Cleveland Cavaliers: Could Carmelo Anthony Be The Answer?
Kevin Love has not taken that next step for the Cleveland Cavaliers this season. Could a trade for Carmelo Anthony be the answer?
Kevin Love disappoints once again.
After being held scoreless in the fourth quarter Tuesday night against the Houston Rockets, I’ve seen enough of him. This has happened too many times this year.
Since last season, I’ve written articles that defended his inconsistent play. I scoffed at the fact that he wasn’t the right fit for the Cleveland Cavaliers. I wanted to believe that the Minnesota Timberwolves version of Love would come back and prove everybody wrong. Heck, fans even saw flashes of his dominance during some games.
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But that has seemingly disappeared. When Tyronn Lue was promoted as the head coach of the Cavaliers, one of the key statements he mentioned was utilizing Love better. He wanted to get that “stretch” power forward mentality out of his head, and actually get him shots closer to the basket. This was when he tried to use him on the elbow, which worked for awhile.
But since then, he has reverted back to the habit of just being a perimeter shooter. The person at fault for this habit being developed in the first place is former head coach David Blatt. It could have been he didn’t know his personnel or refused to use Love in the post. One thing everybody can agree on is that coaches are stubborn.
Before the All-Star Break, Love was averaging 15.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Since then, he is averaging 16.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game.
While he is scoring better and getting double-doubles, he just has not been impactful or consistent. He’ll get 16 points, but it’s on 8-of-25 shooting or 4-of-14 from three-point range. He just hasn’t been a player that the Cavaliers can rely on if Kyrie Irving or LeBron James has a bad night, or even worse, don’t play.
So the question that a lot of Cavalier fans have pondered is, would Carmelo Anthony make a difference on the team? Surrounded by constant turmoil and losing with the New York Knicks, there were numerous rumors of Anthony possibly being traded to the Cavaliers for Love — or different scenarios that were talked about, at least.
I was originally against any trade of this magnitude because I believed that Love would finally turn it around. But that stance has changed, and Anthony would help this team as a better fit for Lue’s transition offense. Now I know some people are going to mention the age difference, injuries, etc. But in order to run a transition offense smoothly, scoring and consistency are key.
Who has been an overall better scorer in their career than Anthony? He is averaging 22.1 points per game this season with a field-goal percentage of 43.5 and is shooting 34.6 percent from three-point range. He is also averaging a career-high 4.2 assists per game.
His field-goal percentage is two percent better than Love’s (41.5) and his three-point percentage is 0.2 percent better than Love’s (34.4).
While the numbers don’t seem like a big difference, the overall aspect is. I believe those numbers would be even higher and improve if he were on the Cavaliers.
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One major factor would be motivation. The Knicks haven’t been to the playoffs in two years. They’ve failed to get Anthony the other star he would need in order to be a contender.
They thought pairing him with Amar’e Stoudemire was the answer, but it turned out to be a failure. Kristaps Porzingis is an exciting player, but will he be this good next year or is he just a one-year wonder? There are more questions for the Knicks than they have answers for as an organization.
A lineup with Irving, *insert shooting guard* (projecting next year), Anthony, James and Tristan Thompson would be scary. Opposing defenses wouldn’t have any answer for the attack that would be coming their way. There would likely be four players penetrating to the basket at all times!
If this trade were to happen, I think it would be vital to re-sign J.R. Smith because he would have open looks on the perimeter in almost every game. If not Smith, maybe a trade for Anthony Morrow of the Oklahoma City Thunder would work.
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The only issue would be between Irving and Anthony. Both players are ball dominant, and one would have to be willing to make more plays off the ball than with it. But I think at this point in his career, Anthony would easily make that adjustment compared to the struggles he had with Allen Iverson with the Denver Nuggets. Just like Love, Anthony has not been known for solid defense in his career.
According to an article by FOX Sports in December, however, Anthony was second in the NBA with defending the three-point shot. Last season, opposing shooters made 42 percent of their shots against him, while in December, they were only making 24 percent. One of the biggest problems for the Cavaliers has been perimeter defense, and if he was somehow motivated to play it at that level, it would help the team.
So how do the Knicks benefit? The trade would likely have numerous teams involved and they would get more than Love out of the deal. If Phil Jackson remains with the team and hires another coach to run his triangle offense, I believe that Love would produce a lot more. Look no further than Pau Gasol or Horace Grant for that answer.
The offense would likely go through him as it did with the Timberwolves, and he would be able to get easier shots if the system was ran correctly. Plays and sets are where he thrives; in transition, he struggles.
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A trade could realistically happen in the offseason if the Cavaliers don’t win or fail to make the NBA Finals. Unless Love gets back his aggressiveness and confidence that he had in Minnesota, I see him as more of a problem to the team rather than a solution.