2018 Summer League

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Cavs.com In-Depth: Collin Sexton

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The MGM Resorts 2018 Summer League is an opportunity for young players to prove they belong at the next level, and a number of Cavs players did just that in Las Vegas over these past few weeks.

Following the Wine &amp; Gold's impressive showing at Summer League in the desert, Cavs.com wants to see if you were following along with a quick quiz.

So break out the TI-83 Plus, sharpen your No. 2 pencils, face forward and start your pop quiz below.

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Cavs Pop Quiz: Summer League Edition

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With the 2018 MGM Resorts Summer League in the books, Cavs.com takes a look at some some facts and stats surrounding the Cavs' success in Vegas for this edition of By the Numbers, presented by FanDuel.

5-2 … Wine &amp; Gold's record from the 2018 MGM Resorts Summer League.

82 … total number of games played throughout the summer in Las Vegas with all 30 teams competing for the first time.

3 … tournament wins (vs. Sacramento, Houston and Toronto) for the Cavs following their group stage.

2 … overtime periods it took to decide the Cavaliers' semifinals bout with the Los Angeles Lakers on July 16, 2018.

5 … players that earned First Team nods following the 2018 Summer League, including Cleveland's own Collin Sexton.

57.1 … three-point percentage posted by John Holland against the Toronto Raptors after the guard hit 4-7 from beyond-the-arc on July 15.

19.6 … number of points averaged by the Wine &amp; Gold's first round draft pick Collin Sexton through seven Summer League games.

2 … double-doubles garnered by Ante Zizic in both Summer League appearances (16 pts/14 rbs vs. Washington &amp; 25 pts/11 rbs vs. Chicago).

13/16 … ties and lead changes that took place throughout all four quarters and both overtimes during Monday's semifinals contest between Cleveland and Los Angeles.

8, 5 … rookies and veterans who played for the Cavaliers during the 2018 Summer League season.

3 … times Sexton led or tied for the team high in points (25 vs. Sacramento, 17 vs. Houston, 27 vs. Los Angeles).

6 … players who notched double-digit points against the Lakers (Sexton-27, Artis-17, Holland-17, Smith 14, Preston-10, Brodziansky-10).

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By the Numbers: A Fountain of Youth

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Top Photos from MGM Resorts Summer League

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Wine &amp; Gold's Young Guns Make a Statement in Vegas

by Joe Gabriele (@CavsJoeG)
7/18/18 | Cavs.com

On Tuesday night in Vegas, one night after dropping Cleveland in a double-overtime thriller, the Lakers were defeated by Portland in the NBA Summer League Championship, flipping the title game results from one season ago.

But let’s be honest – (and not even homers): Had Cedi Osman and Ante Zizic played in the final two games, it’d be the Wine &amp; Gold lugging that bulbous golden dome back to Cleveland.

Either way, James Posey’s squad returns home with a 5-2 mark and, much more importantly, the Cavaliers come home knowing that they have the right pieces moving forward. In at least three different games, Cleveland had the best player on the floor – and it was three different players: Collin Sexton, Cedi Osman and Ante Zizic.

With that in mind, let’s wrap up the Cavaliers’ two-week run in the desert as the NBA essentially goes into mini-hibernation mode until guys start trickling into the gym around mid-August …

Ante Zizic averaged 20.5 points and 12.5 boards in two Summer League showings.
Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images

1. Bullish Market -- Look, nobody’s complaining about the last four years. But it’s been awhile since Cavalier fans have been excited about a high first round pick. Andrew Wiggins wasn’t around long enough to get attached in 2014, Dion Waiters was kind of an unknown in 2012 and Anthony Bennett in 2013, well …

This summer, Collin Sexton – the No. 8 overall pick – almost stole the show in Vegas and was named to the All-NBA Summer League First Team, joining the Bulls’ Wendell Carter Jr., Bucks’ Christian Wood, Lakers’ Josh Hart and Knicks’ Kevin Knox. The only undrafted guy on that list is Wood (although the former Runnin’ Rebel got some juice from the home crowd). Hart, who played three seasons at Villanova, dropped 37 points on Cleveland in their Semifinal matchup.

The Young Bull played in all seven contests and gained confidence with each passing one – averaging 19.6 points on 43 percent shooting, adding 3.6 boards and 3.3 assists per.

Sexton looked comfortable running the team, played well off the ball with Scoochie Smith, was fearless getting to the rim and finished well with both hands when he did. The moment never seemed too big for him. In fact, one of the most memorable images from his Summer League run was when he squared off against Josh Hart in the closing moments of Monday’s wild Semifinal.

In the opener against Washington, Sexton – who was able to face off against true NBA competition like Hart and fellow rook, Aaron Holiday – looked like he was lost in traffic. By Monday’s meeting with the Lakers, he was already in the fast lane. He wanted the ball and the Cavs wanted him to have it. The competition’s about to get stiffer for the 19-year-old, but it’s hard to imagine him backing down for any of it.

2. Return of the Cedi -- While most of the Summer League squad was busy shaking off some rust to start the two-week run – (some more than others) – Cedi Osman had already been playing high-level competitive ball between the Finals and Las Vegas.

Osman had a strong two-game run with Turkey in the FIBA European Qualifiers, topping the 20-point mark in both wins and doubling up with 20 points and 11 boards in a blowout over Sweden. Osman got some decent run as a rookie last year, getting 61 appearances and 12 starts before getting squeezed out of the rotation in the Playoffs.

Cedi looks determined to take the reigns as a sophomore. He was confident and aggressive. He doubled-up with 15 points and 10 boards in Cleveland’s opening night win over Washington, adding three assists, a game-high four steals and a blocked shot. In a win over Indian two games later, Osman was easily the best player on the floor – finishing with a game-high 25 points, going 9-of-18 from the floor and 5-of-5 from the stripe, adding six boards, six assists and a block.

Summer League is a perfect proving ground for guys like Osman who are looking to make the next step. With his four performances over the offseason, Cedi should come to Camp ready to roll.

3. From A to Z -- On and off the floor, nobody on the Wine &amp; Gold had a more interesting Summer League run than Ante Zizic. Successful and short – and interesting.

Off the floor, Zizic went right from dropping 25 points and 11 boards (on 11-for-14 shooting) against the Bulls to see his friend and fellow Croat, Stipe Miocic, attempt to defend his UFC heavyweight title against Daniel Cormier at the T-Mobile Arena. Two days later, as the Croatian National Team advanced over Russia in the 2018 World Cup, Big Z was on a plane back to Europe to watch them take on France in the Championship.

And while Zizic went 0-for-Croatia in his two off-the-court endeavors, he was a beast on the floor – averaging 20.5 points and 12.5 boards in his two appearances, going 19-of-30 from the floor in the process.

Like Osman, Big Z expects an uptick in playing time this season, and there’s nothing about his performance last year – connecting on 73 percent of his shots in 32 appearances – or over the summer that should stand in the former No. 23 overall pick’s way.

If the Cavaliers went into Summer League hoping for some of their future building blocks to assert themselves – they just hit the jackpot in Las Vegas.

4. The Contenders -- Easily the most intriguing player from Cleveland’s Summer League squad is Billy Preston – who the Wine &amp; Gold wisely inked to a two-way deal at the invitational’s outset. One look at the former McDonald’s All-American is all one needs to see that he’s oozing with NBA potential – and he’ll have plenty of time to develop in Canton.

Preston played three games with BC Igokea of the Adriatic League between high school and his first Summer League appearance in the opener against Washington – and it showed. At times he looked rushed. At others, he was plodding in the post. But he improved throughout the week – gradually getting used to the speed of the game.

Preston notched double-figures in each of Cleveland’s last four games and showed glimpses of his untapped potential.

John Holland, the Wine &amp; Gold’s two-way player from last season, bounced back from a rough start to Vegas League – averaging 20.0 points per over his last two, including a 23-point performance against Toronto in the Quarterfinals.

Holland has been a solid player for the Charge and made 24 appearances with the Cavaliers last season. Holland’s situation is almost the exact opposite of Preston’s, however, as he turns 30 years old at the beginning of November.

In terms of representing the Canton Charge, guard Scoochie Smith acquitted himself very well during his Summer League run – averaging 8.3 points, 3.0 boards and 2.3 assists, proving to be a nice one-two punch with Collin Sexton. And like Sexton, Smith was on the floor at crunch time for Coach Posey.

5. What It Means -- Everyone knows to take Summer League performances with a grain of salt. Going up against Jack Cooley isn’t the same thing as going up against DeAndre Jordan. But there’s a reason coaches, GMs, scouts and fans packed the dual gyms all week in Vegas. Because in many ways, this is where it all begins.

The Wine &amp; Gold will likely be a different type of squad than the one we’ve seen over the past four years. But if the Cavaliers went into Summer League hoping for some of their future building blocks to assert themselves – they just hit the jackpot in Las Vegas.

Training Camp will be rolling around after about a 10-week layoff and the kids that just proved themselves in the desert will have to do it all over again with the big boys. But if the Wine &amp; Gold’s young Big 3 – Sexton, Osman and Zizic – proved anything at this year’s Summer League, it’s that they won’t shy away from it.

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2018 Summer League Wrap-Up

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Top Plays from 2018 Summer League

Sexton played in all seven Cavs summer league games and averaged 19.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 28.7 minutes.

LAS VEGAS, July 17, 2018 – The Los Angeles Lakers’ Josh Hart on July 17 was named Most Valuable Player of MGM Resorts NBA Summer League 2018.  The 6-5 guard also headlines the All-NBA Summer League Teams.

MGM Resorts NBA Summer League, an 82-game, 12-day event showcasing all 30 NBA teams for the first time, culminates tonight when the top-seeded Lakers face the second-seeded Portland Trail Blazers in the Championship Game at 10:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.  The meeting is a rematch of last summer’s Championship Game, which was won by the Lakers.

In this year’s competition, Hart is averaging an NBA Summer League-leading 24.2 points (on 47.1 percent shooting from the field), 5.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals in six games.  He scored 27 points and added six rebounds, three assists and three steals in the Lakers’ 109-92 victory over the New York Knicks on July 10.  In the tournament semifinals on July 16, Hart recorded 37 points and nine rebounds to lead the Lakers past the Cleveland Cavaliers 112-109 in double overtime.

Joining Hart on the MGM Resorts All-NBA Summer League First Team are Chicago Bulls forward Wendell Carter Jr., Knicks forward Kevin Knox, Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton and Milwaukee Bucks center Christian Wood.

The All-NBA Summer League Second Team is composed of Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton, Trail Blazers guard Wade Baldwin IV, Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr., Lakers forward Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young.

A media panel selected Hart as MVP and voted for the MGM Resorts All-NBA Summer League Teams.

MGM Resorts All-NBA Summer League First Team
Wendell Carter Jr. (Chicago)
Josh Hart (Los Angeles Lakers)
Kevin Knox (New York)Collin Sexton (Cleveland)
Christian Wood (Milwaukee)

MGM Resorts All-NBA Summer League Second Team
Deandre Ayton (Phoenix)
Wade Baldwin IV (Portland)
Jaren Jackson Jr. (Memphis)
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (Los Angeles Lakers)
Trae Young (Atlanta)

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Collin Sexton Named to MGM Resorts NBA Summer League First Team

Cedi Osman is Ready to Step Up as a Sophomore

by Joe Gabriele (@CavsJoeG)
7/17/18 | Cavs.com

On the physical side, Summer League gets young guys back in the gym and into an officially competitive environment before a two-and-a-half-month layoff heading into Training Camp.

But Summer League also gives young hopefuls a mental lift.

The incoming freshmen, like Collin Sexton and Billy Preston, get a taste of big league speed – and by the end of their two-week run, they know they’re either ready to hang or need some fine-tuning before September. And returning rooks, like Cedi Osman and Ante Zizic, who might’ve been fetching the veterans’ Krispy Kremes or lugging their gear are now the veterans themselves.

Cleveland’s international sophomores are no longer trying to fit in, keeping quiet and picking their spots on a veteran-laden roster. Now, they are the building blocks for the squad’s future. And Summer League has given these guys a chance to stick out their chests a little bit – fresh off a Finals run as NBA rookies.

If one subscribes to “the eye-test” in an age of analytics, both players have looked – in somewhat limited action – like they’re ready to rumble in 2018-19.

Cedi Osman came into Summer League already having competed at a high level following his first season in Cleveland, leading Turkey to a pair of First Round wins in the FIBA European Qualifiers – posting 20 points on 7-for-13 shooting, including 3-of-5 from deep in a 14-point over Ukraine before doubling-up with 20 points and 11 boards in a 14-point win over Sweden.

Turkey’s head coach Ufuk Sarica noticed the difference in Osman (and fellow NBA rookie, Philly’s Furkan Korkmaz) in the opening round wins, saying: "The NBA experience has really helped them and they have gotten bigger and more confident."

When Osman returns to the Wine &amp; Gold for Training Camp, it’ll be a vastly different story than his first one with Cleveland. Instead of coming in as an unknown rookie from overseas, this September he’ll come to Camp competing for a potential starting role.

"(I’m) just ready to take the responsibility that I couldn't take last year, obviously," said Osman. "Hopefully, I'm going to have a chance to take that responsibility – and that's why I think that playing in Summer League is really important for me."

LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 6: Cedi Osman #16 of the Cleveland Cavaliers shoots the ball against the Washington Wizards during the 2018 Las Vegas Summer League on July 6, 2018 at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

Combined with his overseas work earlier this Summer, the Wine &amp; Gold only suited Osman up for a pair of Summer League contests. But he looked regular season-ready in those two outings.

In Cleveland’s Vegas opener, a convincing win over Washington, Osman doubled-up with 15 points and 10 boards, adding three assists, a game-high four steals and a blocked shot. In his second game, a victory over Indiana, the 23-year-old Macedonian was easily the best player on the floor – finishing with a game-high 25 points, going 9-of-18 from the floor and 5-of-5 from the stripe, adding six boards, six assists and a block.

Osman’s Summer League coach, James Posey, wasn’t surprised in the slightest by the sophomore’s performance.

"(Cedi) wasn't getting a lot of playing time (last year), but he and the other guys kept playing one-on-one, five-on-five during the regular season and he was getting buckets then," said Posey. "It's just the opportunity to present himself now. And you can tell, his swagger, his confidence has grown. He's had a big summer and you can just tell he's comfortable out there."

Last season, Osman appeared in 61 games with the Wine &amp; Gold, getting 12 starts, averaging 3.9 points on 48 percent shooting. He tallied double-figures seven times, including a 16-point effort in his first start of the season, going 6-of-9 from the floor to go with six boards, five assists and a season-best three steals in a blowout win over Atlanta right after the trade deadline.

Cedi closed the regular season out strong – notching career highs in points (18), boards (seven) and assists (six) in a late-season matchup with the Knicks. He didn’t see much time in the postseason, despite appearing in 14 contests overall.

"Last year I didn't play that much; I played a little bit towards the middle of the season when I was starting,"  said Osman. "Whenever I got the call I was trying to create for myself or for my teammates; I was rushing. So, this year, if I have the ball more -- and I think I will -- I will do my best."

"I think we have really good guys who can fill the lanes and I think we have to run because as a team we have guys who can, even our bigs -- Larry, Big Z – who can really run."

According to Posey, Osman will have the ball in his hands more this season, and the Cavs staff has been helping him sharpen his ball-handling skills this summer.

"That's one thing that I was talking with Coach Lue (about) before I came out here, most times they press me when I'm bringing up the ball," said the 6-7 swingman. "So because I'm longer than most guards, they're going to press me full-court, so that's one thing that I have to improve on -- I have to protect the ball much better."

With the Cavaliers having at least three rotation players here in Las Vegas, this season’s Summer League has also allowed that trio to build a little chemistry coming into Camp. Fans have only gotten a glimpse of Osman and Collin Sexton together. For his part, Osman can’t wait for the chance to get off to the races with his new running mate.

"(Collin)'s a great guy, and I really like how he plays because he likes to play fast and that's how I like to play too," said the second-year man. "So I think we have a really good chemistry between me and him. He's a really good player and he's going to help us a lot this year."

One of Cedi’s greatest assets is his energy level. He comes to the scorer’s table ready to play and goes all-out on the floor. He’s won all four games he’s played this summer and has been the best player on the floor in almost all of them. He’s looking forward to channeling that energy in Cleveland when the regular season tips off in mid-October.

"I think we have to play fast and play with pace," said Osman. "I think we have really good guys who can fill the lanes and I think we have to run because as a team we have guys who can, even our bigs -- Larry, Big Z – who can really run."

The Wine &amp; Gold will be without a familiar face in the starting lineup next season, but that’s not to say that they shouldn’t be able to get up and down the floor and get after teams with their eager young guns.

The kids have worked for their opportunity – and now it’s here.

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