Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton out indefinitely with meniscus tear
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton will be sidelined for the indefinite future after he tore the meniscus in his left knee, the team announced on Monday.
Sexton reportedly banged knees with teammate Jarrett Allen in the second quarter of their 126-109 win against the New York Knicks on Sunday, and left that contest early. An MRI on Monday revealed the tear.
The team does not yet have a timeline for his return.
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) November 8, 2021
Sexton has averaged a team-high 16 points and 3.3 assists per game this season while shooting nearly 46% from the field. The 22-year-old, who the Cavaliers selected with the No. 8 overall pick in 2018, is in the final year of his initial four-year, $20 million deal with Cleveland after the two sides failed to agree to a contract extension.
“We all hurt for teammates. Obviously, nobody wants to see our guys get injured or be out and away from us, but in the moment, we know the best thing that we can do for them is go out and compete our asses off and be who we are,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said, via Cleveland.com. “That’s what they would want. It’s the buy-in and the togetherness, that the only thing that matters is we do it together, with who we got.”
Ricky Rubio shined replacing Sexton
Though the loss of Sexton undoubtedly hurts, it seems the Cavaliers should be in good shape with Ricky Rubio.
Rubio came off the bench for the Knicks on Sunday in Sexton’s absence and went off for a career-high. The Spaniard dropped 37 points with a career-best eight 3-pointers in the win, and helped lead a 33-18 run in the third quarter to help propel them to their fourth straight win.
Rubio is in his first season with the Cavaliers after spending last season back with the Minnesota Timberwolves, and is averaging a career-high 13.7 points and 6.8 assists so far this year.
“That’s why we fought to get him here,” Bickerstaff said of Rubio after the win, via Cleveland.com. “We know what he’s capable of and how good of a player he is. When that gets going, and when it turns on, he’s capable of what he did tonight. He flat out put on a show. And he willed us to a win.”
