Cleveland Cavaliers: Kevin Love Needs to Play Inside-Out

It’s very rare that a team reaches the NBA Finals, returns a vast majority of its roster and has more question marks than answers. That’s the surprising position that the Cleveland Cavaliers are in.

Kyrie Irving and Timofey Mozgov are both under contract, and both Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson are ready to re-sign. LeBron James, an unrestricted free agent, is considered a virtual lock to return to Cleveland, as well.

In order for the Cavaliers to get over the hump and actually win the championship in 2015-16, it’s Love who needs a bigger role.

Love is coming off of a season in which headlines were far more detrimental than helpful to team chemistry. His inconsistency was picked apart and his positive moments were generally spun with a negative connotation.

Through all of the commotion, Love announced via The Player’s Tribune that he would be returning to Cleveland.

"I’m going back to Cleveland.After Game 1 of the NBA Finals, that’s when it really struck me. Sitting on the sidelines, I never wanted to play in a game more than that one. I had dreamed of playing in the NBA Finals and I just wanted to help my guys win. I couldn’t have been prouder of them as they poured their blood, sweat and tears onto the court.Yeah, of course I’ve heard the free agency rumors. But at the end of the day, and after meeting with my teammates (it turns out pools are great meeting places) and with the front office, it was clear Cleveland was the place for me. We’re all on the same page and we’re all in. We have unfinished business and now it’s time to get back to work."

“We have unfinished business and now it’s time to get back to work.” Give me a moment as I shake off the chills.

The 2015-16 NBA season can’t come soon enough.

Love signed a massive new five-year, $110 million contract with a player option for the fifth season, per Zach Lowe of Grantland. It’s a huge investment that should signal a huge role.

If Cleveland hopes to win a championship in 2016, the role will match the money.

In 2013-14, Love’s final season with the Minnesota Timberwolves, he averaged 26.1 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.9 offensive boards, 4.4 assists and 2.5 3-point field goals made in 36.3 minutes per game. He did so on 18.5 field goal and 8.2 free throw attempts per game.

According to ESPN Insider, Love’s usage rate was a healthy 27.7.

In 2014-15, his first season with the Cavaliers, Love averaged 16.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, 1.9 offensive boards, 2.2 assists and 1.9 3-point field goals made in 33.8 minutes per contest. A statistical decline was expected in some areas, but not all.

Love’s rebounding and general usage took unnecessarily large hits—specifically the latter.

Love attempted just 12.7 field goal attempts per game in 2014-15, which is 5.8 less than he threw up in 2013-14. He also averaged 4.3 free throws, which is a decline of 3.9 per.

Love’s usage rate dropped from 27.7 to 20.4—his lowest mark since his rookie season, per ESPN Insider.

For perspective, Love’s usage rate ranked No. 19 amongst power forwards in 2014-15. It was even lower than Nikola Mirotic‘s mark—a player who battled for touches on a similarly crowded roster with the Chicago Bulls.

In 2014-15, that needs to change.

More important than the number of possessions Love uses is the way he’s being utilized within the offense. He’s being stationed at the 3-point line, thus rendering his top-tier rebounding and skilledpost play virtually irrelevant.

Love acknowledged as much during the 2014-15 season, per Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group:

"“I heard some people calling me that but I know I’m not a stretch-four,” Love told NEOMG. “I’m a post player who can shoot. Right now I’m just doing what I’m called to do. For good, bad or indifferent, I’m playing my role and doing what’s asked of me. Tonight, I stayed out on the perimeter.”"

It wasn’t just one night; it was a vast majority of the season.

In many ways, it mirrored the controversial way Mike D’Antoni used Pau Gasol with the Los Angeles Lakers. Gasol, a dominant post player, became a stationary player who was thrown into the corner for 3-point field goals.

Love is a better 3-point shooter than Gasol, but the results will be the same if Cleveland continues along this path—impressive at times, but generally detrimental to its own ceiling.

As the video above proves, he can shoot with deep range; that doesn’t mean he should be used for that strength alone.

Love shot too many 3s in 2013-14, which may have set the precedent for 2014-15. Nevertheless, he’s at his best when his offensive versatility is on display. Attempting to make him a jump shooter is playing into the opposition’s hands.

Such an approach both keeps Love out of the post and drastically limits his ability to dominate the offensive glass.

Love led the NBA in offensive rebounds in 2010-11 and has been a force ever since. Even in his first two seasons in the NBA, he showed that potential.

Playing from 16-to-24 feet out makes it difficult for any player to crash the offensive glass.

Per NBA.com, Love averaged attempted 223 shots from the post in 75 games, good for an average of just under 3.0 per. He also ranked No. 14 in points via post-ups in 2014-15.

Thus, it stands to reason that he’s being utilized in the post as much as he can be. Or not.

The myth may be that the NBA is going away from post play, but teams generally flourish with the presence of a trustworthy post scorer. That was never more clear than in the 2015 NBA Finals.

Aside from LeBron James going Monstars against the Looney Tunes, the Cavaliers’ No. 1 advantage against the Golden State Warriors was along the interior.

Timofey Mozgov and Tristan Thompson manhandled the Golden State Warriors down low, dominating the glass and the defensive interior. The issue: neither of them could consistently create their own offense from the post.

Love can.

In 2015-16, the Cavaliers have a chance to address their primary flaw by handing the low-post reigns to Love. He won’t post up every time down, but he should play with his back-to-the-basket significantly more consistently.

Not only can he score with efficiency, but Love is an outstanding passer who can hit slashing scorers for easy baskets while commanding double-teams on the low block.

If the Cavaliers attempt to do the same thing in 2015-16 as they did in 2014-15, relegating Love to the 3-point line and limiting his versatility, the result will be the same. They’ll go far, but their ceiling will be limited.

To truly live up to its potential, Cleveland needs to give Love a bigger role alongside, and not behind, Irving and James.

Next: Monta Ellis is a perfect fit with the Indiana Pacers

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