Collin Sexton was better than the Nets’ new big three in their debut

Collin Sexton was the worst player in the NBA as a rookie two years ago, according to FiveThirtyEight’s RAPTOR WAR metric. He was a disaster defensively, posted too many turnovers and too few assists, and though he could get hot as a scorer, relied too heavily on difficult long two-point jumpers. The Cavs won 19 games, tied for second fewest in the NBA, and had the honor of being called the worst defensive team of all-time.

Last year was another brutal season for Cleveland, but Sexton slowly started to improve, finishing the pandemic-shortened campaign averaging more than 20 points per game. If the Cavs and Sexton were again something of an afterthought from a national perspective entering this season, Wednesday night’s epic against the Brooklyn Nets just gave the world a reason to take notice.

Cleveland shocked the Nets, 147-135, in double overtime to spoil the debut of Brooklyn’s new superstar trio. In the first game with Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Iriving all in a Nets uniform, it was Sexton who emerged as the best player on the floor.

Sexton hit a game-tying three at the end of the first overtime, and then scored 15 of Cleveland’s 20 points in the second overtime to pull off the incredible upset. At one point, he scored 20 straight across the two overtime sessions. The Nets already feel like the league’s new super villains, and Sexton is the first player to rise to the challenge of taking them down.

The Cavs are now 7-7 on the season and would be in the playoffs if they started today. Sexton’s heroic 42-point performance is the highlight of what’s quickly turned into a breakout third season the league.

Sexton’s true shooting percentage has risen from 52 percent as a rookie to 62 percent this year. He’s gone from taking 20 percent of his shots from between 16-feet and the before the three-point line to taking only 7 percent of his shots from the same range. He’s raised his three-point percentage to 51 percent and his finishing on shots at the rim to 63 percent. He’s averaging more than 25 points per game and is playing the second most minutes in the league.

Cleveland’s win will widely be framed as a Nets loss, bringing questions about the how KD, Harden, and Kyrie share the ball on offense and who the hell is supposed to play defense. Harden taking 11 fewer shots than Durant and 14 fewer shots than Irving seems suboptimal, if nothing else.

The Nets will figure it out, because they have three of the best one-on-one scorers of their generation, and three of the best three-point shooters ever. They will be a juggernaut before long. But for their first night together, they couldn’t beat the leading man of SexLand.

Sexton turning himself into a damn good player so quickly shouldn’t be surprised — he’s been doing it all his life. In 2016, I profiled a high school player who rose from unranked recruit to five-star All-American through nothing indomitable will. The kid who once trained with an altitude mask in the dead of summer until he collapsed has kept that same drive through the start of his NBA career. Going against the new Nets has to feel a little like playing 3-on-5, so of course Sexton felt right at home.

Sexton isn’t a superstar, but he’s getting close to an All-Star. For a night, the NBA’s best couldn’t beat him.

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If Boston tried to play Joel straight up, his man often had to resort to fouling him, with Embiid going 17-of-21 at the foul line, more free throw attempts than the entire Boston team. On the rare occasions Boston walled Embiid off, he would square up and nail a jumper or hit some ridiculous fadeaway. His only having one turnover was also huge, as the Celtics sent double and even triple teams at Embiid, but he recognized them right away and got the ball moving so one of his teammates could make Boston pay. It was a truly masterful performance for the big man.

This is nothing new for frequent readers of Mavs Moneyball, but if you didn’t know, last year the Dallas offense took things up a notch when Kristaps Porzingis played the five in small ball line ups. With the absence of Myles Turner, Carlisle inserted Porzingis at the five and what do you know, the offense exploded for 35 early points and scored 124 in the game. Could it be because the Pacers played terrible defense? Sure (and more on that in the next observation). But Dallas forces a defense to make tough choices with the 7’3” guy who can shoot, drive, dunk, rebound, and even pass a little is the only “big” on the court.

Keep those hands warm, my friends.