It's been a while since I've last made an article. Between getting a new work schedule and just not having much to talk about since the trade deadline, it's kind of just led to a dead period. Now that the season is all but over for the Cavaliers, it's time to talk about how this year went and how everyone performed individually. In this, I'm going to start with Sexton, Garland, Love, and Nance and then work my way down the roster in later installments. There's a lot of guys I'm excited to talk about soon, like Dean Wade and Mfiondu Kabengele.
Collin Sexton
Sexton this year averaged 24.4 points, 4.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds in 35.6 minutes on 57.5% TS%, slightly above league average. Sexton had a noticeable jump in his production this year from last year, and has cemented himself as one of the better young players in the league.
Most of the discourse around Sexton revolves around his lack of playmaking and defense, but I'm less worried about Sexton than most. I personally think he can be good enough as a playmaker to where you can make him a primary ball handler and not have a ton of problems. He's not going to make advanced reads often, but he can find the open man when he keeps his head up. Under the right coaching I can see him getting to 5, maybe even 6 assists.
Collin was really good for the team this year, but I still think he could've been better. However, this is more from misutilization by Coach Bickerstaff than anything under Sexton's control. JB tried to turn Sexton into more of an off-ball player, which I don't really have a problem with. It certainly helps when he's on the floor with Garland, who usually has the ball. My biggest gripe has been the same thing all year, which is the structure of the pick and rolls. The way JB coaches his pick and rolls, he likes to condense the floor and keep the ball in the paint as much as possible. It involves a lot of putting your man on your hip, and then taking the opposing center head on in either 1v1's or 2v1's. This works at it's best when the ball handler is primarily a slasher, like Ja Morant or Russell Westbrook. Collin Sexton is pretty good from inside the 3-point arc, so it worked fairly well for him, but I'm not convinced it's the best way to utilize his talents.
Sexton's blazing speed should be used to blow by everyone so he has a clear path to the basket, instead it seems JB only utilizes it to have him curl off screens and run in transition. Too often in pick and rolls, Sexton just has to try to shoot over the center with a floater when he should instead be outrunning the center back from the 3pt line to the rim. There's not a center in the league that can chase him down from behind, and making reads on passes should be a lot easier in this action. If helps comes, it's going to come from one of the corners. Kick it out to that corner for an open three or just take on the help yourself at the rim. It's not that hard.
The structure of these pick and rolls should involve setting the screens a lot father from the basket. Draw the opposing center out as far as you can by using the threat of the pull-up three, then blow up him if he steps up or shoot the three if he doesn't step up. Despite Collin's low 3PTAr, I still think he can be a good volume shooter. This year, he's taken 6+ threes in 14 games. In those 14 games, he shoots 42% from downtown. Keep chucking and they'll keep falling.
WOW LOOK WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DON’T START YOUR PICK AND ROLLS AT 26FT JB pic.twitter.com/JJWGAaXnvy
— Frank Kaminsky’s Skittles #FireJB (@kaminskyskittle) May 11, 2021
Sexton also intrigues me as an isolation scorer. The concept is the same as the pick and rolls, blow by the defender with spacing around him so he can get to the rim easily. This is something I'd only really go to with 5-out spacing, a rare but hot commodity in today's NBA.
Overall I'm really happy with Sexton and how he's performed this year at only 22 years old. The idea that this kid should be a bench player is absolutely ridiculous, he's way too good to limit him and his talents like that.
Darius Garland
Darius took a huge leap this year as a player from his very disappointing rookie campaign. He averaged 17.7 points and 6.2 assists in 33.5 minutes on 54.7% TS%. He's solidified himself as the Cavs' franchise point guard and as a core part of the future.
As is the theme with most players playing under Coach Bickerstaff, I'd say Darius has been severely misutilized. It's been for the same reasons as Sexton, too much work inside a crowded paint for undersized guards. He needs to beat guys to the basket, not beat guys at the basket. Also this goes without saying but Garland should be firing up at least 8 threes a game, probably closer to 10. Yet Bickerstaff's horrible coaching has him taking only 5 per game.
One thing I'd like to highlight with Garland is that his finishing at the basket has really improved as the year has gone on. Right now he's making 58.6% of his shots from 0-3ft, which isn't good but it's a lot better than it was. It's nice that now you can feel a little more comfortable designing plays than can get him looks at the rim. Also his playmaking is another thing that I'd like to mention, it's so much better than it was in his rookie year and in college. He's a real passer and he wasn't expected to be that.
Garland has been so much better this year, but he still has leaps and bounds more to go. It's not so much his fault, I just think that he can still see huge statistical improvement under better coaching. Regardless though, this season is a huge success after looking like he could be a bust for much of his rookie year.
Kevin Love
Kevin Love's year was very disappointing. He missed a ton of time with injury and then when he came back, it didn't take him long to mentally check out for the season. I don't see him returning to the team next year, however that might happen. This offseason could be the first real window where we could see a Love trade, since he'd only have 2 years left on his contract, making it more moveable. There's also the chance he gets bought out, but that's worst case scenario, because you're still on the hook for the rest of his contract. That's a lot of dead money.
Looking at Love as a player, his spacing and passing were huge for this team, especially when he was at center for a few games when Allen was out with a concussion. However, his inability to provide anything in terms of defense, athleticism, or availability, really hurts his value. Plus it seems like he has a temper tantrum every once in a while that brings attention to the team for all the wrong reasons. Given everything including the other options at power forward already on the roster, there's no reason to see him in a Cavs jersey again.
Larry Nance
Larry Nance Jr. has really emerged as an elite role player this year. His defense has been at an All-Defense level, and his offense has been good as well. His playmaking and shooting have been much improved from prior years. However, it hasn't been all good.
The first huge issue is that Nance was riddled with injuries this year. He broke his hand/finger twice, and a medical condition led to an illness that took him completely out of playing shape. The other issue I've noticed with Nance is that he isn't very fond of spotting up, it seems. It's either that or just more bad coaching. He lurks around the paint on offense so much more than he should, clogging up lanes and overall just making things tougher for his teammates.
I'm not sure who is more to blame between Nance and JB for this intentional lack of spacing, but it's a problem that needs addressed. Taking 3.3 threes per game in 31.2 minutes is unacceptable for a player that isn't a center and can actually hit them.
At the trade deadline, multiple first round picks were offered for Larry Nance, and looking at hindsight I might have actually taken that offer. Nance is good but it just might be better to have the assets and to free up minutes for guys like Dean Wade and whoever we get in the draft, possibly Cade Cunningham. If we get offered that deal again this offseason, I'm taking another long hard look at whether or not I accept that trade. I'm not saying accept the trade with no hesitation, but depending on what the roster looks like at that point, I'd do a much deeper evaluation than what I was doing at the trade deadline.
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