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Cleveland Cavaliers: 5 Reasons LeBron and Company Should Panic

By Michael Dunlap

Nov 22, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) reacts in the third quarter against the Toronto Raptors at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 22, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) reacts in the third quarter against the Toronto Raptors at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 30, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) reacts against the New York Knicks at Quicken Loans Arena. New York won 95-90. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 30, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) reacts against the New York Knicks at Quicken Loans Arena. New York won 95-90. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

Kevin Love’s Slump

I went into this in more detail a few days ago when I asked if Kevin Love was a bad fit. He’s well below expectations with his averages of 16.5 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists with a shooting line of .400/.361/.852. We had to expect a downturn in some numbers, as playing with other superstars is going to be different than playing with the 2013-14 Minnesota Timberwolves, where Love was relied upon to carry the team.

Unfortunately for Cavs fans, Love has swung much too far in the other direction, to the extent that he’s looking more like a decoy offensively and a mannequin defensively. Before the season began, we were asking if Love was the best power forward in the game and we seriously considered if he was a top-10 talent in the NBA. Now, we’re wondering if he’s going to opt-out and if he’s just not a good fit in Cleveland.

With as good as LeBron is and the emergence of Kyrie, you’d think Love would be getting a lot of open shots — and you’d be right. Through 12 games, Love is taking 47.1 percent of his shots when the closest defender is four feet away or more. He’s shooting just 42.9 percent when the defender is 4-to-6 feet away and 36.7 percent when the defender is six feet away. I’m willing to say it’s more a smaller sample size and he’ll break out of it, but those are some bad numbers for a guy who’s considered a good shooter by most.

Next: Fourth Quarter Woes