Cleveland Cavaliers: Kevin Love’s return is ahead of schedule
The Cleveland Cavaliers have been without power forward Kevin Love for some time now but there is some good news about the big man who will impact the club.
Word on the street is that Kevin Love could return to the Cleveland Cavaliers ahead of the initially proposed eight-week timetable. The all-star big man has been sidelined since January 30th with a broken bone in his left hand. However, he was seen taking mid-range jump shots on Friday at practice.
Love spoke with the ESPN’s Dave McMenamin before the Cavaliers loss to the Nuggets on Saturday, where he said “If I can get back before eight weeks, great. I’m hoping that is the case.”
Love has missed a total of 13 games since suffering the injury. Cleveland also recreated the roster at the trade deadline, getting rid of six players and their own first-round pick while bringing in four newcomers and getting a fresh start.
McMenamin noted at the time the piece was written that the Cavaliers have 21 games remaining in the regular season. “Should Love beat his recovery timeline by two weeks, he could still have 13-14 games to try to get acclimated to the Cavs’ new personnel before the playoffs begin.”
"“I was able to start shooting a little bit with my right hand, dribble a little bit with my right hand [and] will progressively get to my left. I guess one of the things I can do now is kind of catch the ball, guide it and shoot it within 12-15 feet, so that feels good to do something other than run on the treadmill or run on the bike.”"
The Cavs are 2-4 since the NBA all-star break following back-to-back home losses to the Philadelphia 76ers and Denver Nuggets. As the new players have been integrated into the lineup, as anyone would expect, there have been some untimely offensive struggles and defensive lapses down the stretch of certain games that have resulted in losses for the Cavs.
Injecting Love’s talented offensive prowess and rebounding will help calm the younger players in crunch time. He is often taken for granted despite such a versatile playing style.
Very few big men in the league can shoot 40% from three at 6’10” while averaging 17.9 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. Cleveland has one game remaining in their five-game homestand before embarking on their longest road trip of the season.
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The trip will include five games on the west coast and will be crucial toward building momentum for the playoffs. Love’s return on the horizon should give Cleveland even more confidence heading into their tough upcoming journey.