Cleveland Cavaliers: Who will be Cavs’ best post All-Star break player?
Are one of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ rookies capable of a surge following the All-Star break, just like Coll Sexton did a year ago?
Who will be last year’s Collin Sexton for the Cleveland Cavaliers? Yes, I’m well aware it could actually be Collin Sexton.
Here’s what I’m getting at: After Sexton was snubbed for the Rising Stars challenge during NBA All-Star weekend, the rookie went to work and ended the season on a high note. His worth ethic received a lot of keyboard strokes and fans became hopeful Cleveland might have something with the player chosen eighth overall.
After struggling through the first part of the year, Sexton finished the 2018-2019 campaign by averaging 21 points, in addition to converting at a 41 percent clip from 3-point range.
Fast forward a year, and Sexton was snubbed for the game again until an injury elevated him into the contest. He’s cooled from last year’s post All-Star weekend bump, but he’s still been good, averaging 19.8 points and shooting 36 percent from beyond the arc.
Sexton’s only 21 and he can score, but there’s aggravating parts of his game. Passing the rock would be nice to see, but I digress.
So, is Sexton capable of elevating his game again for the second half, or will someone else on the Cavaliers step up?
Darius Garland is someone we’d all like to see do what Sexton did a year, and it’s a possibility.
But watching Kevin Porter, who is averaging 12.4 points per game, while shooting around 41 percent from 3 since December1 , may be the better bet.
The 19-year old looks like he’ll be a starting shooting guard one day, probably along side Garland.
As for Garland, he had his most prolific scoring month as a rookie, averaging 14.4 points per game in January.
If Porter and Sexton are the future of the backcourt, that leaves Sexton as a super sixth man, and that’s OK. If the Cavs are ever going to be competitive again, they’re going to a scorer off the bench.
The truth is Garland and Porter have already played way more than they did during their lone college season, when Garland played 139 minus and Porter played 21 games, starting four.
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If the duo can trend upward in the remaining months, the Cavs may have more clarity on how to approach the 2020 NBA Draft.