As the clock hit one minute to go in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Monday night home matchup with the Utah Jazz, the Cavs were up just five points. The Utah Jazz had been hot from 3-point range and kept the game close all night, and Darius Garland had the ball hoping to bring the game home. A score on that possession all but sealed the deal; a miss, and the Jazz still had life.
He was patient, probing the defense as he dribbled into the paint and curled around the free throw line, forcing multiple defenders to keep an eye on him. One such defender was Collin Sexton, who once shared a backcourt with Garland in Cleveland before he was traded away as a part of the Donovan Mitchell trade package.
As Sexton peered at his onetime teammate, Georges Niang, the man he was guarding on the perimeter, snuck right behind him along the baseline. Garland kept his eyes on where Niang was supposed to be and started the passing motion, causing Sexton’s head to swivel to the corner to locate Niang. But at the same time, Garland was dishing a no-look bounce pass right to the cutting Niang, who scored the game-clinching layup.
Collin Sexton is a good NBA player
The Utah Jazz have a lack of reliable players on their roster as they look to develop a new wave of young prospects. First and second-year players like Keyontae George and Isaiah Collier and Brice Sensabaugh and Cody Williams are all engaged in the struggle to find their footing in the NBA…