Getty Image
Early returns on Collin Sexton’s rookie year were not good. The worries draftniks had about him at the college level all reared their ugly heads at the same time – he flashed very little traditional point guard skill and was shooting an abysmal 41 percent from the field through his first 10 games. To make matters worse, he wasn’t bringing any value on the defensive end, where he was constantly getting lost and wasn’t able to affect opposing guards in the same manner he did during his lone season at Alabama.
Since then, things have gotten incrementally better — he’s up to 45 percent for the year and is even hitting his threes at a nearly 42 percent clip, though he doesn’t take enough to really make a difference from beyond the arc. The defense has also improved somewhat, though it’s fair to wonder whether it could have gotten much worse than it was. Sexton’s still a negative for a Cavaliers team that is chock full of negativity right now, but there are noticeable improvements in key areas.
As with many point guards across today’s NBA, Sexton’s offensive value will be driven by his outside jumper. His three-pointer doesn’t look awful when he takes it and he’s hitting them at a great clip, but he just doesn’t take enough of them for it to matter, nor do defenses fear that he can consistently knock them down. He’s chucked just 2.9 threes per 100 possessions so far this season, a mark that puts him firmly among the league’s non-shooters at the point guard spot.
Opposing teams are standing firm in their decision to duck under ball screens whenever possible, which helps to dissuade him from getting to his spots in mid-range and at the basket. There are positive indicators that he’ll put it together as an efficient shooter, though, as he’s already proficient as a mid-range assassin and has hit his free throws at both the college and pro level. Sexton loves the mid-range, where he takes a full 44 percent of his shots, the most in the league for any point guard, per Cleaning the Glass.
