Cleveland Cavaliers: What should we expect from Kevin Love?

Kevin Love is clearly past his prime. But can he still be a star for the Cleveland Cavaliers as they hope to compete in the ever-changing Eastern Conference?

The hard hat on Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love seemed to fit just right last summer. He wore it, standing inside Quicken Loans Arena as he signed his four-year, $120 million contract. The Cleveland construction workers surrounding him cheered.

It appeared to be a match made in basketball heaven; the gritty Love paired with the blue-collared Cleveland fans for nearly the next half-decade.

But injuries led to a flop of a first season following the extension. For the most part, Love wasn’t himself even when he was on the floor.

Love averaged 17.0 points, 10.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game while playing just over 27 minutes. Not bad, but his 38.5 shooing percentage from the field was nearly a career worst. Still as charismatic as ever, his game just wasn’t the same.

Love often seemed a step slow, unable to dribble past defenders. In his defense, that’s never been a strength. But the open corner-pocket triples weren’t as abundant as when LeBron James was creating looks.

Just over 70 percent of Love’s field goals were off assists last season. More than 78 percent were directly benefited from a pass in 2017-18 with LeBron as a teammate.

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Stylistically, the Cavaliers shifted gears following season’s end.

What seemed like a roster set to build around Love’s strength — a stellar pick-and-pop big man with the ability to control the glass- is now guard focused after using a multitude of picks on primary ball handlers, two of whom were are recent top-10 selections.

The team likely plays an up-and-down brand of basketball paced by the athleticism and inexperience of its backcourt.

The Collin Sexton, Darius Garland and Jordan Clarkson trio probably aren’t skilled enough, yet, to play a complex, Spurs- or Warriors-like half-court offense powered by picks and spacing. That’s where Love excels.

So maybe Cleveland deals the big man. He’s 31 and hasn’t competed in more than 60 games in three seasons. And he’s paired with Sexton, who is an advanced statistics nightmare even though he was top four among rookies in points in assists last season.

Garland has question marks and no one else on the roster really seems like dynamic duo material.

Most probably project Love and his increasingly less team-friendly contract to be traded. But that’s no fun. Plus, there are reports that Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman wants to keep Love.  Instead of writing Love’s Cleveland obituary, what will his season look like if he stays?

Fingers crossed, Love finds a way to remain moderately healthy.  Between 2013-16, Love missed 17 games in three seasons. That’s really good, especially for an athlete who enjoys bumping bodies in the paint. Love hardly even played 17 games (22) last season.

Hopefully with nearly a year of recovery, Love is fresh entering 2019-20 and returns to his reliable self. A comparable recent player, Peja Stojakovic, played more than 60 games in each of his first three seasons after turning 30 before petering out.

When Stojakovic played just 13 games in 2006-07, he was healthy for 77 the next year. It’s not uncommon for players to miss most of one season and turn out a relatively healthy season the next.

Hopefully healthy, Love will probably rely on the 3-pointer more than his post-game. He shot 27 3-pointers over his final four games, hitting 10 of them.  And 51.9 percent of Love’s field goal attempts were from deep, a gigantic leap from 45.3 percent the year prior.

And Love tossed up fewer soft hooks, a signature shot, with hardly any mid-range jumpers. The days of him consistently making plays like these are probably over.

https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1158090225941397504

Really, if there is a player who personifies the evolution of basketball, it’s Kevin Love. He’s gone from hardly shooting threes his rookie year to relying on the shot this past season. Look at this comparison:

Percentage of FGA from 0-3 feet: Love’s Rookie Year: 52.8 percent, Last Season: 21.2 percent

Percentage of FGA from 3-point line: Love’s Rookie Year: 2.8 percent, Last Season: 51.9 percent

With more confidence in his foot following surgery, Love likely reinvests himself in his post game. Still, expect him spend close to half of his time beyond the arc, hopefully improving on his 36.1 shooting percentage from deep.

Defensively, Love is still a small liability. He’s finished with a negative Defensive Box Plus/Minus in eight of 11 seasons. His minus-2.4 DPM last season was the worst of his career. Granted, he was plagued by injury and the entire Cavs team was horrendous defensively.

Hopefully Love makes more plays like this:

As long as he’s on the roster, Love will start. Love will be a key contributor. And Love will be a fan favorite, providing a likable personality and feelings of nostalgia for seasons past.

When you roster two straight top picks, it’s hard for a front office to to default to the “rebuild mode” excuse following poor performances. Sooner or later, Cleveland needs to start stringing together a few wins. Hopefully Love will be a major part of that process.