just under two minutes less per game is hardly to blame for such a sharp drop in performance quality.

Collin Sexton may be a victim of circumstances in Cleveland

To put it bluntly the Cleveland Cavaliers are a bad team. The team has also dealt with injuries to key players several times this season. Kevin Love has been out since the fourth game of the season. Tristan Thompson has suffered two injuries which have kept him out for an extended period of time. With the team lacking veteran experience it is quite difficult for Sexton to not head into a negative direction.

It is not entirely out of the question to consider that if Love and Thompson have not missed as much time as they have that Sexton could be playing better. While the team has benefited from quality play from Jordan Clarkson, Rodney Hood and Alec Burks, they can only do so much from the guard position. Ante Zizic has played fairly well, but his contributions have come in spurts and has not really impacted Sexton in a positive manner.

Collin Sexton is an unfinished product and has a lot of time ahead of him as an NBA player. Sexton is also only 20 years old and will develop as his career progresses. Cleveland surrounding Sexton with more quality players will also help his development. Of course that is if they select the right players and not draft the wrong players.

Will Collin Sexton’s downward slide continue? Probably not. Although the downward trend is concerning. The best practice for the time being is patience and allowing the rookie to learn from his mistakes.

Cleveland Cavaliers rookie point guard Collin Sexton is not exactly playing at a high level. While it is unfair to throw him away and declare him a bust (some have), evaluating his performance thus far is a more than fair process.

In 11 games Collin Sexton is shooting 42 percent from the field. This includes a relatively unimpressive 33.3 percent from deep. While he only attempts just over one there-pointer per game it would be good to see his success rate increase in the future. On the other hand Sexton is attempting eight two-point shots per game. On shots of this variety Sexton is converting 43.2 percent of the time.

The main issue with Sexton on offense is that most of his shot attempts are from mid-range. A whopping 37 percent of Sexton’s shots come from two-point shots that are 16 feet or more from the basket. Sexton is making only 35.1 percent of these attempts, this only adds to the problem. Shots from this part of the court are widely considered poor. This is due to the relative low success rate and the fact that a step or two further back provides three points instead of just two.

Defensive issues

Coming out of college Collin Sexton had issue defending the pick and roll. Those issues are still prominent now that he is in a Cavaliers uniform. This is not the only issue Sexton has had this season on defense.

Sexton’s overall plus/minus is quite poor, currently at -78. This is the third-worst plus/minus for the Cavaliers this season. The only players with a worse number are Cedi Osman and Jordan Clarkson.

Sexton’s defensive liability also shows up in his defensive rating per 100 possessions. With Sexton on the court Cleveland gives up 120 points per 100 possessions, this is the worst number on the Cavaliers among players who see regular playing time. The only player with a worse defensive rating is John Holland who only played one minute in one game. The issue with a defensive rating this poor is that the team is only scoring 98 points per 100 possessions. The team is being outscored by 22 points per 100 possessions with Sexton on the court. This is a huge problem.

Can Collin Sexton improve?

Well of course Collin Sexton can improve. Sexton is only 20 years old and 11 games into his rookie season. The fact the Cavaliers are a bad team is certainly not helping his overall performance. With George Hill out for a few games, Sexton has the chance to improve his performance with an uptick in playing time. With how bad the Cavaliers have been this season they might as well start Sexton the remainder of the season. Give Sexton the chance to improve through more time on the court, evaluate which players to build around and who can be traded away. The Cavaliers need to improve somehow and giving Sexton more time on the court will only benefit all parties involved.