Don't Look Now, but Kevin Love Is Returning to All-Star Form
CLEVELAND — After a premature obituary was written for him in 1897, Mark Twain once famously said, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”
It might be time that Kevin Love brushes off that quote as well.
The Cleveland Cavaliers forward’s career was left for dead by many after a trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves saw Love’s scoring average drop nearly 10 points per game and his rebounding average fall under 10 per game for the first time since his rookie season. He was the third option and reports of him leaving hung over his head like a rain cloud.
But a strong postseason, an NBA championship and a terrific start to 2016-17 have flipped the script. Now Love is averaging 21.0 points and 10.8 rebounds per game; the only other player averaging 20-and-10 this season is Anthony Davis.
What's been the difference for Love? One theory is obvious.
“Any time you win a championship, you come back more comfortable,” Cavaliers coach Ty Lue said. “You feel like you’re on top of the mountain. All the confidence is there.”
The numbers back it up. At 15.6 field-goal attempts per game, he’s shooting more than he did during any other season with the Cavaliers. But of course, Love makes his living on the glass, and he is on a six-game streak of hauling in at least 10 rebounds.
Believe it or not, that’s his longest regular-season streak since being traded to Cleveland.
“I think more than anything it’s finding myself near the basket more,” Love said. “That’s why I’ve been rebounding. I’ve always been capable. It’s not like I forgot how to rebound.”
Love dealt with a hurdle during each of his first two seasons in Cleveland. First, he was learning a new system and a new role that required less offensive production from him.
“We don’t care about numbers as long as we win,” Lue said. “You have to sacrifice like Kevin had to do the last two years. He was a perennial All-Star, top-10 player in this league.”
Then last season, a playoff shoulder injury essentially eliminated most of what Love could do to prepare in the summer. He wasn’t even able to participate in full contact practices until the second week of October.
“So much is dependent upon using your upper body,” Love said. “Even just being able to lift, ride a bike, and do extra stuff off the floor that I wasn’t able to do last year.”
But now he’s healthy and comfortable. Lue says he “looks stronger when he’s posting up and rebounding.” His offensive rejuvenation give the Cavaliers the NBA’s only trio of players averaging at least 20 points per game.
Having three elite offensive weapons is how the Cavaliers drew it up when they traded for Love.
“It just puts pressure on the defense when he’s aggressive and is getting in the low post and making strong moves,” Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving said. “We just continue to go to him and feed him. He gets post position wherever he wants.”
Several Cavaliers players and coaches point to last postseason as when things changed for Love. It wasn’t his best statistical playoff run—he topped 11 points only once in an NBA Finals game. But Love stepped up during Game 7 against the Golden State Warriors, finishing with nine points and 14 rebounds. That stuck with his teammates.
“He’s a huge piece of our team,” LeBron James said. “He’s one of our Big Three. When we all perform well, we see what happens. We’ve seen in Game 7 when we all came to play.”
And that NBA title didn’t just take the pressure off the city of Cleveland—it took the pressure off Love.
“It looks like the monkey is off his back because we won a championship,” Lue said.
But despite winning a ring, the rumor mill didn’t stop surrounding Love this offseason. There was again talk of Love possibly being dealt to the Boston Celtics. But at this point, it’s something he has become used to.
“They’ll never be gone,” Love said. “That’s just something that you live with. We have so much hype and media. The good and the bad surrounding this team. It just comes with the territory.”
As far as this season goes, Love is making himself indispensable to the Cavaliers: His hot start has helped the team jump out to an Eastern Conference-best 9-2 record and 109 points per game.
He’s happy where he is and playing again like one of the NBA’s best players.
“I just want to play ball,” Love said. “We had a great thing going last year. It’s going to continue to grow. We’re the defending champs.”
CAVALIERS INSIDER NOTEBOOK
Beat the Best
Through the Cavaliers’ first 11 games this season, they are 3-1 against the other four top teams in the East, including two wins against the Toronto Raptors, who Cleveland played during last year’s Eastern Conference Finals.
Getting those wins early is a good way to send a statement to the rest of the league.
“It’s good to play great competition,” James said. “I don’t really pay attention to the record, but I pay attention to the teams that we’re playing...it’s a good test for us, but we’re already tested. It’s just fun to get out there and to compete.”
Winning games and getting a higher seed would ultimately give the Cavaliers a more favorable road in the playoffs.
“It’s important to finish higher in the seedings because it gives our fans another opportunity for home-court games,” James said.
Run These Cavs
The Cavaliers have struggled when it comes to allowing easy buckets in transition in their last two games. A night after the Raptors had 25 fast-break points, the Indiana Pacers had 23 in a win against Cleveland on Wednesday.
“If you take away the easy baskets against a team like this, then you have a chance to set your defense,” Lue said after Tuesday’s game. “Now they have score against your half-court defense, which we’re pretty good at.”
The back-to-back struggles in transition comes after a seven-game stretch in which every Cavaliers opponent was held under 20 fast-break points.
A Well-Balanced King
Although the season is just 11 games old (for the Cavaliers), James is averaging the highest assist total of his career—9.6 per game. That’s good for third in the NBA and a full assist higher than any average he’s held for an entire season.
At 23.4 points, 8.9 rebounds and 9.6 assists per game, James is the closest he’s been to averaging a triple-double for a season in his entire career. Both the assists and rebounding numbers are career highs.
However, James’ numbers aren’t in exclusive company. Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook is averaging 31.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 9.8 assists per game.
No player has averaged at least eight points, rebounds and assists per game for a full season since Jason Kidd did so a decade ago for the New Jersey Nets.
All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Stats are accurate as of Nov. 17 and from Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.
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