Collin Sexton Needs To Model Himself After De’Aaron Fox
Collin Sexton has already etched his name into the Cleveland Cavaliers record books. The rookie has recorded the most 3-pointers as a rookie in team history. That’s good news for Sexton, although, he’s still not the point guard he should be. Sexton still doesn’t show a good knack for the position.
All rookies have adjustment periods to the NBA. They’ll hit the rookie wall. In Sexton’s case, he just hasn’t seemed to grasp the point guard role. It’s great he’s scoring, but there’s very little else. Give him credit, his last two games ( March 6th against Brooklyn, March 8th against Miami) have had some moderate assist numbers, 5 and 6 respectively.
It’s not just the assist totals that plague Sexton. He’s a shoot-first guard. Regardless if he’s getting the assist or not, his first instinct is to shoot the ball. Admittedly, he’s gotten better at that as the season has progressed. There’s just something really upsetting about him taking two or three defenders to the hoop, or stopping for an ill-advised and off-balance jumper.
A lot of NBA fans have compared Sexton’s first year to Sacramento King’s point guard, De’Aaron Fox. It’s for a good reason. The two play very similar games. Fox, who was a bit erratic with his shot selections during his rookie year, has really disciplined himself this season. It’d be great if Sexton could follow in Fox’s footsteps and have the second-year growth that he had in terms of maturity and discipline on the court.
Fox and Sexton also share some pretty similar first-year numbers. For the 2017-18 season, Fox averaged 11.4 points per contest. Sexton is a better scorer. Fox’s assist totals were a full 1.5 better than Sexton’s 2.9 this season. The shooting percentages were nearly identical (Fox .412, Sexton.408). If Sexton were to have the impact in his second year like Fox has had (Fox averages 17.4 points and 7.2 assists this year), he’d no question be the franchise PG for Cleveland.
There’s a lot more you can make of the Fox/Sexton comparison. It’s no coincidence Fox improved his play and the Kings went from one of the worst teams in the NBA to a potential playoff team. Collin Sexton can have that type of impact for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Sexton has shown at Alabama in the NBA that scoring is definitely not an issue. There are times that Sexton looks a lot more like a shooting guard than a point guard. That can’t happen. He’s on the right path, but does he figure it all out before it’s too late?
Image Source: Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com
Daniel is a guru of baseball and basketball prospects. He’s a very experienced Amusement Park traveler as well. Follow him and his hot takes on Insta @dgentleman9288
