Kevin Love: Best Power Forward In The NBA

In the mind of casual fans, players’ success is measured by a rather base stick. To them, it boils down to two things: rings and season averages. But there is more to a player and how successful they are than just looking at the titles they have or haven’t won and the numbers they put up every game.

This isn’t to say that those things aren’t important, but judging a player by those facts alone is pointless. Would you argue that Charles Barkley isn’t an all-time great because he never won a title? Would you proclaim that Bill Russell was a better player than Michael Jordan because he has 11 rings, five more than MJ? Would you say that Chris Bosh was a better player on the Toronto Raptors, putting up big numbers on a losing team, than during the back-to-back championship runs of the Miami Heat?

If so, you’re not the kind of person that will be interested in this article.

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Here, I’m going to look at

, and how he should be considered the best power forward in the NBA today. This may not mean you agree. In fact, I welcome your rebuttals. I love

as much as the next guy, but I’m certain that he’s not as good as Love. At least not right now.

Let’s begin by looking at the pros of K-Love’s career to date:

• Statistical beast
  • First player since Wilt Chamberlain, Billy Cunningham and Elgin Baylor to average 26/12/4 in a season
• Best 3-point big man shooter
  • Shot 37.6 percent (better than Ray Allen & James Harden) on 6.6 treys per game in 2014
• He’s efficient
  • Had a 26.9 PER in 2014 (higher than all three of Larry Bird’s MVP seasons)

And now the cons:

• Has never been to the playoffs
  • Total record leaving the Minnesota Timberwolves is 125-239
• Put up big numbers on losing teams
  • Finished below .500 with Minny for six consecutive years
• Bad interior defender
  • One of the league’s worst rim protectors, with opponents making 57.4 percent of their attempts

Those are some pretty jarring facts. There has been a whole boatload of good and bad for Love already and he’s only 26 years old! Next up, we need to look at the challengers to Love as the best power forward in the league. There are some honorable mentions, but really, it all comes down to three other guys:

Honorable Mentions

• Paul Millsap
• Chris Bosh
• Tim Duncan
• Serge Ibaka

Legitimate Challengers

• LaMarcus Aldridge
• Blake Griffin
• Anthony Davis

You probably could have seen these names coming, though Davis might come as a surprise to some. But in two seasons, he’s already made leaps and bounds as a player. With that said, comparing players’ regular season averages is a good way to start looking at things, so we can find some solid ground on which to stand:

Kevin Love (25 years old), 2013-14

• 26.1ppg, 12.5rpg, 4.4apg, 0.8spg, 45.7 FG%, 37.6 3FG%, 82.1 FT%, 36.3 minutes, 26.9 PER

LaMarcus Aldridge (28 years old), 2013-14

• 23.2ppg, 11.1rpg, 2.6apg, 1.0bpg, 45.8 FG%, 82.2 FT%, 36.2 minutes, 21.8 PER

Blake Griffin (24 years old), 2013-14

• 24.1ppg, 9.5rpg, 3.9apg, 1.2spg, 52.8 FG%, 71.5 FT%, 35.8 minutes, 23.9 PER

Anthony Davis (20 years old), 2013-14

• 20.8ppg, 10.0rpg, 1.6apg, 1.3spg, 2.8bpg, 51.9 FG%, 79.1 FT%, 35.2 minutes, 26.5 PER

By this list alone, it appears that currently the best power forwards in order are Love, Davis, Griffin and Aldridge. How many of you (who aren’t New Orleans Pelicans fans) noticed that Davis had a PER almost identical to Love’s?

But we can’t just leave the comparisons here. Love seems to have the upper hand so far, but now we also need to address the overbearing issue of playoffs. Neither Love nor Davis have ever gone, Aldridge has gone four times and Griffin has gone three times.

Neither Griffin nor Aldridge have gotten past the second round. But at least they made it right? Well, yes, but although they were certainly a big part of helping their teams reach that point, the rest of their squads can’t be forgotten.

We’ll look at it this way:

Kevin Love, 2013-14 teammates

• 0 All-Stars
• 0 Hall of Famers

LaMarcus Aldridge, 2013-14 teammates

• 1 All-Star (Damian Lillard)
• 0 Hall of Famers

Blake Griffin, 2013-14 teammates

• 1 All-Star (Chris Paul)
• 1 Hall of Famer (Chris Paul)
• Current Sixth Man of the Year (Jamal Crawford, 2X)

Anthony Davis, 2013-14 teammates

• 0 All-Stars
• 0 Hall of Famers

What does this mean? Well, it means that the two players who have been to the playoffs didn’t get there on their own. Griffin has the best team out of the group, and his squad has been considered title contenders for the past few seasons. Even Aldridge has his incredibly clutch point guard to run with.

Plop Aldridge or Griffin on Love’s or Davis’ 2013-14 teams and there is still no way that the T-Wolves and Pelicans are getting to the playoffs. But shove Love onto the Los Angeles Clippers or Portland Trail Blazers, and those teams may have gotten out of the second round.

Here’s where Davis is separated. It’s not really his fault, but the fact is that he is still very young. At this point in his career, though he’s speedily increasing his production, he probably wouldn’t mesh on a team like the Clippers, where they have a defensive minded center who has trouble scoring. He’s still figuring some things out, but hasn’t quite gotten to the level of all-around play that Love has.

Kevin is also unique in that he has a major skill set that none of the others have: making a vast amount of 3-pointers. He’s the only one who is a true stretch 4; someone who can take opposing bigs out of the paint and allow for more room in an offense.

He shot 37.6 percent from deep last season, but he also shot 50.2 percent on 2-point field goals. Even better, he made 66.9 percent of his shots that were 0-3 feet from the basket, partly due to his relentless offensive rebounding.

Aldridge, who is well known for his killer mid-range turnaround jumper, actually shot 46.1 percent on 2-pointers in 2013-14.

Both Griffin (74.3) and Davis (70.4) shot better than Love in the 0-3 feet range, but neither could come close to matching his percentages further and further from the paint.

Looking at the players in head-to-head matches can be somewhat iffy, but it does mean something. If a player continually beats an opposing player over and over or bests him in one-on-one-type duels, then it should be noted.

Obviously, Minnesota didn’t win a lot of their games last season but Love did significant solo damage nonetheless. Here’s what his season averages against the rest of the group’s teams looks like:

Vs Portland Trail Blazers (three games)

• 25.0ppg, 12.6rpg, 4.3apg, 1.0spg, 49.0 FG%, 38.8 3FG%, 37.3 minutes

Vs Los Angeles Clippers (four games)

• 24.5ppg, 15.8rpg, 6.3apg, 0.8spg, 42.8 FG%, 32.0 3FG%, 37.0 minutes

Vs New Orleans Pelicans (three games)

• 25.6ppg, 13.0rpg, 3.6apg, 36.9 FG%, 10.5 3FG%, 37.6 minutes

While having varied shooting percentages against these clubs (look what Davis did!), Love still managed to produce at a very high level against all of the group’s teams. While Minny lost most of these matchups, Love still shined even against the presence of other PF beasts.

The last thing that is imperative to look at would be defense. As said above, Love is not a good defender. He is a very bad rim protector and he also was the league’s fifth-worst shot blocker at 0.5 per game, tied with Thaddeus Young and Glen Davis.

But is he that much worse than the others?

According to NBA.com, these are the defensive ratings of the forwards: Love (104.1), Aldridge (103.4), Griffin (101.6) and Davis (107.1). Defensive rating for a player is the number of points per 100 possessions that the team allows while he is on the court. And while none are the same, none are exceedingly different either.

Interior defense is another story. While opponents drain 57.4 percent of their shots at the rim that Love defends, they make just 48.8 percent on Davis, 49.3 precent on Aldridge and 54.1 percent on Griffin.

Oof. Even so, rim protection is just one part of the overall game. If that’s the only part in which Love falls behind by a significant amount, then having the rest of his game that substantially surpasses the others is desirable.

And let us not forget; this player is now on a team with an All-Star point guard and a Hall of Famer. This is the season that we will finally be able to start judging his career not just by his own basketball powers, but by those on his own team.

So while all of that swirls into place, let us at least appreciate the player that Love already is; the best power forward in the game today. Looks like you’ll just have to wait a few years, Anthony Davis.