David Blatt Is Right About Kevin Love
By Brad Berreman
@bradberreman24
Gregory Shamus-Getty Images
The Cleveland Cavaliers lost their fifth consecutive game Sunday night, 103-84 to the Sacramento Kings, which has their record at 19-19 on the season. The recent absence of LeBron James (knee, back) has not helped things, and head coach David Blatt’s job status will continue to be speculated on until things turn around.
After the game Sunday, Blatt was critical of forward Kevin Love, saying he is “not a max player yet.” As a point of fact that is wrong, since Love signed a four-year deal worth over $60 million with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2012, and this is the final guaranteed season of that deal with a player option for next season. But otherwise, Blatt could not be more right about Love, in terms of his status and ability to be a key part of a winning team.
Love was a three-time All-Star during his time with the Timberwolves, and he deserves recognition for becoming a more complete offensive player during those six seasons. The talent around him was not great, but the Timberwolves’ failing to make the playoffs while Love was there should be a black mark when talking about his career to this point. Add in his apparent allergy to playing defense, and public jabs at the organization, and the Timberwolves were more than willing to grant Love his wish to move on last summer.
The Cavaliers’ structure looked like an ideal situation for Love, with James around to take a lot of public criticism as well as a leadership role. Through nearly half the season things have not panned out well, and while Love is not solely to blame for Cleveland’s struggles his shortcomings should not be forgotten.
A high level of outside expectations is obviously something new to Love, and James’ recent absence seemed to provide an opportunity for him to assert himself. Five straight double-doubles is a notable streak, and Love has scored at least 25 points in three of those games. Of course the Cavaliers have lost all five of those games with Love producing at a high level, which may purely be coincidental, but he will continue to be a numbers compiler on losing teams until further notice.
Brad Berreman is a Columnist and Senior Writer at Rant Sports.com. Connect with him on Twitter or Google +.
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