Since being drafted in 2018, Collin Sexton has proven himself as a very talented offensive player with his speed, tenacity, finishing and outside shooting. But for numerous reasons, he’s struggled defensively throughout his career, which is presumably a factor in why the Los Angeles Lakers represent his fifth team over the past six seasons.
Improving defensively is clearly an emphasis for him. He’s aware of his offensive gifts and how making strides on the other side of the ball is critical to maximizing
his impact for this team. He wants to hound ball-handlers and is studying a pair of former Laker guards to try and take a step forward
“I’ve been dialing in a little bit more on the defensive side. I know how much I can impact ball pressure, how I can start picking up full court and just be disruptive on the defensive end. I think not doing it always but picking and choosing the flow of the game and trying to change the pace of the game a little bit on the defensive side,” Sexton told reporters at Media Day. “That’s something that me and the coaches, we’ve been talking is how I can bring that competitive juice and ball pressure…I think it’s ways that I feel like I can take a jump and it’s some things that I want to get better at and some goals that I want to set. Because even just watching Marcus [Smart] last year, that was his job. He would come in, be so physical off the ball, on the ball. He was just a pest.
“I watched some film of Avery Bradley as well when he was here and how he just never got screened, how he was always fighting through anything and how his competitive juice helped the team win. I think those two guys really help [set] a role that I feel like I can compete in because I know what I can do offensively. I feel like I can shoot, I can score. I can do that offensively but I think on the defensive side, those two guys are something that I’ve been really focusing in and watching stealing things from, for sure.”
Aside from some typical issues associated with small guards, one of Sexton’s biggest problems historically has been poor screen navigation. He regularly gets caught on screens and removed from the play, leaving the other four defenders to cover for his absence. He has the lateral agility and physicality to excel as a one-man press but that only does so much when opponents know they can simply neutralize you via screen either in the backcourt or half-court settings.
If he can become much more effective fighting around screens, it would certainly help boost his viability at the point of attack and force the Lakers to make fewer concessions defensively when they seek the offensive jolt he provides.
You can follow Jackson on Twitter at @jackfrank_jjf.
