@red. update:
Rest of the 1st quarter: runs a high pick and roll with Kyrie and slips the screen (Kyrie doesn't look for him, he was open IMO), wing pick and roll with JR Smith gets him the ball in the low post at the rim (kicks pass out to Kyrie for an open 3 which is missed), posting up Grant on the elbow and floats off his spot before the entry pass which he now catches closer to the 3 point line, passes back out to LeBron, floats away as LeBron posts up and his man doubles down, LeBron finds Love for a wide open 3 at the top of the key (missed the shot).
2nd: catches the ball in the corner (instantly kicks ball right back out, bad spot for him), posts up Grant (entry pass from LeBron results in a foul), seals off Grant on inbounds play (LeBron finds him under the basket and he is fouled shooting), posts up Noel (Kyrie is looking for him, but Love can't keep Noel sealed), posts up Grant (pass is knocked out of bounds), posts up Noel (again, Love can't keep Noel sealed, Noel steals the pass).
3rd: sets up on the elbow, again floats off his spot and receives the pass around the 3 point line (passes out), sets up on the elbow again, and again he floats off his spot and receives the ball at the 3 point line (passes out again), Cavs run a set play for him, set a cross screen in the post for him which has him cutting towards the ball with his man trailing him in the low post (weak post up of Covington leads to a turnover). He is then subbed out at the 7:30 mark for the rest of the quarter. He looked tired and slow on offense, did nothing with conviction, and his posts up since early in the 1st have all looked very weak. He just looks weak in general out there right now.
4th: sets up a post up on Covington in the mid post, Covington pushes him so much that by the time he catches the ball he is a step inside the 3 point line (passes the ball out), floats around the 3 point line on a possession, but eventually crosses over into the paint to the play side of the floor (doesn't even attempt to get around Covington and post up in the low post), is spotted up in the corner and wide open when his man leaves to help on a driving LeBron (LeBron doesn't look for Love), LeBron fires a cross pass on a drive to a wide open Love for 3 (hesitates on the shot, passes to Delly), doesn't seal down far enough on Covington and again receives a pass posted up just inside the 3 point line (Covington pushes him off his spot, knocks the ball away, Love passes to Kyrie), runs the dual high pick and roll for Kyrie with LeBron (doesn't roll hard and stops moving when he runs into Covington halfway though the paint), sets up for a wing pick and roll with Kyrie (Kyrie passes before using the screen), spotted up wide open for 3 (LeBron cross court pass is errant and overthrown for a turnover), is posting up Covington on the elbow off an inbounds play (Covington works through Love's weak seal and knocks the ball away for a turnover). Honestly, the theme of this quarter was he just floated outside the 3 point line, and when he had his chances to post up and make something happen, Covington pushed him around or he refused to fight over top of his man in the post.
You brought up that we never utilized the mismatch between him and the smaller Covington. Honestly, watching this game, you would think Love was the smaller player. He was pushed around by Covington consistently, wouldn't work to get over top of him in the post in the 4th, floated around the 3 point line, and just looked flat out tired, slow, and weak on the offensive side the last 3 quarters of the game.
I don't think the offensive system has neglected Love at all. He and his teammates (on occasion) have neglected him on the offensive side for stretches, but we aren't completely ignoring him or utilizing his mismatches on that side of the floor (hard to have a mismatch when the smaller guy is pushing you around)...for me it all goes back to this common thing we keep hearing about him...he just doesn't look healthy out there.
Now, to Love's credit, he was incredibly active and busting his ass all game on the defensive side of the ball and rebounding the ball, which he has been consistent at throughout the win streak. He's going through the anti-Kyrie phase from a few seasons ago (where he took his breaks on the defensive side of the ball) and is taking breaks on the offensive side of the ball it seems. That, and again, the guy just needs the All-Star break in the worst way possible. Almost hurts just to watch him lumber down the court right now.
