Cleveland Cavaliers: There Is No Love For Kevin

The Cleveland Cavaliers will really play at another level once Kevin Love is used properly and more regularly in the offense.

Kevin Love has had a rough go with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Since he arrived here two summers ago, Love has perhaps taken on the most criticism of anyone in the Cavaliers organization. It is somewhat baffling that Love is regarded as the third most important member of the “Big Three,” yet he somehow gets the most criticism.

Last season, Love was the center of discussion as far as his role in the offense was concerned. People analyzed Love’s frustration and criticized Love’s decline in efficiency from his days in Minnesota. What was not realized is that Love played most of the season with significant soreness in his back, which played a part in his inconsistency.

First, Love was considering signing with the Los Angeles Lakers until a poolside chat with LeBron James apparently solved some issues. This season, Love’s name was worn out in Cleveland Cavaliers trade talks with the Boston Celtics.

The Love rumor mill has grown so absurd that media interprets the Cleveland Cavaliers’ social media posts. Similarly, only a few hours after the NBA trade deadline, popular sports blogs featured articles about trade possibilities involving Kevin Love this summer.

Love, despite the criticisms and rumors, has chosen to approach the situation with humor:

"The fact is you guys are stuck with me." Kevin Love to local media on his name being rumored in trade talks.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) February 19, 2016

I, myself, have been critical of Love at times. If you follow me on twitter, you know that I do not even have to admit that I have thrown Kevin Love into ESPN’s NBA Trade Machine my fair share of times.

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In a way, I am no different than many Cleveland Cavaliers fans that constantly criticize Love for his inconsistent offensive production or his many vine-able instances of poor pick and roll defense. However, in a way, I am different from other fans. That is because the only reason I have ever wanted the Cleveland Cavaliers to trade Love is because I felt as if he was not being used correctly and optimized in Cleveland.

Love is making just shy of $20 million in salary this season, and that number only goes up for the duration of his contract in Cleveland. Only one dimension of Love has been utilized consistently, and that is his ability to shoot three-pointers. There are plenty of good shooters in the NBA, but not all of them are paid $20 million.

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But Kevin Love is more than just a shooter. Along with his rebounding prowess, Love’s position of power forward and his efficiency as both a scorer and a passer in the post is what sets him apart from other players. Unfortunately, that aspect of Love’s game is under-utilized, which has been the subject of much banter from media members, bloggers, fans, and basketball lovers alike.

Love’s defensive deficiencies are well-documented, but his offensive prowess and potential is not. In the era of “small ball,” questions have been raised as to whether Love can survive.

If the Cavaliers move LeBron to the power forward position to match small lineups against teams such as the Golden State Warriors, then they are faced with a decision as to whether to play Love at the center position and lose rim protection or to not play Love at all and let his $20 million sit on the bench.

The best way to minimize the mismatch Kevin Love is faced with on defense is to maximize the impact he has on offense.

After scoring a game-high 29 points and leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a Sunday afternoon victory in Oklahoma City, Love started Monday’s loss to the Detroit Pistons much the same way. The Cavaliers went to Love early and often against Tobias Harris.

Love led the Cleveland Cavaliers at halftime, scoring an efficient 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting. However, the Cavaliers went into halftime down 56-49. Instead of going to Love in the post during the second half, the Cavaliers panicked offensively and regressed to bad habits. Instead of riding Love’s hot hand, James, in particular, struggled and the Cavaliers fell to the Pistons, despite holding them to only 40 total points in the second half.

When Tyronn Lue took over after David Blatt’s firing, he said he would get Love more touches, and he has succeeded, to an extent.

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However, it will not be until Lue, through ball-handlers James and

Kyrie Irving

, looks to Love in the post in late-game, must-score situations regularly that the Cleveland Cavaliers will really start to flourish.

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