The Cavaliers are still in the rebuilding phase, but in the past two months, the Cavaliers have performed very well. After a 123-106 victory over the Timberwolves on December 11, Beijing time, they have been able to play a record of 15 wins and 12 losses so far this season, which is already a 55.6% win rate and 6th in the East.
For comparison, this is already a better record than the 76ers, and the Cavaliers are the record performance they have played under the toughest schedules of the past.
In the Cavaliers, Darius Garland seems to have played a significantly improved performance again this season, and he is even arguably one of the best young point guard players in the active league. Not only Darius Garland, but the Cavaliers' five-year, $100 million extension contract given to Jarrett Allen this offseason can even be seen as a "treasure hunter.". So far this season, Jarrett Allen has averaged 17.2 points, 11.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.
Then there's the fact that Detective Show Evan Mobley even became the most impressive rookie in Cavaliers history since LeBron James. For example, in the Cavaliers' victory over the Bulls, Evan Mobley was able to contribute 4 blocks, and so far this season, Evan Mobley has contributed a total of 45 blocks, but only 49 fouls in these games, which is definitely a very efficient performance for a young player who is only 20 years old.
It's safe to say that this season is still a very exciting team for the Cavaliers, especially after the schedule has become easier in the rest of the season, and the Cavaliers are likely to play a better record.
But in fact, if you just look back at the game a month ago, this Cavaliers seem to be on the verge of being rotten again. In the early November game against the Knicks, the team's starting point guard Colin Sexton suffered a meniscus torn injury and eventually underwent surgery, which also led to Sexton being reimbursed this season. What's more, in just 8 days against the Celtics, Detective Show Evan Mobley sprained his elbow and missed the next 4 games, during which time the Cavaliers lost all 4 games.
The next thing to do was Evan Mobley's comeback against the Magic on November 28 and help the Cavaliers win 105-92. Including the victory over the Magic, the Cavaliers have a record of 6 wins and 2 losses in their last 8 games, only to be outdone against the Western Conference's strong jazz and defending champion Bucks.
So the question is, the Cavaliers can still play such a record in Sexton's absence, and Sexton still has the need to stay in this Cavaliers?
How did the Cavaliers perform in Sexton's absence?
So far this season, the Cavaliers have been able to have an 8-8 record in the absence of a top scorer like Colin Sexton, and this record has occurred at the stage when Evan Mobley can perform well. As we mentioned earlier, the Cavaliers only had a 0-4 record during Mobley's absence due to injury.
The first thing that needs to be clear is what kind of data can Colin Sexton play for this Cavaliers player? So far this season, Sexton has played 11 games for the Cavaliers before he was injured, and he has averaged 16 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 24.4% three-point shooting per game in these games, which is certainly a significant decline compared to last season's average of 24.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 37.1% three-point shooting.
So what kind of data can people like Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen have in the 11 games that Sexton can play? Garland played nine of those 11 games and averaged 15.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, 7.6 assists and 44 percent three-point shooting, Mobley averaged 14.9 points, eight rebounds, 2.5 assists and 23.5 percent three-point shooting in those games, and Allen averaged 14.9 points, 11.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 33.3 percent three-point shooting per game.
Judging from these data, Sexton can still give the Cavaliers a greater advantage when he is on the floor, and whether it is Garland, Mobley or Allen can still have a very good performance. So can the Cavaliers perform better in the absence of Colin Sexton?
But what is clear is that during Colin Sexton's absence, Darius Garland was arguably the best performance of his career. In the past five games, Garland has averaged 21.8 points, 52.7% shooting and 55.2% three-point shooting for the Cavaliers, simply put, Garland has a very hot feel in the past period of time and can indeed lead the team to play a good enough record.
On top of that, Garland averaged 8.4 assists per game and even had as many as four steals in the game against the Cavaliers.
So far this season, Garland has been consistent enough on the defensive end, which also allows Garland to have a defensive efficiency of 103.4, which has allowed him to rank among the top 140 defenders in the league. Compared with last season, Garland has indeed made more obvious improvements on both ends of the offensive and defensive ends.
It's not just Garland who can excel in the absence of Colin Sexton, but players like Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen are also good players. Also in the last five games, Jarrett Allen has averaged 20.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, in addition to a whopping 72.1 percent shooting. On top of that, it's a statistic performance played when Jarrett Allen averaged as many as 12.2 shots per game.
In contrast, Evan Mobley's last 5 games can be said to be the best rookie-level stats in the league. In terms of statistics, Evan Mobley can contribute 11.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists to the Cavaliers per game, although his 44.4% shooting rate is still a lot of room for improvement, but as a rookie player, such shooting rate is more than enough for Mobley's rookie season. What's more, Mobley does have a very good performance on the defensive end.
It's also important to note that in colin Sexton's absence, Evan Mobley is clearly getting more shooting opportunities, including two-pointers from a distance of 15-18 feet from the basket, and even averaging 1.8 shots from outside the three-point line in the last five games. At least for the rookie season, it must be a good thing to have the opportunity to expand your shooting range, and in sexton's game, he has shown his room to grow on the outside.
As for the defensive end, Mobley has been able to deliver 11 blocks for the Cavaliers in the past 5 games, including 5 blocks in a single game against the Bulls, at least from the blocking data, Mobley can already be said to be one of the best basket protectors in the active league.
Is it time for the Cavaliers to send Sexton away?
For the current Cavaliers, with Sexton already reimbursed for the season, there is actually no need for the team to rush to make this decision, unless there is indeed a team that makes a particularly attractive offer to the Cavaliers.
That being said, the team should also understand that when Sexton returns, both Garland and Allen and Mobley's chances of shooting will be greatly reduced. In contrast, without Sexton's large number of shots, even Sadie Osman averaged six three-point shots and 37.9 percent three-point shooting per game after Sexton was injured.
By all accounts, the Cavaliers are indeed a better team if Sexton can play, at least for the time being, the team should still regard Sexton as one of the cornerstones of reconstruction, but even so, after Sexton's return, the number of shots by Cavaliers' rising stars Garland and Mobley will be greatly reduced, and may even affect Jarrett Allen's shooting opportunities on the court. So without Sexton, the three young rising stars Of Garland, Mobley and Allen could all grow better.
Because of this, whether or not the Cavaliers give up Sexton is largely determined by the direction the team is headed. But the Cavaliers are still perfectly able to get Sexton to see how the market reacts after he becomes a restricted free agent next offseason and finally decide what kind of offer to give Sexton, and try to listen to the deal involving Sexton before the trade deadline this season, which will certainly not be bad for the team.
In any case, Cavaliers management will need to try to make a move in the coming months, and it is better for Colin Sexton to become a restricted free agent in the next offseason and listen to offers before the trade deadline this season.