Kevin Love - Miami Ground Machine

[hambone]

Tonight's game is a primary example of why you max out a guy like Kevin Love and don't think twice.

On the road against the top team in the conference with your superstar struggling, you just knew a max player like Kevin Love would come through and step up his own effort to pick up the slack.

He's the league's most expensive 3rd option and tonight really showed why you pay it with a smile on your face.

Little difficult to take over a game when your two highest usage players shoot 12/29 with 14 turnovers to 12 assists.

The cavs do not run effective plays for kevin love. in the early stages of the game they were killing with love pick and rolls, but then they completely went away from that.

Also notice how love is the only cav with a positive +/- tonight at +2? Funny how that works.

Are we really back to this "fit out or fit in" bullshit? The cavs lost by nine on the road to the Atlanta hawks on their 3d game in 4 nights. Everybody needs to cool down and be patient.

Or you can assume that kevin love will never be a max player again and let him walk to a team that will offer him a max contract (and there are a few). All of this because he isn't lighting the league on fire while adjusting to being a third option.

 

[clevelandrox23]

Tonight's game is a primary example of why you max out a guy like Kevin Love and don't think twice.

On the road against the top team in the conference with your superstar struggling, you just knew a max player like Kevin Love would come through and step up his own effort to pick up the slack.

He's the league's most expensive 3rd option and tonight really showed why you pay it with a smile on your face.

A poster after my own heart. Many blessings to you.

 

[chuck0609]

It was encouraging to see him on the floor at the end of the gsme. Now perhaps Blatt will put him in a position to be effective offensively.

I'm starting to beleive we'll see him playing his playoff role more in these last games of the year.

 

[TwoPistols]

I think it's telling how Blatt comes from the European game and may not be totally familiar with NBA players' skillsets. He doesn't buy into the hype of these so-called superstars and plays who he thinks is most effective, disregarding someone's status and previous performance. Seeing Love on the bench for the majority of 4th quarters shows us how much he really values Love. I do think the "not a max contract player" was a shot at Love and his frustration with how Love does not live up to expectations.

 

[hambone]

I think it's telling how Blatt comes from the European game and may not be totally familiar with NBA players' skillsets. He doesn't buy into the hype of these so-called superstars and plays who he thinks is most effective, disregarding someone's status and previous performance. Seeing Love on the bench for the majority of 4th quarters shows us how much he really values Love. I do think the "not a max contract player" was a shot at Love and his frustration with how Love does not live up to expectations.

Except it was painfully obvious to anyone paying attention that the "not a max contract player" comment was literally a commentary that kevin love is not currently on a maximum contract. FFS Blatt made that clarification as soon as he made that remark.

Also klove does play the 4th quarter in pretty much every game. There have been like three games where he hasn't. You're just confused because you don't seem to realize that kevin love's rotation plan has him sit the first half of the 4th quarter.

He plays most of the 1st, half the 2nd, most of the 3d, half of the 4th.

As for the idea the blatt doesn't value love, he has literally never said anything close to that to the media, so you're talking out your ass.

And even if he did think that he would be stupid. If you look at our line-up data you can clearly see that klove is a member of all our best squads.

 

[hambone]

I think it's telling how Blatt comes from the European game and may not be totally familiar with NBA players' skillsets. He doesn't buy into the hype of these so-called superstars and plays who he thinks is most effective, disregarding someone's status and previous performance. Seeing Love on the bench for the majority of 4th quarters shows us how much he really values Love. I do think the "not a max contract player" was a shot at Love and his frustration with how Love does not live up to expectations.

Oh hey, look what I found, a direct quote from the man himself that shows how you are full of shit

View: https://soundcloud.com/siriusxmnba/cavs-hc-david-blatt-doesnt-get-the-criticism-thinks-kevin-love-is-having-a-great-season-and

 

[Cavatt]

I just wished he moved off the ball. If he wants to be effective, get open. His efficiency is not so impressive that they should force the ball to him so he can go one on one against a set defender.

 

[nikolajz1]

Why don't we just sit Love for 2 weeks like we did Lebron. He looks so unhealthy out there on the floor. Watch his tape from last year in MN. He was jumping a good 6 inches higher on jump shots and 8 inches higher on rebounds.

I really believe a bunch of nagging injuries are the problem with Love.

 

[DawgOnKing]

Why don't we just sit Love for 2 weeks like we did Lebron. He looks so unhealthy out there on the floor. Watch his tape from last year in MN. He was jumping a good 6 inches higher on jump shots and 8 inches higher on rebounds.

I really believe a bunch of nagging injuries are the problem with Love.

Without question. I'm willing to bet he's not played a single game in CLE at 100%. He looks slow on both ends and disappears in transition. That said, he's playing the best he has all year and we rarely run sets for him beyond the first 5 possessions of the game.

The other night he had 3 scores in 4 possessions (in the post) and then simply faded from the offense.

 

[TwoPistols]

Without question. I'm willing to bet he's not played a single game in CLE at 100%. He looks slow on both ends and disappears in transition. That said, he's playing the best he has all year and we rarely run sets for him beyond the first 5 possessions of the game.

The other night he had 3 scores in 4 possessions (in the post) and then simply faded from the offense.

Another frustration. He's 25.5 years old and we're supposed to eventually sign him to a 5 year max contract despite him looking like he's 33 out there. I can't imagine his health getting miraculously better as he ages.

 

[gourimoko]

I just wish he would score in the post... at least sometimes.

11 FGA w/10 3PA? For a PF?

It's just bad basketball. It's so one dimensional, and people have caught on saying the Cavs have turned Love into a 'specialist' when he's so much more capable.

Enough with the excuses...

 

[Birdy89]

Another frustration. He's 25.5 years old and we're supposed to eventually sign him to a 5 year max contract despite him looking like he's 33 out there. I can't imagine his health getting miraculously better as he ages.

No one nurses an injury better than Kevin Love.

The guys has built his career on battling one nagging strain after another and has come out the other side to prove all his haters wrong.

If you really think the security of scoring a 9 figure deal as a 3rd option is going to cause him to start sitting out games as he ages when he is injured that he is playing through now then you don't know Kevin Love.

 

[DawgOnKing]

Another frustration. He's 25.5 years old and we're supposed to eventually sign him to a 5 year max contract despite him looking like he's 33 out there. I can't imagine his health getting miraculously better as he ages.

Hard to argue that.

That said, we don't win the East (or sniff a title) unless we get max production from Love. I'm not talking about advancing here, I'm saying a trip to the Finals won't happen unless Love is healthy and VERY productive in the post-season.

Whether on not he can be productive will largely depend on Blatt's rotations in each series.

So the contract (or lack thereof) will be directly proportional to how he's utilized and how healthy he actually is. I hope we secure #2 in the conference early enough to give him a full week off prior to the start of the playoffs. I can't think of a single guy on the team that needs it more.

Imaging how different this team is if we can give LBJ/Love each 7-10 days of rest prior to Round 1.

 

[Birdy89]

I can't think of a single guy on the team that needs it more.

He just had a week's vacation 3 weeks ago at the All-star break.

If at the age of 25 he needs another break already because of the physical toll all these 14 & 8 games are taking on his body as strictly a 3 point specialist then heaven help us all.

 

[Cashius X]

So when Love plays good no excuses but when he plays poorly he's hurt and laboring?....

He already had 1 week+ off for the ASB, how much more rest does he need? He does indeed look like he's laboring out there and he doesn't look "right" but he's looked like that ALL YEAR...we're in March now, his injury concerns are really at the point where it's worrisome.