Cleveland Cavaliers: 5 goals for Kevin Love in 2017-18

5. Increase involvement in the offense

Much like Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat, Love has been relegated to being the prototypical third-banana during his time in Cleveland, but Lue recently noted that he sees things playing differently moving forward:

"“We’re going to play through him more. He’s going to get those elbow touches again.”"

Those elbow touches Lue refers to have decreased drastically in recent times. In Love’s last season in Minnesota, Love averaged 11.6 elbow touches per game. which ranked second overall in the league. Last season, Love averaged a mere 2.8 elbow touches per game, which ranked third on the team alone.

And it’s not just specifically the elbow touches that Love has sacrificed in recent years. In his last season with the Timberwolves, Love averaged 7.4 post touches per game, compared to 3.4 last season. Furthermore, he recorded just 2.1 paint touches per game last season compared to 5.2 in 2013-14.

With such a drop-off in touches and opportunity, it’s easy to understand why Love’s scoring numbers have suffered notably. But it’s not just Love’s scoring that takes a hit with his lack of touches.

https://twitter.com/cavs/status/916011073764859904

While he has been well-renowned for his full-court, touchdown type passes, Love’s ability to pass within the confines of a half-court offense is also something that has been under-utilized. In his last season with the Timberwolves, Love averaged a career-high 4.4 assists per game, compared to just 1.9 per game last season.

https://twitter.com/SInow/status/915726665455718400

Furthermore, the 2013-14 season saw Love dish seven or more assists on 17 occasions, including three games in double figures. In comparison, Love last season recorded a season-high six assists on just one occasion.

So while the presence of LeBron James alone has suppressed Love’s time with the ball, it appears moving forward the 6’10” UCLA product may have some increased opportunity in this area.