NBA Rookie Rankings: Collin Sexton and Wendell Carter rise up

CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 6: Collin Sexton #2 of the Cleveland Cavaliers is seen against the Boston Celtics during a pre-season game on October 6, 2018 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images) /

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CLEVELAND, OH – NOVEMBER 13: Kemba Walker #15 of the Charlotte Hornets handles the ball as Collin Sexton #2 of the Cleveland Cavaliers plays defense on November 13, 2018 at The Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images) /

4. Collin Sexton

Sexton deserves a ton of credit for rebounding from a truly putrid start to his professional career. During the first few weeks of the season, he looked more like a G-League point guard than a budding NBA star. His play during the past week has totally changed the way fans feel about him.

Without Kevin Love on the floor, the Cavaliers have been desperate to find a player capable of serving as a quality scorer. Sexton has averaged 20 points a night over the last week. That’s not enough to convince us that he’s a future star, but it does drastically improve his chances of becoming a quality starter at some point during his career.

The next step on Sexton’s checklist should be to learn to create for his teammates. Right now he provides the Cavaliers a solid scoring punch, but he’s not making the game easier for the rest of his squad. A player with his athletic gifts should be able to come a positive assist player as well. At the moment, Sexton is just trying to maintain an even assist to turnover ratio.

In fairness, it’s not as if Sexton is surrounded by a great deal of offensive talent at the moment. It’s wise to keep expectations for him tempered this year. If he can develop into a quality scorer and anything close to an average passer, that should be considered a substantial success. Cleveland is in for a long rebuild, but Sexton might be a piece they can count on moving forward.

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