It’s Necessary For The Cleveland Cavaliers To Move Collin Sexton To Shooting Guard
Does Collin Sexton profile as a two guard? If the Cleveland Cavaliers want to use their 2018 first round pick effectively, they’d be better playing him off the ball. This move would open up a world of possibilities for the Cavs. It’s going to allow the team to bring in a more dedicated PG, rather than relying on Sexton’s shoot-first mentality to create offense.
There’s nothing wrong with Sexton’s scoring. He’s just not the PG everyone hoped he’d be. The 20+ point nights are great, but they are essentially empty stats. Sexton doesn’t accumulate many assists. It’s a huge factor as to why he’s best suited for a SG role.
Moving Collin Sexton to SG allows Cleveland the chance to bring in a pass-first guard. Most importantly, this will showcase Sexton’s shooting ability. He’s a lot better than we give him credit for. By not having to worry about playing PG, Sexton can’t focus more on his shots.
Actually, the numbers tell a pretty convincing story for Sexton to not be a SG. He’s not the most natural at the 2 spot. He’ll get most of his points when dribbling 3-6 times (33.1 percent) or 7+ times (28.4 percent) per shot attempt. That’s way to many dribbles for him to be making. It’s times like these that Sexton should be passing, not trying to score.
There is one statistic that shows how valuable Sexton can be as a 2 guard. When he has the ball for less than two seconds, he shoots at 50.9 percent rate. He’ll take 3.9 of these shots per game. Using that metric, he’s a lot better when not controlling the ball.
When Sexton holds the ball longer, his percentage goes down. When holding for 3-6 seconds (42.8 percent) and 6+ seconds (34.7 percent), he’s much more ineffective. Perhaps he’d benefit from a catch and shoot or give and go to the basket.
It remains to be seen how proficient Sexton is at moving around screens and without the ball on a consistent basis. We are always so accustomed to seeing him with the ball in his hands. With the right PG, he’ll be put in better situations to create his shot. Sexton will only benefit from that.
There are a lot of Colin Sexton critics (I’m one of them). His inability to play PG might cause the Cavs coaching staff to shift him to SG. If the Cavaliers get a Ja Morant in the draft, or sign, trade for a PG, they’ll be willing to move Sexton to the 2. That’s a discussion the team needs to have. He’s not going to be a successful NBA point guard. There’s a good chance he’ll succeed as an NBA shooting guard.
Image Source: Mitchell Leff, Getty Images
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
