The Cleveland Cavaliers are rolling and Kevin Love is fitting in perfectly.
8 Feb 2015: In the midst of a tough first season in his return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James infamously tweeted out a subliminal message.
Stop trying to find a way to FIT-OUT and just FIT-IN. Be apart of something special! Just my thoughts
— LeBron James (@KingJames) February 8, 2015
After initially denying that the tweet was aimed at one of his teammates, James admitted to reporters that the tweet was in fact aimed at struggling forward Kevin Love.
Over a year removed from James’ tweet, the circumstances could not be more different for Love and the Cavaliers.
The Cavs once again vanquished the Atlanta Hawks, for the 11th consecutive time, as they stormed into their second consecutive Eastern Conference Finals. While the team itself has been here before, this is new territory for Love, who’s maiden playoff soiree was ended in the first round due to a shoulder injury.
After another indifferent regular season where rumurs constantly surrounded the team, and Love himself, Love is making up for lost time during this post-season run with the Cavs.
In the Cavaliers’ eight playoff wins so far, Love has reeled off eight consecutive double-doubles, having only had a high streak of five consecutive double-doubles during his Cavalier career.
Unlike the regular season, in the NBA Playoffs the Cavaliers have kept going to Love throughout the game, whether he has been hot or cold, and it has provided dividends so far.
A common occurrence during the Cavs’ season was Love being fed in the first quarters of games before becoming an offensive afterthought for the remainder of the game.
Throughout the regular season, Love’s scoring output tapered away as the game progressed. In 77 starts, Love averaged 5.4 points in the first quarter, with that number dipping each quarter to just 2.8 points in fourth quarters.
In eight playoff games, Love’s first and fourth quarter numbers have again been similar at 5.5 points and 2.9 points, respectively. However, he is maintaining more consistent scoring throughout the game, especially in third quarters where he has averaged 6.3 points per quarter.
While Love’s increased scoring output can be attributed to the increase in his field-goal attempts: up from 12.7 in the regular season to 16.5 in the playoffs, it is evident that keeping Love engaged is providing better second-half results for the power forward.
In the regular season, Love averaged just 4.9 field goal attempts in the second half of games and shot just 39.4 percent from the field and 36.1 percent from long distance.
Comparatively, in the playoffs, Love has averaged 6.6 field goal attempts in the second half, shooting 45.3 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from three-point range.
Love’s third-quarter prowess was once again evident in the Cavaliers’ Game 4 victory over Atlanta.
With the Cavaliers trailing Atlanta at the half, Love erupted in the third quarter, scoring 11 consecutive points giving the Cavaliers a 81-77 lead going into the fourth quarter. Love’s third quarter included 15 of his game-high 27 points and seven of his game-high 13 rebounds.
The change in Love’s approach and demeanour also extends beyond the confines of the basketball court.
Commonly known as an introvert, Love has recently opened up to the rest of the Cleveland locker room, and even has an alter-ego by the name of Lil’ Kev that is handled by veteran Richard Jefferson.
The same player who was once curiously missing in team Instagram photos now appears on the podium flanking James and Kyrie Irving, as the ‘Big 3’ share inside jokes and laugh with one another.
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It is this level of comfort both on and off the court that has allowed Love to have a productive start to his second playoff campaign.
Despite shooting just 36.4 percent from the field, Love has managed to stay active and engaged, resulting in impressive playoff averages of 18.9 points, a team-high 12.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game.
The Cavaliers are once again in the Eastern Conference Finals, seemingly a shoo-in for second consecutive NBA Finals appearance.
Their trip to the Finals a year ago convinced many that Kevin Love was redundant.
This year, Love is reminding everyone why he makes the Cavaliers an entirely different beast.
Are you surprised, or just happy, that Kevin Love is fitting in with the Cavs?