Kevin Love had six remarkable seasons in Minnesota to start his career, leading the league in rebounds, winning Most Improved Player honors, and being a Western Conference all-star player on a few occasions. He then expressed interest in joining LeBron James in Cleveland, as he had not reached the playoffs or the NBA Finals in his career at that point. A trade was then completed, sending the all-star power forward to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for rookie Andrew Wiggins and a few other pieces. Many have criticized and praised this trade since it happened, and Kevin has received a lot of positive and negative attention for his performances wearing the wine and gold uniform in Northeast Ohio.
But heading into his 4th season with the Cavaliers, he seems to be in the best shape yet, and will be looking to do his coach justice with a terrific season.
Coach Lue on Kevin Love’s upcoming season
Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue has gone on record this past week, saying that Kevin Love will have the best season of his Cavs career in 2017-18. Lue told ESPN:
“Kevin is going to have the best year that he’s had here.” He then compared K-Love to a former power forward teammate of LeBron, who was part of his own big three, saying, “I thought he was great anyway. You keep bringing up Bosh. What did Bosh average in Miami? Kevin averaged almost 20 and 10 with two other all-stars. If you’re on a championship-caliber team, you have to sacrifice…this year is going to be a big opportunity for him.
We’re going to play through him more. He’s going to get those elbow touches again.”
There is an interesting stat that shows Kevin Love’s performances when he was on the court with Kyrie Irving and when he wasn't. And the stats show a clear discrepancy. Kevin Love scored the ball better, shot a higher percentage, and ultimately was a much better player when Kyrie wasn’t on the floor last season, but when Kyrie was, his stats diminished.
This could point to the point guard skills of LeBron James to set Love up as opposed to Kyrie but it's clear that Kyrie’s ball dominant antics had a negative impact on Kevin’s performance. So without Kyrie this season, Kevin might be on his way to an MVP level season.
He’s had an interesting run in Cleveland so far
Kevin Love started off slow in his Cleveland stint, averaging 16.4 points per game and 9.7 rebounds per game.
This was his lowest rebounding season since his rookie season, and rebounding is something the superstar forward prides himself on. During his second season in Cleveland, Love seemed to be more comfortable in the system, and was getting the ball in the post where he would make his own shots -- when compared with the 2014-15 season where Kevin would camp out on the three point line waiting for the pass. This was the season Love proved the doubters wrong, averaging a double-double all season up until the last few games where his averages fell slightly below what he had hoped for -- 16 points and 9.9 rebounds per contest.
Although the numbers seem very similar to the season prior, this was a season in which Love got a lot more touches in the post and was a lot more engaged in the Cavaliers' offense.
With better offense came better defense for Kevin, with some great defensive plays throughout 2015-16 -- including the one Warriors fans would like to forget, when he locked up Stephen Curry during a huge possession in the final minute of Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals.
Then came last season, which so far was definitely his best season in the wine and gold. He looked a lot more comfortable out on the floor, and even though he had some chemistry issues with Kyrie Irving, he still averaged a superb 19 points and 11.1 rebounds per game -- his first season averaging an official double-double as a Cavalier. Kevin Love will ultimately look to continue this success in this upcoming season, and prove his coach right.
