Sexton’s Injury And Its Effect On Okoro

It was curious that the news came out about Cavaliers’ guard Collin Sexton being ruled out for the rest of the 2021-22 season late Friday night.

It seems there is some tension in the relationship between the former first round draft pick and the team since a contract extension was not reached prior to the start of the season.

We agree with the organization’s stance since we don’t know what the market is for the 6’2″, soon to be 23-year-old shooting guard. Why not allow him to see what other teams are willing to pay him and allow the Cavs to match it.

Regardless, we are about to see how important Sexton is to this basketball team. Yes, J.B. Bickerstaff’s squad has lost three in a row, but that probably has more to do with the absence of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.

Little used Ed Davis was forced into action in the last two losses to Brooklyn and Golden State.

Before the season started, most thought Sexton was the team’s best player. He led the team in scoring last season at 24.3 per game, ranking 18th in the NBA. But where would he rank on the team’s pecking order right now?

You could make an argument that he would be fifth, behind Darius Garland, Mobley, Allen, and Ricky Rubio. That’s not an indictment of Sexton’s ability, but more about the development of Garland and Allen, and adding Mobley and Rubio to the roster.

Right now, Sexton has been replaced in the starting lineup by Isaac Okoro, but that presents a bit of a problem. Although Okoro is a much better defender, he’s a liability on offense, shooting 37% from the floor and is just 6 for 34 from behind the three point line.

So, if he is standing outside, there is no reason for opponents to guard him, and that in turn, causes driving lines to close and create a lack of room inside for Allen.

You have to wonder how much longer Bickerstaff can go with Okoro in the starting lineup. His defensive ability is valuable to the team, but if he doesn’t need to be guarded, that’s a problem.

We think the coaching staff likes Cedi Osman and Rubio coming off the bench, but one of them may have to start to give the floor better spacing.

Going back to Sexton, the injury couldn’t have come at a worse time for him because the contract extension wasn’t reached. If the team continues to do as well as they were before Allen and Mobley went out, he has lost a lot of leverage, and you have to wonder if GM Koby Altman would go in a different direction.

It has been pointed out by some that the Cavs have scored 100 points in a game only once (last night) since Sexton was injured, but we would remind those folks that the wine and gold haven’t had their full complement of players since then either.

Kevin Love and Lauri Markkanen have been out, and now so have Allen and Mobley.

As for Okoro, we said when he was drafted that taking a defense first player with the fifth overall pick wasn’t a good move. That said, there is still time for him to improve his shot to make it passable and punish teams that leave him wide open.

If he doesn’t, he will become a nomad in the league, moving from team to team as a defensive specialist.