Cleveland Cavaliers: 5 goals for Kevin Love in 2017-18
By Simon Smith
3. Maintain elite rebounding rate
With an 11.5 per game rebounding rate over his career, Love has consistently ranked among the elite in the league in crashing the boards. Despite his relative lack of athleticism in comparison to his rivals down low, Love’s combination of elite instincts on the glass and a top-notch work ethic have enabled him to average in double figures for rebounds in six out of his nine years in the league.
But with his positional adjustment to center, Love’s importance on the glass is more vital than ever. The man he replaces at center, Tristan Thompson, is a workhorse on the boards, particularly on the offensive end where he averaged 3.7 offensive rebounds per game last season, good for sixth in the league.
Taking Love’s spot at the 4 is newcomer Jae Crowder. While he averaged 5.8 boards per game last season, Crowder is ideally suited to the small forward spot. At just 6’6″, its highly unlikely he’s going to post numbers similar to either Love or Thompson this season.
In all likelihood, this sets the stage for Love to post his most impressive rebounding numbers since his Minnesota days. In his last four seasons with the Timberwolves, Love averaged 13.7 rebounds per game. Based on his newly found role and the confidence of coach Lue, approaching these types of numbers are not out of the realm of possibility for Love.
In fact, they will be much-needed as the Cavaliers decide to play small-ball moving forward.