Cleveland Cavaliers: Kevin Love Will Start Against The Utah Jazz

Kevin Love is back and will start as the Cleveland Cavaliers take on the Utah Jazz.

According to Joe Gabriele of cavs.com, Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love will start against the Utah Jazz tonight.

Love, who has been out since Valentine’s Day while recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery, has been missed by the Cavs who have been without their All-Star power forward for much too long.

With Love out of the lineup, 9.5 percent of the total rebounds that the Cleveland Cavaliers can gather are lost. In addition, opposing teams record an offensive rating of 113.3 with him out of the starting lineup versus an offensive rating of 106.3.

Not known as a great individual defender, Love is a great team who makes sure he’s getting in the right spots and isn’t afraid to take a charge. His ability to gather defensive rebounds is also a fact as grabbing rebounds on the defensive end is how teams close out a defensive possession.

Love, who averages 20.1 points and 11.1 rebounds per game is a player that has had an exceptional season and reminded fans why LeBron James wanted the Cleveland Cavaliers to acquire him, even at the cost of first overall pick Andrew Wiggins.

Love is an explosive stretch-four who’s hitting 38.4 percent of his 6.7 three-point attempts per game. He’s also been a better player in the post, after spending the offseason working on his conditioning.

That’s helped Love make 56.0 percent of his shots in the restricted area this season compared to 52.1 percent of his shots in the restricted area this season. He’s even attacking the rim off-the-dribble consistently, showing an increasing versatility to his offensive game.

According to Advanced Ohio’s Chris Fedor, Love will be on an undisclosed minutes restriction.

J.R. Smith, who just returned to the team after covering from surgery himself, has been playing about 20 minutes per game since his return. That seems like a reasonable approximation for how long fans can expect to see Love on the court.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have their opening day starting lineup for healthy for the first time in 2017, as Smith fractured his thumb on December 20, 2016.

It’s unreasonable to expect Love to come out blazing hot, although fans would love to see it. However, like Smith, expect the Cavs to try to get Love back into a groove after being out for a month. Love’s offense and defensive impact is going to be determined by how comfortable he is moving around on his knee in a real game.

With a month left before the playoffs, Love will have to get back in his groove fairly quickly. They’ll need him to perform like the All-Star he is throughout the playoffs as they try to win another ring for The Land.

Related Story: Game Preview: Cleveland Cavaliers Take On The Utah Jazz At Home

How do you expect Kevin Love to perform against the Utah Jazz? Let us know in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.