Having been sidelined since Oct. 24, Kevin Love has been afforded a unique perspective on the Cleveland Cavaliers' season.
And when it comes to Collin Sexton, the 5-time All-Star sees a little bit of himself in the rookie point guard.
Through the first 54 games of his NBA career, Sexton has seen his share of ups and downs. More than anything, however, the No. 8 overall pick has seen losses, with the Cavs currently laying claim to the third-worst record in the league at 11-43.
Love, who could make his return to the Cleveland lineup on Friday after a near four-month absence, knows the feeling. After all, it was 10 years ago Love was a former first-round pick showing flashes -- and inconsistencies -- on a Minnesota Timberwolves team that tallied a 24-58 record.
"Obviously there's been a lot of responsibility in his hands and he's had to play considerable minutes early on, which can be good and bad," Love said of Sexton. "For me, I had to do the same thing. While it helped my game, it sped it up, it also may have developed into some bad habits and a lot of times I had to fail in order to get better."
To this point, Sexton has already done plenty of the former.
Although the 20-year-old has shown flashes, averaging 14.6 points per game, the advanced analytics on him has left plenty to be desired, as has the Cavs' win-loss record.
On a roster featuring young talent like Sexton and second-year forward Cedi Osman and center Ante Zizic, such losing is alarming to Love. Fortunately for the Cavs, there's still a half-season left for their young players to break -- or at least improve on -- any bad habits that have been developed in the last 54 games.
"I've seen a lot of bright spots in [Sexton]. The same thing with Cedi in his second year. Big Z's got a number of minutes now where he's been able to be effective," Love said. "For the younger guys, in a lot of ways, it's been good. It's just never easy -- you can just never want to get to a point where these losses add up and you start accepting losing."
Getting back Love, who has missed all but four games this season due to foot surgery, could be a big part of that. Although Cleveland is at a point where its status in the draft lottery is more important than its place in the standings, it's still imperative that it develops that young talent it already possesses in order to make the most of an otherwise lost season.
