There’s been a lot of heavy criticism thrown Kevin Love‘s way lately. Some of it is due, whether he likes it or not. The Cleveland Cavaliers forward does have issues scoring consistently. He does display some of the most awful looking defense in the NBA.
At the same time, not every negative thing said about Love is his fault. However, based on the reactions of Cleveland Twitter during games like Monday’s shameful loss to the Golden State Warriors, Cavs fans sure seem to think Love is to blame for everything.
To be fair, Love did have a game to forget on Monday. He contributed very little offensively, and was targeted constantly by Golden State thanks to his bad defense. He wasn’t the only player who deserved blame, but he hardly dodged it either.
That said, the problems with Love that night – and for a good chunk of this season – can’t all be laid at his feet. The fact is there are many issues when it comes to his place with the Cavs, and a good number of people on the team who need to figure out how to fix it.
Earlier this season, it sure looked like Love was rounding into form. His scoring average was up, he was a force in the paint and he seemed much more comfortable with his role in Cleveland. At no point did he look anything like the player who couldn’t find a place last year, who was told by LeBron James that he needed to start fitting in.
However, lately it certainly seems like he’s reverting. He did well tonight against the Brooklyn Nets, contributing 17 points. That said, leading up to tonight, he was hardly looking like an All-Star.
Some of this is on Love, who’s been way too tentative as of late. He’s not trying to be aggressive down low, instead falling back into old habits and drifting around the 3-point line. At times, it seems as though he does this out of frustration when he’s not getting the ball. Whatever is causing the problems, it’s essentially deeming him ineffective.
At the same time, there are other factors in Love’s recent slump.
For one, coach David Blatt has to figure out how to get him incorporated into the offense, a concept he still seems to struggle with.
Cleveland seems focused on trying to get Love the ball early in games, and sometimes this ends up being effective. However, the second there’s a struggle or the opponent goes on a run, you start to see the stretch forward vanish from the game plan. As a result, Love starts negatively reacting to his suddenly diminishing role, and for good reason.
But it’s not just Blatt who seems to struggle working with love. The other two members of the Big Three deserve some blame, too.
James and Kyrie Irving need to work on getting him the ball more. As with Blatt, this seems to be a focus with these two early in games. Yet, when times get tough, Love stops seeing passes come his way. When James and Irving start reverting back to hero ball and just dribbling out the shot clock, Love becomes essentially useless.
Love’s lack of aggression, Blatt’s inability to keep him in the game plan and Cleveland’s other two stars feeling they can handle everything on their own are all doing some significant damage on one of the team’s best players. When the Cavs do this, it only makes the team worse.
Unfortunately, Love’s introverted personality might not make matters any better. Known to be more quiet and comfortable in his shell, he likely isn’t going to raise his hand and address this issue. In order for this to be fixed, though, Love needs to be the same guy who tracked down James this past summer, sat him down and said, “I can do more.”
Right now, more is the last thing Love is doing. There may be three All-Star starters in Cleveland, but thanks to the aforementioned reasons, one of them is being underutilized. In order for the Cavs to fulfill their championship goals, they’re going to need to get this problem solved in a hurry.
