Is Kevin Love Already Unhappy?

The Cleveland Cavaliers have put together a solid, interesting roster. LeBron James and Kevin Love were brought in to join Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters, Tristan Thompson and Anderson Varejao. James, Love and Irving were expected to compliment each other on and off the court.

Yet could there already be cracks in the foundation of the team, specifically with Kevin Love? He is noted in the Plain Dealer as having some concerns related to how he is used:

"His long-ball threat is a valuable weapon; the reason head coach David Blatt is utilizing him in that fashion. Love says the offense calls for him to be out on the perimeter, but he says he has to make sure he remembers to go inside more.“Yeah, the offense is built that way but I just have to make a conscious decision to get myself in there,” Love said. “There are a lot of times where I just find myself fading to the three-point line. For me, it’s a mentality and that’s easy to fix."

A very interesting dichotomy here: The offense calls for Love to be out on the perimeter but he has to consciously make the decision to go inside.

For the Cavaliers, like most NBA teams, the goal is always to play inside out basketball. The Dallas Mavericks caused the Cavs problems with their zone that made it difficult to get inside, either with the drive or a post up game.

Love has had two rough games the last two nights, not surprisingly it has come against two very good, and big and physical, front courts in Chicago and Memphis. It was far easier for Love to ‘fade to the three-point line’ instead of banging down low with Joakim Noah, Pau Gasol, Taj Gibson, Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph.

The Cavs offense would also benefit from Love in the post. He is an adept passer out of the post, has a few nifty moves and can create open lanes for James, Waiters and Irving to cut. In the low post Love can also help cause foul trouble for opponents.

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While other players like Mike Miller and James have lauded Blatt’s offense, one that wants a stretch power forward, Love seems to have concerns about how it impacts how he fits on the floor. Later in the same article Love talked about some of the things that they are putting into place that could help him be down low more often:

"“We’ve been putting in stuff like different pin-downs, cut-across and cross-screens to get me open in there. You’ll see a lot more of that during the season. That’s always how I played and I know that coach wants me to play that way, as well.”"

So it looks like the player and coach are on the same page yet what happens if Blatt continues to try to stretch the floor with Love around the perimeter while the player tries to force himself into the paint? Will Blatt adjust to Love or Love adjust to Blatt?

Love is not yet unhappy but he is cautious about the new offense and his role. Long term this is a concern as Love can opt out of his contract after the season. Likely James, Irving and Blatt will figure things out with the ultra talented big man but for now it is something to watch.

Do these comments raise any concerns for you? What about Love’s play the last two games?