Kevin Love - Miami Ground Machine

[Kypus]

 

[King of Swords]

I really liked what I saw from Love last night. Although the final numbers were not anomalous, there were a few things that stood out about the performance for me.

1) he produced big in the second half
2) he scored inside and made an effort to continue getting down low in the second half
3) he started cold from the field but still ended up hitting over 50% by the end

While his offense (shooting - he actually made some good passes early) was off at the start, his defense and rebounding were very good, so he really impacted the game start to finish.

Last night was basically an ideal situation for the Cavs. Each star took a turn dominating, so the defense could not key in on anyone. And Kevin playing assertively in the 2nd half was a major component in that.

 

[theSTEREO.]

So did Varejao take the picture or is he off filming more Mr. Hero commercials?

It was great to see Kevin Love playing like Kevin Love instead of playing like a smaller Ryan Anderson last night. Really glad because the Cavs need someone to make those kind of plays if they make it into the finals

He was about 4 more FT attempts away from the perfect Kevin Love game.

Got inside and got close looks, was super active on defense, crisp on-target passing and still fired off 6 3PT's in just 32 minutes. Brings a tear to my eye.

This game is the model for all future Cavs games, and it still feels like there is another gear.

 

[LeBro]

This was definitely one of Love's best games as a Cav, at least as far as playing the way that's going to benefit the team's chances at a title. Only 6 of his 17 shots were 3s and he showed his usual good judgment in taking shots inside the arc.. by my count he was 7 for 11 there. The guy just rarely forces a shot. They need to utilize this efficiency consistently.

Well said!

At some point in the second quarter, I remember the commentator saying, "...Love misses a shot, and he's now 0-4 to start the game." If I remember right, he didn't have any points midway through the second. At that point I sarcastically thought to myself, "oh god, can't wait to see the RCF tonight, Love is going to be eviscerated."

Then he proceeded to come on very strong in the second half. Like a few of you have mentioned, what impressed me most was how many points he was getting down low.

Although he's been very efficient the last six weeks or so, it does seem like he's been sort of reduced to the Chris-Bosh-last-year-in-Miami-spot-3-shooter role, which seems like it's only scratching the surface of range/ability (don't get me wrong, he has been very efficient/effective in that role). To see him take a more diverse range of shots today was a very welcome sight.

The other thing that really stuck out was how pumped he was getting in the 4th quarter. Going into a couple of TV timeouts, he ran over to the bench and was leaping into the air doing hip bumps with someone on the bench (can't recall who it was). He seemed really happy, both with his performance, and from a chemistry standpoint.

 

[CosmoKramer]

Love's defensive effort have been impressive the last few weeks, after struggling with Monroe and Millsap earlier this season he's recently handled both well.

Him playing something close to league-average defense isn't a fluke as well; it almost all comes down to effort. As long as Love continues to close out on shooters and funnel ball-handlers to help his length disadvantage is mitigated by our scheme.

 

[Mdog1]

I was really excited to see Love demanding the ball when Jefferson was guarding him. That's what i've been waiting to see all season from this team.

This game is a real blue print for success for this team. Nobody really forced anything, the ball movement was on point, and they let their defense create offense.

The biggest take away is how great this team is in transition. This is what I envisioned for this team when it came together, who knew it would take JR Smith to help us find it lol.

 

[LeShaq]

Love just posted this on his tweeter/instagram:
View: https://twitter.com/kevinlove/status/575543584356761600

Good sign of team's chemistry...

But, he's going to Boston right?

He's gone after this year, right?

 

[LeShaq]

it still feels like there is another gear.

This is only the beginning. Just wait.

 

[BBurks4144]

So did Varejao take the picture or is he off filming more Mr. Hero commercials?

It was great to see Kevin Love playing like Kevin Love instead of playing like a smaller Ryan Anderson last night. Really glad because the Cavs need someone to make those kind of plays if they make it into the finals

I think team photography falls under Damon Jones' job responsibilities.

 

[Cavatt]

I really like the way he has been playing. It looked like he would not figure out that he needs to do more than shoot and rebound for awhile. I really apreciate his effort on staying in front of perimeter players. That is the effort I want from a max player. That is all I ever wanted.

 

[Sebastian]

But, he's going to Boston right?

He's gone after this year, right?

No, the Lakers. Or the Knicks. Maybe Minnesota. Perhaps Russia.

 

[Otsego Mar]

No, the Lakers. Or the Knicks. Maybe Minnesota. Perhaps Russia.

 

[priceFTW]

Love right now is playing slightly above average defense and his defensive rebounding is making him an overall plus defender on court.

Overall, the players he's defending are shooting .8% below what they normally shoot (For comparison, LMAldridge: 1.0% below, Zach Randolph: 1.6% above). He's not any type of defensive force such as a Gibson, Ibaka, Nene, etc., but he is slightly above average.

• Players he's guarding are shooting .4% higher than average on threes. (LMA: 5.5% above, Zach: 1.7% below)
• They're shooting 1.7% below average on 2 pointers. (LMA: 2.8% below, Zach: 2.2% above)
• They're shooting 2.4% below average from less than 6 feet. (LMA: 5.3% below, Zach: 1.8% above)
• They're shooting 1.7% below average from less than 10 feet. (LMA: 4.7% below, Zach: 2.5% above)
• They're shooting 2.6% below average from greater than 15 feet. (LMA: .2% above, Zach: .6 below)

These aren't great defensive numbers, but they do show that he's not a defensive sieve anymore.

In addition, his defensive REAL PLUS MINUS is is 1.28 which shows that his rebounding is helping the defense although I think he can do a better job on the defensive boards.

Cavs' DEFENSIVE RATING with LOVE on court: 105.6
Cavs' DEFENSIVE RATING with LOVE off court: 107.9

Love's DRating since Jan. 15th: 100
Mozgov's: 101
LeBron's: 102
Shump's: 102


In addition, the offense is 5.7 points per 100 possessions better with him on court and that number has been going up the last 2 months.

His defense is getting steadily better and if his offense comes around (he is making open shots now) and we find a way to utilize him better, he will be the impact player we all know he can be.

 

[TitleTown]

This pretty much guarantees Love stays for at least one more year:

ESPN:
Historic salary cap increase set

After a meeting this week failed to produce a compromise, the NBA is now preparing itself for the largest salary-cap jump in league history for the 2016-17 season.

It's a move that could have significant implications for potential 2016 free agents such as Kevin Durant and LeBron James as well as teams that have positioned themselves to have cap space, most notably the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks.

The NBA announced Wednesday that the players' union formally rejected a so-called "cap-smoothing" proposal that would pay players the same 51 percent of basketball-related income they get under the current collective-bargaining agreement, while artificially lowering the cap over several years. The plan was put forth to manage the influx of revenue that is coming with the $24 billion television deal that begins after next season.

NBA teams using internal data are projecting the salary cap to jump to between $88 million and $92 million per team, sources told ESPN. To compare, this season the cap is set at $63 million and next season it is projected to land at about $66 million. To put it into perspective, the largest salary-cap jump in history is $7 million in one season. What happens in 2016 could triple that leap.

...

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/1...y-cap-smoothing-historic-cap-increase-nba-set

 

[MalTalm]

This pretty much guarantees Love stays for at least one more year:

ESPN:
Historic salary cap increase set

After a meeting this week failed to produce a compromise, the NBA is now preparing itself for the largest salary-cap jump in league history for the 2016-17 season.

It's a move that could have significant implications for potential 2016 free agents such as Kevin Durant and LeBron James as well as teams that have positioned themselves to have cap space, most notably the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks.

The NBA announced Wednesday that the players' union formally rejected a so-called "cap-smoothing" proposal that would pay players the same 51 percent of basketball-related income they get under the current collective-bargaining agreement, while artificially lowering the cap over several years. The plan was put forth to manage the influx of revenue that is coming with the $24 billion television deal that begins after next season.

NBA teams using internal data are projecting the salary cap to jump to between $88 million and $92 million per team, sources told ESPN. To compare, this season the cap is set at $63 million and next season it is projected to land at about $66 million. To put it into perspective, the largest salary-cap jump in history is $7 million in one season. What happens in 2016 could triple that leap.

...

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/1...y-cap-smoothing-historic-cap-increase-nba-set

Seems like it will be bad for the Cavs but great for teams looking to make a quick turnaround. Lakers could quickly be relevant again.