Sexton out with torn meniscus

[toooskies]

Well, there's one more challenge for the early season. Rubio should be taking the starting spot, Okoro should be back in the rotation soon, and we've seen good things out of Windler and Osman lately. Collin has his talents but you can't help but wonder if the team will be as good-- or better-- with Collin on the sidelines.

The rotation is getting pretty thin, though-- do we see Pangos, Valentine, and Fall get their chances?

[JonFromVA]

Starting Rubio makes some sense, but so does continuing to bring him in off the bench to keep the second unit rolling. We can rotate Wade, Windler, Osman, and Stevens in the SF/SG spots.

What it comes down to is whether Kevin Pangos is ready to contribute at a higher level than any of those guys, and at this point ... (why do we have everything but a :shrugs: emoticon?)

[El Hespiritu]

Really sorry for the guy.

One can like his game more or less but is undeniable he always try to play tough and bring energy to the team. I love that from him. He was injured fighting for a loose ball, if I recall it right.

So far I can see, Clecaus has not a specially thin rotation... when benchers had some chance to play meaningful minutes, they mostly proved they can help.

Kevin Pescados will probably get some room next games. Even if Kokoro, Amor and Laurita come back soon, they have no PG skills (neither have Sextonto but you know what I mean).
I've seen a bit of the guy when he played for Barcelona... not bad at all when it comes to run the offense.

He needs to get better at defense but he's grown-ass enough to not do blatant mistakes there.
Hopefully, these foreseeable minutes will help him to grow on that.

[Neonblazer]

Well, there's one more challenge for the early season. Rubio should be taking the starting spot, Okoro should be back in the rotation soon, and we've seen good things out of Windler and Osman lately. Collin has his talents but you can't help but wonder if the team will be as good-- or better-- with Collin on the sidelines.

The rotation is getting pretty thin, though-- do we see Pangos, Valentine, and Fall get their chances?

We already run a pretty thin rotation. 8-9 man a night. Its been different now that we dont have Love,Okoro and Markkanen. With healthy team we were often running 8 man rotation with Rubio,Love and shooter coming off the bench (Osman,Okoro,Windler or Wade). Sometimes when we were getting blown out JBB would break the rotation to try to spark out something.

My guess is that when Okoro, Love and Markkanen gets back (should be at the end of the week unless the Covid patients have developed a bad one) the starting five is going to be Garland,Okoro, Markkanen,Mobley,Allen and Rubio,Love and Osman coming of the bench. But the starter to replace Sexton would definitely be either Okoro or Osman because we need Rubio in the second unit in the first half.

[PharmD]

that sucks so bad. Cavs don't have anyone else that can play Sexton's role

[Revenged25]

that sucks so bad. Cavs don't have anyone else that can play Sexton's role

What are you talking about? According to those on this forum and on the Cavs subreddit Sexton is at best Jordan Clarkson. Shouldn't be too hard to find a replacement for him...

[jbk1234]

A torn meniscus is a weird injury. He could be back this season. He could also be out for six plus months. Let's hope it's the former.

[JonFromVA]

that sucks so bad. Cavs don't have anyone else that can play Sexton's role

What are you talking about? According to those on this forum and on the Cavs subreddit Sexton is at best Jordan Clarkson. Shouldn't be too hard to find a replacement for him...

Well? That theory will be put to the test.

Obviously it's simplistic to just say he's Jordan Clarkson or a 6th man ... Collin provides scoring in ways that other players on the team do not, and sometimes his man to man defense can be a factor.

On the other hand, I believe we were up by 1 point over the Knicks when Collin hurt his knee - which we stretched to +15 by the end of the game. However, Rubio ended up having a career game - which presumably we will not see again.

So, let's see. We can't replace what Collin brought, but other players will bring other things and we will need to see how efficiently Darius and Ricky can run the ship as defenses take different approach to slow us down and whether anyone else can contribute some playmaking.

[Revenged25]

that sucks so bad. Cavs don't have anyone else that can play Sexton's role

What are you talking about? According to those on this forum and on the Cavs subreddit Sexton is at best Jordan Clarkson. Shouldn't be too hard to find a replacement for him...

Well? That theory will be put to the test.

Obviously it's simplistic to just say he's Jordan Clarkson or a 6th man ... Collin provides scoring in ways that other players on the team do not, and sometimes his man to man defense can be a factor.

On the other hand, I believe we were up by 1 point over the Knicks when Collin hurt his knee - which we stretched to +15 by the end of the game. However, Rubio ended up having a career game - which presumably we will not see again.

So, let's see. We can't replace what Collin brought, but other players will bring other things and we will need to see how efficiently Darius and Ricky can run the ship as defenses take different approach to slow us down and whether anyone else can contribute some playmaking.

Well a lot of the blowout in the 2nd half came from Rubio hitting a 6 of his 8 3's in the 2nd half. That and pretty sure Mobley did most of his damage in the second half as well. But even then Sexton was having a great game outside of missing the 3 3pt attempts he tried, though they were all good attempts as he was had like 8 pts, 4 assists, and a steal.

Of course. I think the team will continue to do well, especially once Okoro, Love, and Lauri are all back in the rotation, but they will definitely find it periods where the offense will stagnate when the defense starts locking players up and no one is able to create their own shot.

[JonFromVA]

What are you talking about? According to those on this forum and on the Cavs subreddit Sexton is at best Jordan Clarkson. Shouldn't be too hard to find a replacement for him...

Well? That theory will be put to the test.

Obviously it's simplistic to just say he's Jordan Clarkson or a 6th man ... Collin provides scoring in ways that other players on the team do not, and sometimes his man to man defense can be a factor.

On the other hand, I believe we were up by 1 point over the Knicks when Collin hurt his knee - which we stretched to +15 by the end of the game. However, Rubio ended up having a career game - which presumably we will not see again.

So, let's see. We can't replace what Collin brought, but other players will bring other things and we will need to see how efficiently Darius and Ricky can run the ship as defenses take different approach to slow us down and whether anyone else can contribute some playmaking.

Well a lot of the blowout in the 2nd half came from Rubio hitting a 6 of his 8 3's in the 2nd half. That and pretty sure Mobley did most of his damage in the second half as well. But even then Sexton was having a great game outside of missing the 3 3pt attempts he tried, though they were all good attempts as he was had like 8 pts, 4 assists, and a steal.

Of course. I think the team will continue to do well, especially once Okoro, Love, and Lauri are all back in the rotation, but they will definitely find it periods where the offense will stagnate when the defense starts locking players up and no one is able to create their own shot.

Right, like I said, we can't count on Rubio having another career game ... but we should continue to look for the hot hand and go there. And let's face it, Ricky can't do what Collin does, but he has a lot more experience at figuring out what to do - and of course DG will have an even bigger opportunity to expand his game.

[Revenged25]

Well? That theory will be put to the test.

Obviously it's simplistic to just say he's Jordan Clarkson or a 6th man ... Collin provides scoring in ways that other players on the team do not, and sometimes his man to man defense can be a factor.

On the other hand, I believe we were up by 1 point over the Knicks when Collin hurt his knee - which we stretched to +15 by the end of the game. However, Rubio ended up having a career game - which presumably we will not see again.

So, let's see. We can't replace what Collin brought, but other players will bring other things and we will need to see how efficiently Darius and Ricky can run the ship as defenses take different approach to slow us down and whether anyone else can contribute some playmaking.

Well a lot of the blowout in the 2nd half came from Rubio hitting a 6 of his 8 3's in the 2nd half. That and pretty sure Mobley did most of his damage in the second half as well. But even then Sexton was having a great game outside of missing the 3 3pt attempts he tried, though they were all good attempts as he was had like 8 pts, 4 assists, and a steal.

Of course. I think the team will continue to do well, especially once Okoro, Love, and Lauri are all back in the rotation, but they will definitely find it periods where the offense will stagnate when the defense starts locking players up and no one is able to create their own shot.

Right, like I said, we can't count on Rubio having another career game ... but we should continue to look for the hot hand and go there. And let's face it, Ricky can't do what Collin does, but he has a lot more experience at figuring out what to do - and of course DG will have an even bigger opportunity to expand his game.

I've been pretty adamant I don't think DG has the mentality to really step up and be a big time scorer, but I hope I'm wrong as he's going to have plenty of opportunity to do so with no one saying "well it's cuz Sexton stopped the ball" or "Sexton took all the shots." It's going to fall squarely at his feet if he can't step up.

[JonFromVA]

Well a lot of the blowout in the 2nd half came from Rubio hitting a 6 of his 8 3's in the 2nd half. That and pretty sure Mobley did most of his damage in the second half as well. But even then Sexton was having a great game outside of missing the 3 3pt attempts he tried, though they were all good attempts as he was had like 8 pts, 4 assists, and a steal.

Of course. I think the team will continue to do well, especially once Okoro, Love, and Lauri are all back in the rotation, but they will definitely find it periods where the offense will stagnate when the defense starts locking players up and no one is able to create their own shot.

Right, like I said, we can't count on Rubio having another career game ... but we should continue to look for the hot hand and go there. And let's face it, Ricky can't do what Collin does, but he has a lot more experience at figuring out what to do - and of course DG will have an even bigger opportunity to expand his game.

I've been pretty adamant I don't think DG has the mentality to really step up and be a big time scorer, but I hope I'm wrong as he's going to have plenty of opportunity to do so with no one saying "well it's cuz Sexton stopped the ball" or "Sexton took all the shots." It's going to fall squarely at his feet if he can't step up.

The opportunity will certainly be there for DG, but I'm not one to say a 22 year old can't ever become something more, nor am I going to insist he needs to become more beyond what will come with experience and physical maturity.

Other than his turnovers, there isn't much to complain about a PG providing 15.4 & 7.6 with his shooting numbers (61.1 TS%), his passing (34.7 AST%) and his ON/OFF numbers.

As much as Allen and Mobley give us an advantage over other teams, so too does our PG combo of Garland and Rubio.

[Revenged25]

Right, like I said, we can't count on Rubio having another career game ... but we should continue to look for the hot hand and go there. And let's face it, Ricky can't do what Collin does, but he has a lot more experience at figuring out what to do - and of course DG will have an even bigger opportunity to expand his game.

I've been pretty adamant I don't think DG has the mentality to really step up and be a big time scorer, but I hope I'm wrong as he's going to have plenty of opportunity to do so with no one saying "well it's cuz Sexton stopped the ball" or "Sexton took all the shots." It's going to fall squarely at his feet if he can't step up.

The opportunity will certainly be there for DG, but I'm not one to say a 22 year old can't ever become something more, nor am I going to insist he needs to become more beyond what will come with experience and physical maturity.

Other than his turnovers, there isn't much to complain about a PG providing 15.4 & 7.6 with his shooting numbers (61.1 TS%), his passing (34.7 AST%) and his ON/OFF numbers.

As much as Allen and Mobley give us an advantage over other teams, so too does our PG combo of Garland and Rubio.

With players that are big time scorers, I think it really comes down to mentality not just ability. I think Garland has the ability, I just don't think he has that scorers mentality to be the Steph type of scorer some think he will be. He's too willing to pass up on good scoring opportunities whereas someone like Steph will see that his man slacked off on him and just send up a 3 with full confidence it will go in, or even someone like Ja who will attack and take shots with full confidence that he won't be denied. It's the type of confidence that Sexton has as well.

Granted not everyone can be Ja, Steph, etc and that's fine. I think at least offensively he's a lot more like Kyle Lowry who plays well within an offense facilitating for others as well as being able to score, but relying on him to be the #1 scoring option is going to be an issue, but they can make due without having a #1 scoring option on the roster if they have a couple players able to be #2 scoring options along with them so that the hot hand can keep going.

[JonFromVA]

I've been pretty adamant I don't think DG has the mentality to really step up and be a big time scorer, but I hope I'm wrong as he's going to have plenty of opportunity to do so with no one saying "well it's cuz Sexton stopped the ball" or "Sexton took all the shots." It's going to fall squarely at his feet if he can't step up.

The opportunity will certainly be there for DG, but I'm not one to say a 22 year old can't ever become something more, nor am I going to insist he needs to become more beyond what will come with experience and physical maturity.

Other than his turnovers, there isn't much to complain about a PG providing 15.4 & 7.6 with his shooting numbers (61.1 TS%), his passing (34.7 AST%) and his ON/OFF numbers.

As much as Allen and Mobley give us an advantage over other teams, so too does our PG combo of Garland and Rubio.

With players that are big time scorers, I think it really comes down to mentality not just ability. I think Garland has the ability, I just don't think he has that scorers mentality to be the Steph type of scorer some think he will be. He's too willing to pass up on good scoring opportunities whereas someone like Steph will see that his man slacked off on him and just send up a 3 with full confidence it will go in, or even someone like Ja who will attack and take shots with full confidence that he won't be denied. It's the type of confidence that Sexton has as well.

Granted not everyone can be Ja, Steph, etc and that's fine. I think at least offensively he's a lot more like Kyle Lowry who plays well within an offense facilitating for others as well as being able to score, but relying on him to be the #1 scoring option is going to be an issue, but they can make due without having a #1 scoring option on the roster if they have a couple players able to be #2 scoring options along with them so that the hot hand can keep going.

You're not alone ... I just don't buy any of that "Mamba mentality" stuff.

Confidence breeds confidence, and I'm happy to see our players leaning on their strengths while working on their weaknesses. No need to force anything, and first and foremost help your teammates and let your teammates help you.

Steph deferred to Monta Ellis his first 3 seasons in the league after spending 3 years in the NCAA. When his time came, he stepped up his game to the point all those fans who booed the Warriors for trading Ellis had forgotten about him. Then he stepped his game up higher. And even higher. Through it all, his turnovers stayed pretty steady. He didn't force passes just to get a higher assist number. And he never ramped up his shot attempts just to win a scoring title at the cost of his efficiency or his teammates.

If Darius wants to get to Steph's level, he can start by following in his footsteps ... step by step. When his body is where it needs to get, when his shot is on lock, when his handles are leak-proof, when his finishing is polished ... all through constant and hard work ... then maybe, just maybe he can ascend to Steph levels.

If he falls short in any or all of those areas, he still can be an amazing player.