The Cleveland Cavaliers made a mistake in hiring John Beilein as head coach because his offense will emphasize a flaw in the game of Collin Sexton
"In the end, the Cavaliers made the perfect hire for their next head coach, even if it was completely out of left field."
Evan Dammarell of Forbes.com said this in regards to the Cleveland Cavaliers decision to hire John Beilein as their next head coach. However, one can argue that the Cleveland Cavaliers made a mistake in hiring John Beilein as head coach because his offense will emphasize a flaw in the game of Collin Sexton.
Beilein forced his point guards to spend a significant amount of time off the ball in the role of bystander or spot up shooter. One example of this was during a University of Michigan home game against Ohio State when Zavier Simpson dribbled the basketball up to the 3-point line.
Once this happened, Zavier passed the ball to Ignas Brazdeikis who was standing in the right corner. Ignas immediately gave it back to Simpson which allowed him to pass to Jordan Poole who was standing on the left-wing. Upon receiving the basketball, Poole immediately took a 3-pointer.
Jordan Poole would end up missing the 3-pointer, but the basketball came back to Zavier Simpson giving the team a second chance to score. After this happened, Zavier held the ball until Jordan Poole moved from the left-wing to the right-wing.
Once Jordan moved, Zavier passed it to him, allowing Poole to take and miss another 3-pointer.
John Beilein uses the point guard position in a similar fashion to how Larry Drew used Collin Sexton during his rookie season. One example of this was early in the first quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers, when Collin Sexton dribbled the basketball to the three-point line. Once this happened, he passed the ball to David Nwaba who was standing on the left wing.
Nwaba dribbles the ball to the top of the key and proceeds to pass it to Cedi Osman. Osman decided to start a pick and roll sequence with Tristan Thompson on the right wing. The pick and roll sequence resulted in Cedi Osman making a layup.
Being off the ball contributed to Collin Sexton taking the majority of his shots from the 3-point line as 24.5 percent of his field goal attempts came from behind the arc. Unfortunately, shooting has always been one of Collin Sexton’s most significant weaknesses.
According to Draft Express, he has struggled with the consistency of his jump shot at the Nike hoop summit in 2017:
"He ” was a very streaky shooter. Somewhat mechanical release. Hand a bit too on top of the ball. Shoots it off the outside of his hand at times. Can improve his range and comfortability from deep”."
Collin’s streaky shooting has followed him into the NBA as he shot 42.1 percent (making 0.8 3’s in 2 attempts per game) over the first 29 games. However, in the next 15 games, he shot 34.2 percent from behind the arc (making 0.9 3’s in 2.5 attempts per game) which is 7.9 percent less than the previous 29 games.
Fortunately for him, he was able to right the ship over his last 38 games as he shot 40.8 percent from behind the arc (making 2.2 3’s in 5.3 attempts per game). Collin”s streaky shooting would give opposing teams the opportunity to leave him wide open when he enters a down period to provide help defense elsewhere.
If John Beilein wants Collin Sexton to be a productive player for the whole season, he needs to change the offense to emphasize his strengths. According to Draft Express, One of Collin’s strengths is his court vision:
"Sexton “showcased his vision throughout Hoop Summit practices and games. Can deliver the ball from different angles. Passes over the top in pick and roll with his left hand. Good in drive and dish situations”."
Therefore, Collin Sexton should play in an offensive system where he is the primary ball handler. For instance, being the initiator of a pick and roll offense would allow Sexton to study the opposing defense to determine what is the right play on a specific possession.
For example, Sexton can bring the ball up to the 3-point line and call for a screen. Once the pick was set, Collin can pay attention to his defender to determine the course of action. If the defender stayed under the screen, he can either shoot the ball immediately or go over the screen to shoot a mid-range jumper.
On the other hand, if the defender fought over the screen, he can go over it as well and drive towards the basket to score or pass the basketball depending on whether a double team comes.
In conclusion, unless John Beilein makes these changes to his offensive system, Collin Sexton will have another nondescript season just like his rookie year where he averaged 16.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3 assists on 43 percent shooting.