Kevin Love unleashed a new, aggressive style of play against the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Cleveland Cavaliers need him to continue playing with the same mindset.
One of the most frustrating aspects of Love’s game ever since he arrived in Cleveland in the summer of 2014 has been his lack of aggressiveness.
Ask any Cavs fan and they will be able to list numerous occasions where Love has disappeared in big games, been soft going to the basket, shying away from contact or just simply lacking the belligerence necessary to be a key clog on a championship competing team.
Amidst all of the trade rumors or his MIA acts in Cavalier team Instagram posts, Love has been battling a fight with himself, trying to fit into a Cleveland team that needs him more than he needs them.
All of the questions and speculation surrounding Love’s motifs and comfort level with this Cavalier team were shelved- for one night anyway- after the Cavs destroyed a Western Conference contender on their home floor by 23 points.
“Just his aggressiveness,” LeBron James praised, when asked about Love’s 29 point, 11 rebounds effort in the Cavaliers win over the Thunder, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “His aggressiveness and his mentality. From grabbing rebounds, to he went to the [foul] line 10 [Love was actually 11-of-12 from the charity strip] times. So that lets me know he was very aggressive on the offensive end and every single time we needed something, we went to him. And he answered the call.”
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Love played with an edge against the Thunder that no one has seen from him since he put on a Wine and Gold uniform. He was calling- wait, no, demanding- the ball in the post and once he got it, he didn’t waste time. Love would receive the ball and quickly go to work with a flurry of post moves to either finish at the basket or get to the line.
Oklahoma City was switching on a lot of the pick and rolls Cleveland ran with James and Love and, subsequently, this created a mismatch. Usually when the Cavaliers run the pick and roll, Love will pop out to the three-point line, which isn’t a bad idea of course. This spaces the floor which forces the defense to make a tough decision whether to double James or leave Love open on the perimeter.
This wasn’t the same Love against the Thunder though, as Kevin would go straight into the post when the switch occurred. Love was one of the leagues most proficient post scorers with the Minnesota Timberwolves and that talent isn’t gone, it still exists. It just hasn’t been seen as often in Cleveland, partly due to the Cavs not feeding him the ball down low but also due to Love not getting into the post. When teams switch smalls onto Love, he needs to take advantage, take the guard into the post and go to work.
Now, of course, when a switch occurs it means James has a mismatch himself, so it is on him to realize that Love working on a guard in the post is a better option than LeBron jacking up a step-back, long two over the outstretched arm of a defender. James has the highest basketball IQ in the world, so he knows this and it was evident against the Thunder.
Coach Tyronn Lue indicated he wants to get Love more involved at the elbows, his favorite spot and we saw glimpses of that against Oklahoma City. As Coach Nick of bball breakdown reveals, look at how J.R. Smith sets a down screen, which allows Love to get an open shot at the elbow.
This is triangle offense by the Cavs. I did a triple take. https://t.co/Vt3tmaudhx
— BBALLBREAKDOWN (@bballbreakdown) February 21, 2016
This element of Cleveland’s offense has been missing ever since Love came to Cleveland. The Cavaliers have had constant battles with themselves with trying to find the best way to utilize Love’s skill-set. Getting him the ball in the post and on the elbow is a great way to start and we are finally getting signs Lue will implement these strategies more constantly.
It wasn’t just on the offensive end where Love was being aggressive though, as he seemed more tuned-in on defense than ever.
Sure, Love was still lost and was slow rotating on a few occasions. He isn’t an All-NBA defender and will always come with his flaws. Although, Love was seen focusing in on more of his pick and roll coverage’s and his effort level on that end of the floor was undeniable.
His rebounding, as always, was tremendous. Being aggressive on the glass has never been a problem for Love and when he is doing things like this on the boards, good luck stopping him.
Love is in the weak side corner when the shot goes up and STILL grabs the rebound and puts it in. https://t.co/lhmKX4jNKR
— Luke Sicari (@lukesicari) February 22, 2016
When asked how he believes his aggressiveness can impact his teammates, Love answered, “Being aggressive I think overall. I think that kind of in some way adds to the physicality of the nature in our approach. It’s just a small sample size of two games after the break, but if we can continue to do that tomorrow’s [vs. Detroit] going to be another physical game and we’re going to be better off and that’s going to help us,” via cavs.com.
The Cavaliers are a great team as is. A championship team? People can debate that.
Although, if Love plays with this newly found aggressiveness for the rest of the season and into the playoffs, no debates will be necessary.
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