Kevin Love - Miami Ground Machine

Cavatt said:

The other thing is that the spacing is still not as good as it could be, and that still has to do with guys going to the same spots at the same time. It also has to do with Love only having to be accounts for for one quarter.

Definitely more interested in starting Tristan than I was before, not for spacing to get Love more involved.

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Nods head about the spacing. As the season progresses, we should continue to get better looks. For example, Love did make some threes but was wide the fuck open on numerous occasions and we didn't get him the ball. I know Andy's midrange shot is effective, but he missed a wide open Love in the corner on a least three occasions and one extra swing pass would have set up Love with some sweet open shots. I know that Andy made two jumpers in that situation, but those open Love shots...they just bury the competition. I can honestly see Love getting 7-8 open threes a game off of better ball movement, 1 shot off of put backs, 1 other jumper, 1 inside feed as he seals his man, 4-5 shots from the post. With FTs, the could be an effortless 23-25 a night.

Loved the two passes he made to LBJ and Tristan tonight. An active James off the ball would make this offense so difficult to slow down

Man Called X said:

I don't understand why Love isn't getting 4-5 shots per quarter at a minimum. He should be our leading scorer, Kyrie #2, with LBJ being the guy totaling 15 assists a night.

It seems so simple in theory. Can I please explain this to Blatt and the team? lol

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Because LeBron is the most efficient scorer out of the 3 (by a wide margin). Therefore, you'd like him scoring the most.

Rich said:

Because LeBron is the most efficient scorer out of the 3 (by a wide margin). Therefore, you'd like him scoring the most.

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He's not shooting 50% either.

I'd like to see the team try to run more screens and cuts to get K Love mismatches on the low block.

Maximus said:

It takes a bit to build chemistry with a slew of new players that haven't played together before. How's it looking lately?

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Seems to work well against some of the worse teams.

The spacing is fine. Great, even. The problem is our passing is mostly just moving it around the perimeter, which does nothing to get open looks. And when we finally find Andy on the elbow, he pump fakes it every time, which allows the defense to get back into position. And after that, he looks for his shot first and a backdoor cut second. It is holding back the offense, Love in particular, but I guess that is for the Andy thread.

Love would really benefit from having Kyrie take a page out of Dion's book with the drive & kick. Kyrie is having a great year, but I think his shoot first pass second approach beginning in the second quarter is the biggest reason for Love's struggles after the first. I get that driving and drawing fouls is great in the long run, so that is why Kyrie is doing it. And it is working. Hell, it might even be the better approach, and Love is just going to have to get used to it.

Kevin Love PER watch: 19.1

He also has passed Kyrie in TS%, which seemed impossible 2 weeks ago.

That is why you trade Andrew Wiggins. Beast! Beast I tell ya!

If we got a bruising 7 footer to help Love down low; his value is going to double.

I can't tell you how relieving it is to watch Bron out there FINALLY with some competent teammates. It's an incredibly refreshing sight to see.

We have watched Bron since 2003; and this is the first year in Cleveland where he's got some reliable side-kicks. It's an incredible thing; we've been waiting FOR-fucking-ever for this.

K-Love splashing that net like Larry Legend last night. Admired that post sequence, Love was lookin like Hakeem out there with those spin dribble, counter spin, pivot pump fake; draws the foul.

I'm also infatuated with players who use the bank-shot, and Love certainly has displayed that in his arsenal.

Maximus said:

It takes a bit to build chemistry with a slew of new players that haven't played together before. How's it looking lately?

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Agreed. And it does more than just score easy points it forces teams to get back on D instead of going for offensive boards.

Frank Reynolds said:

That is why you trade Andrew Wiggins. Beast! Beast I tell ya!

If we got a bruising 7 footer to help Love down low; his value is going to double.

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This would be a dream come true at this point. We would be the favorite to win it all then. But we really do need that tough center to back up Love, even more so than a SG I think.

Just hope Love sticks around past this year... I mean we took a huge risk trading so much for a guy that's not even guaranteed to stay. And if KL really wanted to come, he might have been willing to just join up next year and we might have been able to keep Wiggins, Bennet and the pick, imagine that...

I also can't help but think that Minnesota probably would have accepted the trade without throwing the pick in considering KL was likely going to leave within a year. They played hard ball and we kinda folded a bit on that one. Just keep on playing fast and loose for quick gains instead of long and safe.

MoFlo said:

I couldn't agree more. My biggest complaint has been that he gets forgotten about for entire quarters at a time. There's absolutely no reason the offense can't run through him.

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The offense should run through him, particularly when LeBron is not on the floor.

Of the big 3, Love is the most effective at drawing fouls relative to how often he takes a field goal attempt. His free throw rate is .426, which is even better than LeBron's .420 and considerably better than Kyrie's .349.

If we want to get fouls on the opposing team and score efficiently, I think we need to continue to run things through Love, particularly in the post. We're getting there. The improvement has been noticeable. Love is getting more comfortable in the offense and the team is realizing that going to him repeatedly is a smart decision.

scopedog said:

I also can't help but think that Minnesota probably would have accepted the trade without throwing the pick in considering KL was likely going to leave within a year. They played hard ball and we kinda folded a bit on that one. Just keep on playing fast and loose for quick gains instead of long and safe.

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I'm really not too worried about it. You have to remember Love went through six horrendous years in Minnesota. Love never played with a guy half as good as Irving; it's not even close. Kyrie Irving is significantly better than any piece Minnesota had in Love's first 6 years.

Then you have LeBron James, the best basketball on Earth, and will continue to be the best; even after his athleticism fades. Bron is planted in Ohio for the remainder of his career.

I see no basketball reason why Love would abandon this place after what he's gone through. Being on a team with this kind of talent must be a huge sigh of relief for Kevin and his family.

Kevin, Bron and Kyrie all contribute, the burden is never solely on one guy, like it's usually been for all three guys.

Man Called X said:

He's not shooting 50% either.

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LeBron has led his team in scoring every year he's been in the league. I'd say he's proven that, when compared to Love or Kyrie, he's a more talented scorer than either one of them. Sure, he's also a better passer as well so the temptation is easy to just say "LeBron should be the creator and Kyrie and Kevin should do all of the finishing" but in doing so your relegating one of the two best scorers in the league over the last 8 or so seasons (the other being Durant) to a 3rd wheel role. It doesn't make sense to take the most efficient, talented scorer of the group and have him take the least amount of shots of the 3.

Frank Reynolds said:

I'm really not too worried about it. You have to remember Love went through six horrendous years in Minnesota. Love never played with a guy half as good as Irving; it's not even close. Kyrie Irving is significantly better than any piece Minnesota had in Love's first 6 years.

Then you have LeBron James, the best basketball on Earth, and will continue to be the best; even after his athleticism fades. Bron is planted in Ohio for the remainder of his career.

I see no basketball reason why Love would abandon this place after what he's gone through. Being on a team with this kind of talent must be a huge sigh of relief for Kevin and his family.

Kevin, Bron and Kyrie all contribute, the burden is never solely on one guy, like it's usually been for all three guys.

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What?
He was talking about giving the 1st round pick aswell as the other guys for Love,
I can't understand why we gave the 1st round pick aswell.

LeShaq said:

The offense should run through him, particularly when LeBron is not on the floor.

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The thing is though that Love virtually never plays without LeBron also on the floor.

I see only 2 of the top 20 units, per 82games, includes Love but not James (total of 19 minutes), and those are probably mostly due to the fact LeBron missed a game.