5 things Cleveland Cavaliers must do to make NBA Finals

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LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 15: NBA Power Forward Kevin Love and Banana Republic kick off All Star Weekend and celebrate their partnership at The Grove on February 15, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John Sciulli/Getty Images for Banana Republic) /

3. Figure out how Kevin Love fits into all this

Here’s the truth about Kevin Love. He’s the Cavs’ second best player. That’s not a bad thing, unless you consider the talent level from the Cavs best player (LeBron) to its second best player dropped significantly when the organization traded Kyrie Irving last summer.

Love was having a rough stretch before he broke his hand. He averaged 11.6 points and 7.1 rebounds. For the season, Love was averaging 17.1 and 9.4 boards per contest. Yeah, that’s a huge drop-off that just so happens to coincide with Isaiah Thomas joining the team after returning from his hip injury.

Hopefully, the change in chemistry empowers Love to return to the form that led to his All-Star selection.

The Cavs desperately missed his rebounding during their final game before the All-Star break, when Steven Adams pulled down 12 offensive rebounds.

Even with Love in the fold, though, the Cavs still need bigs to combat talented centers. Love is better suited to play power forward. Nance would seem to be the ideal small ball center, and Thompson is still an option.

But Ty Lue has to figure out how to make this all work, and he won’t be getting Love back from injury for another month.

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