Cavs Riding Sexton As Many Others Are In And Out Of Lineup

Second-year guard continues to rise while rest of team struggles with injuries.

Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

It will be more of the same for the Cavaliers when they host the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night (7:30, FOX Sports Ohio).

Basically, the Cavs look more like a group of guys sitting in a waiting room at the doctor's office than a team capable of winning a game.

As of this writing, rookie guards Darius Garland (groin) and Kevin Porter Jr. (concussion protocol) were both listed as out. The same remains true of wing Dante Exum (ankle).

Center Andre Drummond (calf) is questionable. Same goes for center Tristan Thompson (knee), small forward Alfonzo McKinnie (foot) and even two-way power forward Dean Wade (ankle).

If the Cavs put all those many body parts together, they may be able to build one really good NBA player.

Right now,  they do have a couple of pretty good ones in guard Collin Sexton and big man Kevin Love. At least, those two have been fairly good lately -- especially Sexton.

Much like last season, the second-year guard has been even better after the All-Star break. He is coming off back-to-back games in which he scored a career high, ending with a 41-point performance in Wednesday's loss to Boston.

Along with everything else, Sexton hasn't missed a game in his two-year pro career. 

So he shows up, and as they say, that's half the battle. Lately, he's shown up big time too.

“He’s playing his ass off,” Love said of Sexton. "He’s very unique and can kind of play any style. He’s a walking bucket. Not many like that in this league. He plays all 82 as well."

Love added he thinks Sexton is just getting started.

"He’s a really fierce and great competitor and I think he’s going to continue to see where else he can go," Love said. "He’s always been a scorer, but things are going to open up for him and he’s going to continue to find ways to make the right play and what plays not to make. It’s all part of the evolution.”

The Cavs (17-45) have lost four straight but are still 3-5 under coach J.B. Bickerstaff. Despite all the injuries, they are clearly more determined recently. But because of the injuries, they seem to lack the overall talent, depth and chemistry to finish out close games.

Adding to all this is the Nuggets (42-20) are really doggone good. They don't get the press, but they are right up there with the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers in the Western Conference contention.

On top of that, they will be looking to settle a score from January, when the Cavs shocked them in Denver.

"The reality is this -- we were a 54-win team last year and we're a team that has high aspirations this year," said Nuggets coach Mike Malone, a former Cavs assistant.

On the other hand, the Cavs don't have high aspirations. Their goal is just to make opponents miserable while building a winning mindset and taking positive steps toward next season.

In the past eight games or so, they've accomplished that.

Next up: Try to patch together a healthy team. And that, folks, apparently will be more of a challenge.