Collin Sexton has produced an effective stat line and improved with his move to the starting rotation. Yet, it could be argued he has an even better squad than Kyrie Irving had in his rookie season. Granted, without Kevin Love he’s missing a core contributor, but he’s had Tristan Thompson, Jordan Clarkson, Rodney Hood, Cedi Osman, and Matthew Dellavedova is (again, arguably) a stronger group than an aging Antawn Jamieson, Ramon Sessions, and Anderson Varejao.
Comparing the two seasons, two factors stand out. In Irving’s rookie season he led the team in scoring and assists. Sexton is third in scoring (but improving since moving to the starting rotations) and tied for fifth in assists (post George Hill, Dellavedova trade).
| Rk | Player | From | G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | 2PA | 2P% | eFG% | TRB | AST | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kyrie Irving | 2012 | 51 | 30.5 | 6.9 | 14.6 | .469 | 3.6 | .399 | 11.1 | .491 | .517 | 3.7 | 5.4 | 1.1 | 18.5 |
| 2 | Collin Sexton | 2019 | 43 | 29.6 | 5.6 | 13.6 | .414 | 2.2 | .387 | 11.4 | .420 | .445 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 0.5 | 14.6 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/12/2019.
What pops off the page, in fact, is the assists, or rather the lack of assists. I was surprised Irving dished out 5.4 dimes per game and that may speak to us remembering Irving as playing off the ball since the majority of his tenure in Cleveland featured LeBron James obviously with the ball in his hand as the primary playmaker.
Perhaps this drives home the need for Sexton to be paired with a playmaking shooting guard. It definitely points to the fact he needs improvement in this area. And, there isn’t a discernible difference between starting as he averaged 2.2 assists with the reserves and as of January 12 is averaging 2.8 with the starters, but he’s playing nine additional minutes in his new starting role.
Offensive Rating: 25th (104.9)
Defensive Rating: 30th (116.1)
Net Differential: 30th (-11.2)
Points per game: 101.6 (28th)
Offensive field goal efficiency: 44.1 percent (tied 27th)
3-Point percent: 35.4% (12th)
Opponent points per game:112.1 (21st)
Opponent field goal efficiency: 49.0 percent (30th)
Opponent 3-point percent: 36.6% (25th)
Record: 15th in EC
Home: 5-16 | Road: 3-16 | Back to back sets: 7
Versus the West: 1-12 | Versus the East: 7-21
Week 12, 0-3: lost Heat, B2B (Jazz, Pelicans)
On tap for week 13: B2B (Pacers, @Pelicans), @Rockets, @Lakers,