Cavs Vs Bulls Series Roundtable Preview

Apr 26, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) runs off the court after injuring his shoulder during the first half in game four of the first round of the NBA Playoffs against the Boston Celtics. at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

In what facet of the game will Love be missed the most?

Omar – Rebounding. His minutes will most likely be spread out between Jones, Mozgov, and Mike Miller, assuming coach Blatt includes him in the rotation. Among the three, only Mozgov will be able to compensate for the rebounding chores that used to belong to Love. Jones and Miller will be able to open the lanes with their three-point shooting like Love did but they lack the size to bang with Chicago’s bigs.

Luke – In any other series I would probably say his floor spacing but against the Bulls, I’m going to have to say his rebounding will be missed. Chicago are relentless on the glass and without Love, Cleveland’s best rebounder, it’s going to be a struggle in the rebounding department for the Cavaliers.

Spencer – Love’s absence will force other players to step up on the offensive side of the ball and score, as well as force them to aggressively box out. He averaged nearly a double-double and did a lot of things that didn’t appear in the box score. Another area where he will be missed, and it sounds silly, is on fast break opportunities. Besides maybe LeBron James, I don’t see anyone else on the team throwing perfect three-quarters court passes for easy transition baskets.

Noah – Tristan Thompson has been a dominant post man for the Cavaliers this postseason, which allows him to fill Love’s spot without much loss of talent. The Cavs will, however, miss his offensive play, especially in the first half of games. Without any reliable choice to continue Love’s offensive play, the Cavaliers should struggle at times to find a bench player to fill in Love’s spot.

Mike – I’ll say floor spacing as Love does a tremendous job of pulling an opposing big man out of the paint. Considering that big likely would have been Joakim Noah, it would have given LeBron James and Kyrie Irving the chance to attack Pau Gasol with impunity. Love also does a tremendous job with ball movement and defensive rebounding. Even in what many are calling a down year for him, Kevin Love really was a huge part of this year’s Cavaliers.

Jared – Did I allow for “everything” to be an answer. Against the Bulls I think it really is his floor spacing. It is a reason I wanted Marion and not Thompson to start at the 4. Now Paul Gasol and Joakim Noah can pack the paint.

Next: Which Veteran Steps Up?