It’s hard to say what awaits the Cleveland Cavaliers and all their young players — namely, Collin Sexton, Darius Garland, Kevin Porter Jr., Dylan Windler, Cedi Osman and even Dean Wade.
The Cavs have hopes for all, particularly last season’s starting backcourt of Sexton and Garland. But that doesn’t mean the Cavs are entirely sold on anything, and they probably shouldn’t be.
After all, the Cavs finished 19-46 last season, the worst record in the Eastern Conference and second-worst in the entire league. And while Sexton was brilliant toward the end of the year, Garland spent a lot of time in street clothes with an injury. Before that, he experienced some obvious rookie growing pains.
Those reasons and more are why the Cavs likely aren’t set on a Sexton-Garland backcourt being a definite thing.
“The Cavs aren’t fully committed to the Garland-Sexton backcourt yet,” Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com wrote. “They need more time to evaluate the pairing, recognizing the many circumstances that went into Garland’s rookie-year struggles. But it’s hard to see the two undersized guards working unless the Cavs surround them with quality defenders.”
Sexton seemed to get even better in Year Two, leading the Cavs in scoring at 20.8 points to go along with 3.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists.
He averaged 30 points in the Cavs’ final five games of the season, including a 41-point outburst vs. the Boston Celtics. He has yet to miss a game in his entire pro career, playing with durability and determination.
Garland wasn’t terrible by any stretch. He did show some flashes. But he also resembled a 20-year old very much trying to find his role in the NBA, and especially, playing alongside a fellow 6-foot-1 guard in Sexton.
In 59 appearances, Garland averaged 12.3 points and 3.9 assists. Still, despite the solid numbers, it was an even rookie season. He missed the final few weeks with a groin injury. Before that, the analytics that the Cavs are so high on revealed Garland was the NBA’s worst player.
Garland was selected with the No. 5 overall draft pick last summer. The Cavs also own the fifth overall pick in the upcoming draft (Nov. 18). It will give them an opportunity to acquire another young player to evaluate.
Right now, that’s where they stand with pretty much everything heading into next season. They are in total evaluation mode.
And that seems to be especially the case when it comes to the starting backcourt.
