Kevin Love - Miami Ground Machine

[Jscc]

Can someone PM me and let me know when it's finally okay to criticize Kevin Love this season?

It's OKAY to criticize Kevin Love. It's not against the rules.

It's also OKAY to criticize criticizing Kevin Love. Also not against the rules.

 

[chrisrich91]

Can someone PM me and let me know when it's finally okay to criticize Kevin Love this season?

Some of us have been waiting quite awhile, for at least 20 games or so.. I know the season is almost over, so, it'd be nice to at least have the discussion without getting mobbed and downvoted?

Well... just thought I'd check in on the thread.

Bye.

Yeah I'll let you know.

But it won't be anytime soon if that decision is up to me.

Dude has gone from being considered one of the worst defenders in the league to actually putting a ton of effort into his defense. And it shows.

The guy has been playing with a bad back all season. Posters can hide behind the caveat that Love and the Cavs don't want to explicitly list it as an injury, but if you can't see that his back is hurting you just don't want to see it.

I give the guy credit for playing through the pain. It's obvious he wants to be a big part of this team and wants to dispel the notion that he has to sit out large chunks of seasons with injuries. Maybe it's not the smart play here but I can respect it.

And finally, I can't believe people are discounting the lack of plays drawn up for him and his DRAMATIC role change as "excuses". Those are called "reasons" not "excuses". The guy has been out of rhythm all season as his role is to pick his (limited) spots and convert on them. Like a role player. What if that's not the style of play that Kevin Love is comfortable with? What if it's going to take him a while to fully adjust to his new situation? Yeah we're nearing the final stretch of the season, but don't forget how long it took the Heat to go from "great team" to "elite team, a lock to go to The Finals annually". It's a process that can take longer for a big who is used to the offensive gameplan being built around him.

And after all that (increased focus on defense, injuries, mega-adjustment) he's still averaging good numbers that are only surpassed by a small number of PFs in the league. If you want to criticize the guy, criticize him for not sitting out until the back heals. Besides that I'm actually pretty happy with Kevin Love's sacrifices this season. Now it's going to be a process for him to increase his efficiency in his new role.

 

[karnsies817]

Let me provide a different angle here. When love plays with kyrie and lebron it is understandable that he stays near the 3 point line for spacing. Lebron and kyrie both thrive driving to the hoop so i understand the lack of kevin love going inside.

But on a night where you dont have either pf them why is blatt not putting love inside? He has the ability to be dominant in the paint. I'd imagine he shoots pretty well from inside.

It's hard to take over a game if all you do is stand at the 3 point line and wait for the ball

 

[LeShaq]

Kevin Love had the best defensive rating (92) of any Cavs player in the Pacers game last night.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201502270IND.html#CLE_advanced::15

He also had the third best net rating (+7) in the game of any Cavs player.

But don't let this rational information fool you. It's much better to be irrational and blame every Cavs loss and team failing on Kevin Love. It just feels good emotionally, even if it makes no logical sense whatsoever.

Look, let's be honest with ourselves here. We're ONLY 18-3 over our last 21 games. That's just not good enough. We're clearly struggling and I have to say that I blame 99.9% of it on Kevin Love.

 

[JSS2306]

Kevin Love hasn't wowed me in the post. He gets pushed around quite a bit, has a hard time setting up/maintaining position against bigger/stronger guys, and often times just puts up a shot with the intent of a foul being called which ends up with the ball in the other teams hands. His 3-ball lacks consistency.

Other than that, he does play a team game and pulls down some nice rebounds game in and game out. His IQ is above average. His ability to spread the floor gives LeBron and Kyrie the room to operate so he's huge for this team in that aspect alone.

I really just don't understand the people clamoring to feed him more down low. He hasn't passed the eye test. The match ups have to be perfect for him to have success down there.

 

[Cavatt]

I've been a big Love hater. He's undersized and not too efficient. He has been giving lots more effort on d, and I really appreciate it. He is doing some of the things I criticized him most for.

Still, he seems to have poor stamina and cannot be relied on at the end of games. He struggles against length, which could be a major problem in the playoffs. Last night was a night to go get 16 boards, but he can't seem to do that.

Not as good as advertised is all I think. He inflated his numbers on a bad team and it's not so surprising. OK as a third option, not a guy who can put the team on his back.

 

[WorldFreeB]

I've been a big Love hater. He's undersized and not too efficient. He has been giving lots more effort on d, and I really appreciate it. He is doing some of the things I criticized him most for.

Still, he seems to have poor stamina and cannot be relied on at the end of games. He struggles against length, which could be a major problem in the playoffs. Last night was a night to go get 16 boards, but he can't seem to do that.

Not as good as advertised is all I think. He inflated his numbers on a bad team and it's not so surprising. OK as a third option, not a guy who can put the team on his back.

But didn't he put Minnesota on his back the last 6 years? Where is that guy? Last nights game was tailor made for a statement game from Love and he just wasn't up to it. A winnable game goes down the drain.

 

[Cavatt]

But didn't he put Minnesota on his back the last 6 years? Where is that guy? Last nights game was tailor made for a statement game from Love and he just wasn't up to it. A winnable game goes down the drain.

I dunno. I have been waiting for a single statement game all season. I do know that Minnesota lost an unusual amount of games they were winning in the 4th. There is a reason Blatt takes Love out at the end sometimes. My biggest worry about Love right now is whether his stamina is bad or he is just not clutch. Either way, I think he may struggle in the playoffs.

 

[Coyote850]

But didn't he put Minnesota on his back the last 6 years? Where is that guy? Last nights game was tailor made for a statement game from Love and he just wasn't up to it. A winnable game goes down the drain.

Here is the problem: The Cavs offence is not made to run through Kevin Love. He is the third option, sometimes 4th. This team is just not set up for Love to be the best player on the court.

 

[WorldFreeB]

I dunno. I have been waiting for a single statement game all season. I do know that Minnesota lost an unusual amount of games they were winning in the 4th. There is a reason Blatt takes Love out at the end sometimes. My biggest worry about Love right now is whether his stamina is bad or he is just not clutch. Either way, I think he may struggle in the playoffs.

I agree with you 100% this guy is really going to struggle in the playoffs. Teams are going to come straight at him.
At the very least he's going to have to get way more physical. We all know the playoffs are a different animal intensity wise. I hope Love is up to it but with what I'm seeing now I don't think he is.

 

[Coyote850]

Loves job in the playoffs will be to spread the opposing defense, hit spot up 3's and get rebounds. Gotta remember that the playoffs will be a new experience for him, there's a learning curve. He'll be fine.

 

[Tornicade]

When you have key guys that will be out for a game or two the reserves have to step up. Noone really did that in the pacers game. Mozgov and Delly went 3 of 15 in that 2nd quarter.
Delly should of played his role and not try to assume the hero ball mantle.

Love stilll doesnt know when to cut in this offense and that often left Delly and mozgov forcing the ball in the 2nd quarter.

Offensive system have multiple layers The Cavs seem to have a good grasp on the first layer but not the second

 

[tocov]

Let me provide a different angle here. When love plays with kyrie and lebron it is understandable that he stays near the 3 point line for spacing. Lebron and kyrie both thrive driving to the hoop so i understand the lack of kevin love going inside.

But on a night where you dont have either pf them why is blatt not putting love inside? He has the ability to be dominant in the paint. I'd imagine he shoots pretty well from inside.

It's hard to take over a game if all you do is stand at the 3 point line and wait for the ball

Oh but he did.
Love was 1-7 from 3 and 5-12 from inside. Both shot more and scored more from the paint. And most of his 3s were contested chucks when the offense stalled, not designed plays for him to shoot 3s.

 

[CavsHomer]

Is he injured? Is he not? Did he just have an off game? Does he fit? Is it mental fatigue? Did he forget how to score the basketball? Does he simply s*ck now?

I was and still am a big Love supporter, but please, just give me a reason for his inconsistent play! Somebody!?

I still highly value him for what he contributes to our team's success. He's still a very good stretch power forward.

But what's so unbelievably frustrating is that I have to ask myself the above posted questions again and again. It really cracks me up lol.

 

[Omar The Horse]

Based on his own interview last night he knows he needs to be better than this.