Cavs Top 3: Collin Sexton and CLE’s defense snuffs out Clippers fire

The Cavs got a big win in LA over the Clippers on Wednesday.

Collin Sexton led the way with a huge win over the Clippers on Wednesday night, defeating Los Angeles 92-79. The Cavs are in the middle of a long road trip and so far are 2-0 on it, having defeated two Western Conference powerhouses in the Nuggets and Clippers. They’re on a three-game winning streak with all three wins coming over playoff teams.

The Cavs, who are now 3-2 on the season, are off to a hot start. They were off to a hot start as well in 2020, but then the James Harden trade went down and the Cavaliers fell off for whatever reason.

It’s too soon to say one way or another about where this season is going but early indications are pretty strong. Evan Mobley is looking like a really good selection in J.B. Bickerstaff’s system and while some are being a bit outrageous about his ceiling, comparing him to Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan, what we can say is floor is much higher than anyone in recent memory. If this is as good as he ever gets, many would be ok with that.

Let’s shift gears and talk about the Cavalier players and their big win over the Clippers.

Cavs defense on huge display against Clippers

As always, the bottom is in descending order with the lowest number being the worst and the top is in ascending order with three being the best.

The Bottom Three Performers

1. Cedi Osman
2. Jarrett Allen
3. Lauri Markkanen

It’s becoming clear that Bickerstaff doesn’t trust Cedi Osman anymore. He played just four minutes and all in the third quarter. He hasn’t been shooting the ball at all (one attempt in two games) and was just 2-9 in the win against the Hawks.

Jarrett Allen isn’t going to be on this side of things too often. Ivac Zubac just ended up being difficult on both ends of the court apparently. Allen still played solid defense, but not great defense, and that was mostly because of Zubac. He should have a bounce-back game against the Lakers.

For the least offensive, Lauri Markkanen was fine. He didn’t shoot great, and he didn’t really make too many big plays defensively but he was still active and was posing to be a problem early on in the game. Unfortunately, the Cavs keep a tight rotation and guys like Markkanen, aka guys who played fine and wouldn’t be seen as a problem, will make this list from time to time just because someone has to.

The Top Three Performers

1. Ricky Rubio
2. Darius Garland
3. Collin Sexton

For the first point, it goes to Ricky Rubio and his dynamic play on the offense. His ability to exhaust the Clippers’ guards with his speed and endurance was impressive. He’s become a beyond-vital part of this team.

Credit to Darius Garland, who gets two points on the year. He was choosey with his shot selection, taking only eight, but he made them all count. Dropping 16 points, with six assists and four rebounds on good efficiency was great to see. His 2-3 night from three-point land also helped. You’d like to see him shoot a few more three’s per game but he’s getting there.

While Garland and Collin Sexton each had a rough night not turning the ball over, Sexton had a game-high 26 points but his more impressive stat was his three steals. While it didn’t look like it in the boxscore, Sexton was an active disruptor on defense. Sure, that’s not hard when you’re facing off with Eric Bledsoe, but even still, it’s good to see it at all.

"Yearly Standing:1. Tie Ricky Rubio/Collin Sexton/Jarrett Allen (6 points)2. Kevin Love (4 points)3. Evan Mobley (3 points apiece)4. Tie Darius Garland/Lauri Markkanen (2 points)5. Cedi Osman  (1 point)"