Kevin Love - Miami Ground Machine

[CSF]

^ I agree with most of what you said. But if Love commits long term, I'd take him over the old dudes you mentioned. I glaring problem I see with the big rotation is TT or AV. One needs to go (pls b TT) and be replaced with a big that fills our D needs. And yes, you will find many homers here. There was a day many thought Sasha was a God and D Gib untouchable.

 

[gijimbo]

I don't get it. Clearly most of you people are either massive homers or don't know basketball. If you look at my lists of players and considering their contract situation all of them can be argued that they are better all around players then love.

Gasol - currently making HALF of Love's contract this season. Has been one of the better rim protectors in the league this season. Also proven in the playoffs

Bosh - Makes 5 million more then Love, but Id take that. At least he gives effort on D and has played in 4 NBA finals series. Love has yet to play in a playoff game

Dirk & Duncan - Both make less then Love and both are better. Resumes speak for themselves

Anthony Davis & Blake Griffin - Don't know the contract situations, but both are unquestionably better then Love on both sides of the ball.

Aldridge - Similar to Love with more playoff experience. Had multiple 30 point games in last years playoffs. Plays better D then Love

Ibaka - Makes 3 mill less then Love. Best shot blocker in the league for years. His offense would fit in better then Love's on this team.

I'm not going to go down the entire list. But my point is its kind of hard to justify spending that much on a player who isn't even top 5 at his position. Maybe not even top 10.

If u look at all my posts I was never in favor of the Love deal. It was a quick move by Griffin in order the please Lebron. Somehow we are going to have to find a way to find a 10 million + shot blocking beast to cover for Love's pathetic defense. We have other holes in the roster too and are running out of cash and assets. We will see what happens

One thing you aren't factoring in is age. Kevin Love is only 26. Most of the players you listed are older than Love.

I think Love can be a great fit for this team, but give him some time. Bosh made your list and you consider him so great, but don't you remember his struggles the first year he played with lebron?

Give these guys some time to get used to each other. I am sure that most of the players on your list would have some struggles adjusting as well (with the exception of the couple lower usage guys IE Ibaka).

 

[Pioneer10]

This idea of how much Kevin Love is worth being had in a vacuum. Love is an elite player but not a complete player. Can you be a superstar worth max level and not be a complete player? Sure you can: Nash, Magic, and Bird were pretty awful defenders, Shaq FT's had a negative impact at crunch time etc.

You have to take it he is young, just entering his prime, and despite his defensive problems is easily top 5 in his position in multiple categories (scoring, shooting, rebounding, passing). On top of that, currently he is not being matched with personal that complement. Sort of like Lebron had to play with terrible shooters like Hughes and Snow because of the lack of talent. Love with a decent rim protecting C is another story. Last year the Wolves when they added a decent but not exceptional player in Dieng suddenly their defense jumped. Between Haywood's contract and the Memphis #1 we have the assets to solve the problem***


***It's funny that Dirks' name is bandied about so much: he would have completely different rep had Dallas not stumbled into Chandler.

 

[CavsFan005]

This idea of how much Kevin Love is worth being had in a vacuum. Love is an elite player but not a complete player. Can you be a superstar worth max level and not be a complete player? Sure you can: Nash, Magic, and Bird were pretty awful defenders, Shaq FT's had a negative impact at crunch time etc.

You have to take it he is young, just entering his prime, and despite his defensive problems is easily top 5 in his position in multiple categories (scoring, shooting, rebounding, passing). On top of that, currently he is not being matched with personal that complement. Sort of like Lebron had to play with terrible shooters like Hughes and Snow because of the lack of talent. Love with a decent rim protecting C is another story. Last year the Wolves when they added a decent but not exceptional player in Dieng suddenly their defense jumped. Between Haywood's contract and the Memphis #1 we have the assets to solve the problem***


***It's funny that Dirks' name is bandied about so much: he would have completely different rep had Dallas not stumbled into Chandler.

Even though I am not a huge fan of Love I will admit POTENTIALLY we could be a championship team if somehow we fill in the holes.

1. I don't see who is going to just hand us a starting caliber center with the assets we have left. I don't know if the Haywood deal will do it.
2. We also need a starting 2 guard. Marion is decent, but more of a 3.
3. Our bench is below average, even with Waiters. Compare it to the Spurs, Warriors or even the Bulls and it just doesn't stack up
4. I don't know a lot about Griffin, but I'm skeptical of the moves he is going to make. The contract he gave to AV and the one reported that TT is about to make kind of makes you question his common sense a little bit.
In the end I still think we are too short on assets to fill in the gaps unless Griffin pulls a move like the Lakers used to do a few years back. and I don't think we will win a championship with the pieces we have currently.

 

[crowned1]

I don't get it. Clearly most of you people are either massive homers or don't know basketball. If you look at my lists of players and considering their contract situation all of them can be argued that they are better all around players then love.

Gasol - currently making HALF of Love's contract this season. Has been one of the better rim protectors in the league this season. Also proven in the playoffs

Bosh - Makes 5 million more then Love, but Id take that. At least he gives effort on D and has played in 4 NBA finals series. Love has yet to play in a playoff game

Dirk & Duncan - Both make less then Love and both are better. Resumes speak for themselves

Anthony Davis & Blake Griffin - Don't know the contract situations, but both are unquestionably better then Love on both sides of the ball.

Aldridge - Similar to Love with more playoff experience. Had multiple 30 point games in last years playoffs. Plays better D then Love

Ibaka - Makes 3 mill less then Love. Best shot blocker in the league for years. His offense would fit in better then Love's on this team.

I'm not going to go down the entire list. But my point is its kind of hard to justify spending that much on a player who isn't even top 5 at his position. Maybe not even top 10.

If u look at all my posts I was never in favor of the Love deal. It was a quick move by Griffin in order the please Lebron. Somehow we are going to have to find a way to find a 10 million + shot blocking beast to cover for Love's pathetic defense. We have other holes in the roster too and are running out of cash and assets. We will see what happens

They are all old, and most of them are not better than Love except fo AD (for sure) and Aldridge (perhaps) Gasol is a C and much older so there is nothing to discuss here.
as for the wiggins trade, I'm kinda with you for the long term but since Lebron is here and he probably came because he initiated the Love deal and is looking for another ring and at the same time looking good while doing so since he got his hero story of coming back to his hometown so he could go down in history pages as a hero rather than a "villain" , it's a win-win for him and for the Cavs
I think it's better for wiggins he was traded since they are building around him and he will be the face of the franchise rather than a 4th wheel.

 

[MoFlo]

As the games go by, the more I'm convinced that the majority of this isn't on Love at all.

He's simply not being put in positions to succeed & he gets forgotten about way too often, especially down the stretch.

Hell, I didn't even realize he was on the floor late in tonight's game.

They simply have to find a way to keep Love involved throughout the course of games, especially in the post.

 

[I'mWithDan]

As the games go by, the more I'm convinced that the majority of this isn't on Love at all.

He's simply not being put in positions to succeed & he gets forgotten about way too often, especially down the stretch.

Hell, I didn't even realize he was on the floor late in tonight's game.

They simply have to find a way to keep Love involved throughout the course of games, especially in the post.

Yeah, he's clearly being lost in the white wash of Kyrie and LeBron gobbling up possessions.

There were a handful of occasions in the 4th where he pinned his man and the dribbler proceeded to take the air out of the ball.

As a team, we seem to have an inability or unwillingness to identify post position. We're more likely to throw it to Kyrie trying to post up 18 feet from the basket than we are Love 6ft away.

As they watch more and more tape, the coaches need to stress inside out offense. You can't have someone as talented as Love relegated to wandering around the perimeter on offense and never touching it. It's a complete waste.

 

[nikolajz1]

I dont get why we arent running Love in the high post like SA does Diaw.

 

[MoFlo]

Yeah, he's clearly being lost in the white wash of Kyrie and LeBron gobbling up possessions.

There were a handful of occasions in the 4th where he pinned his man and the dribbler proceeded to take the air out of the ball.

As a team, we seem to have an inability or unwillingness to identify post position. We're more likely to throw it to Kyrie trying to post up 18 feet from the basket than we are Love 6ft away.

As they watch more and more tape, the coaches need to stress inside out offense. You can't have someone as talented as Love relegated to wandering around the perimeter on offense and never touching it. It's a complete waste.

The sad part is, Andy gets more touches in the post than Love does.

Love gets great position down low on a consistent basis but falls victim to Kyrie/LeBron overdribbling & trying to penetrate or our guards having an inability/losing patience in trying to get him the ball.

 

[Baseline Runner]

Sometimes players get inflated stats playing in fast paced system, with a good passing PG and being the go to guy. A second tier player (i.e. top 15-30 in the NBA), is made to look like an elite player. I warned this could possibly be the case with Love when I was against the Wiggins trade. Now that Love is a Cavalier I hope he can be a top 5-10 player in the league that many of you thought, but the jury is out and it is not looking good.

People want to point to possessions but it is obviously more than that as his efficiency has been horrendous. Why should he get possessions when he is not converting the opportunities that he does get?

 

[Zen]

Sometimes players get inflated stats playing in fast paced system, with a good passing PG and being the go to guy. A second tier player (i.e. top 15-30 in the NBA), is made to look like an elite player. I warned this could possibly be the case with Love when I was against the Wiggins trade. Now that Love is a Cavalier I hope he can be a top 5-10 player in the league that many of you thought, but the jury is out and it is not looking good.

People want to point to possessions but it is obviously more than that as his efficiency has been horrendous. Why should he get possessions when he is not converting the opportunities that he does get?

?

The guy was averaging 17 and 11 before tonight all while playing in a new system that isn't featuring him, playing decent defense, spacing the floor, and being incredibly scrappy and heady on the court.

This guy is no where near his comfort zone and is still better statistically than the majority of players in the NBA. It is blatantly obvious to anyone that watches basketball that we are still in the process of learning each other and that Love is basically just getting some numbers based off of effort.

As we hit game 35ish and our players begin to mesh and learn how to utilize love his efficiency will be far better.

 

[CavsFan005]

?

The guy was averaging 17 and 11 before tonight all while playing in a new system that isn't featuring him, playing decent defense, spacing the floor, and being incredibly scrappy and heady on the court.

This guy is no where near his comfort zone and is still better statistically than the majority of players in the NBA. It is blatantly obvious to anyone that watches basketball that we are still in the process of learning each other and that Love is basically just getting some numbers based off of effort.

As we hit game 35ish and our players begin to mesh and learn how to utilize love his efficiency will be far better.

Lol ok. "decent defense". Is that why Love's man Borris Diaw went off tonight? Love's man goes off every game breh. I think most of us who wanted to use our assets on somebody other then love share the same common conclusion that he wont even get the rock enough to justify that max contract.

Look at how Bosh had to change his game in Miami. He put up 17 and 7 that's it. He is going to have to learn to play the intangible game our it was a bad move for us

 

[MoFlo]

Sometimes players get inflated stats playing in fast paced system, with a good passing PG and being the go to guy. A second tier player (i.e. top 15-30 in the NBA), is made to look like an elite player. I warned this could possibly be the case with Love when I was against the Wiggins trade. Now that Love is a Cavalier I hope he can be a top 5-10 player in the league that many of you thought, but the jury is out and it is not looking good.

People want to point to possessions but it is obviously more than that as his efficiency has been horrendous. Why should he get possessions when he is not converting the opportunities that he does get?

Tonight was a perfect example of this not being the case at all.

In the first 3+ minutes of the 3rd: He went 3-7 (1 was a missed tip shot) with 5 boards (3 offensive).

About 3 1/2 minutes later (5:48 to go in the 3rd), he drew a foul & nailed both free throws.

From then on, he attempted 1 three pointer & that was it.

There's simply no excuse for that, especially when we had success going to him & especially given his track record.

 

[KLove14]

Lol ok. "decent defense". Is that why Love's man Borris Diaw went off tonight? Love's man goes off every game breh. I think most of us who wanted to use our assets on somebody other then love share the same common conclusion that he wont even get the rock enough to justify that max contract.

Look at how Bosh had to change his game in Miami. He put up 17 and 7 that's it. He is going to have to learn to play the intangible game our it was a bad move for us

Bosh went to the finals 4 straight times and won two chips...Besides did anyone expect that Kyrie,Lbj,Love teaming up would continue to put up the numbers they used to in their previous teams ?

 

[Cavatt]

Tonight was a perfect example of this not being the case at all.

In the first 3+ minutes of the 3rd: He went 3-7 (1 was a missed tip shot) with 5 boards (3 offensive).

About 3 1/2 minutes later (5:48 to go in the 3rd), he drew a foul & nailed both free throws.

From then on, he attempted 1 three pointer & that was it.

There's simply no excuse for that, especially when we had success going to him & especially given his track record.

Don't want to put it all on Love, but he was taking it out of bounds repeatedly after getting beat with a sort of sheepish grin/grimace of, "oops" with the ball handler getting the inbounds. Just wondering how it makes that guy want to reward you on the offensive end for your poor effort on the other end. We really got some of Andy and Tristan best efforts tonight, and Love blew it.