Cleveland Cavaliers: Will Kevin Love Return To Old Form In 2015-16?
By Will Reeve
Only one season removed from being considered by many as on the cusp of being a top five player in the NBA, Kevin Love was relegated to the role of apparent offensive afterthought by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014-15.
Which begs the questions: is this the new norm for the multi-talented power forward out of UCLA? Or will he return to his old form in 2015-16?
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The answer isn’t as simple as it should be — and the numbers will almost certainly surprise most people — but before diving into the numbers consider the fact that Love truly is a third option on an almost certain title-bound roster (if everyone stays healthy).
For much of the first 40 games of last season, the entire Cavaliers roster (including their rookie head coach) were truly trying to discover — and battle — over their roles.
At one point in the first two weeks of the season, Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving went 13 quarters without having a single assist.
This earned Irving more scolding looks from LeBron James than Mario Chalmers received in the entire Miami Heat’s final championship run together, and that’s saying something.
Once the team settled on roles and found their legs following a James respite from play, the Cavaliers offense relegated Love to the role of: “go get the rebound and then run into the corner.”
Most people were OK with this because both Irving and James are such dynamic offensive weapons, but Love’s numbers inevitably suffered.
How much did they suffer?
Before counting the ways, first understand the criterion behind the numbers. Removed from the below averages are the 2008-09, 2009-10, and 2012-13 seasons due to Love either not being a starter or due to injury.
- For the Minnesota Timberwolves Love averaged 24.1 points, 13.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game all while having a James-like PER of 25.5.
- In that same time-span for the Timberwolves, Love’s usage percentage was at 28.8 while logging 37 minutes per game; and in his final season he averaged 4.4 assists.
- In Love’s first season with the Cavaliers he averaged 16.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game, with a 21.7 usage percentage in 33.8 minutes per game.
- Love’s PER dipped in his first season with the Cavaliers almost 7 full points to 18.8 (which is still well above average).
- Love shot 43.4 and 36.7 percent from the field and three-point range respectively, which represented only a dip of one percent in field goal percentage while improving his three-point shot slightly (by .004 percent).
To put it more succinctly, the dips in Love’s production in terms of percentages look like this: a 9.0 percent drop in playing time, 7.1 percent drop in usage percentage, a 32 percent drop in scoring, and a 29 percent drop in rebounding.
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After Love and Irving were injured in the 2014-15 playoffs, James single-handily carried the team to two remarkable wins against one of the most efficient teams in NBA history.
Which left many believing that if the Cavaliers had Love or Irving, they likely could have had a shot to win the series.
Towards the end of last year Love began to blossom in his role, and unquestionably looked more comfortable and confident. It had to be exciting to be on the cusp of greatness and history for a man who complained regularly about the Timberwolves not being a playoff team towards the end.
That’s the type of thing that motivates anyone — but most certainly, a professional athlete with Love’s background.
Thus, it was no surprise Love decided to re-up with the Cavaliers for what may be his only chances at the ultimate prize in the NBA in his career: a championship.
Love will not be the Cavs’ first or second option again this year; but at times he will be. James had to take time off last year due to minutes catching up to him and he is not getting any younger.
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Rather than taking games off this year, expect to see the next evolution in James’ game as he looks to become even more of a facilitator to save his body from wear and tear in the regular season. This will naturally mean more looks and production for Love in 2015-16.
Furthermore, this unit will all become more efficient and productive given that the core of the team is returning under the same leadership for their second year together. Irving has also suffered over 10 injuries in his short career and is likely to miss time as well, which means Love will again get more touches and production.
There’s no question Love won’t ever be used at an almost 30 percent usage rate as he was with the Timberwolves on this Cavaliers team — unless James and Irving injuries happen simultaneously — nor will he be getting many touches down low as he had grown accustomed to in Minnesota.
That’s simply not the Cavs’ style under head coach David Blatt, nor is it the way the league is trending.
That said, Love’s overall production will unquestionably increase this season. Expect to see the three-time All-Star become a 20-and-10 guy again even with the inevitable re-signing of Tristan Thompson.
Will Reeve is a contributing writer for HoopsHabit, you can follow him on Twitter @WillReeveJr or connect with him on Facebook here.
Next: Cleveland Cavaliers: Why Tristan Thompson Is Worth $90 Million
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