Cleveland Cavaliers: Kevin Love Just Big-Timed All His Haters In The Best Way Possible

For the Cleveland Cavaliers to repeat as NBA champs, Kevin Love needs to keep being tenacious in the post. His play yesterday meant everything to this Cavaliers basketball team.

I’m so sick of people in the media, on radio shows, etc. spouting their hate for K-Love. The Cleveland Cavaliers are not the same team when Love is not in the game. He’s a key player on both ends of the floor, and to people that say there’s only a big two in Cleveland I respond with a Stephen A Smith blasphemous gif.

The Joker face himself, Skip Bayless, alongside many others need to stop marginalizing Lil Kev. The Cavs finally let him to go work in the post in Game 2, and he responded. Oh did he big-time all his haters, and then some.

MUST READ: 7 Things We Learned in Game 2

Love dominated a crucial stretch of the third quarter, as he had nine points in the last few minutes of the period. The Indiana Pacers had no answer for his post-ups deep in the paint and on the low block. This was huge for Love going forward, as he can occasionally get lost in the discussion when it comes to the other two stars on the Cavs in LeBron and Kyrie Irving. That better end, and soon.

19.0 points per game and 11.1 rebounds (per nba.com) don’t just grow on trees, and Love did his damage in a variety of ways in Game 2. First off, he’s got that lethal corner three-ball, which is so key in bringing rim protectors away from the basket and opening up driving lanes. He had 27 points with unbelievable efficiency, as he went 6-of-7 from the field (including 3-of-4 from deep).

It wasn’t just that, though. K-Love hit all 12 of his free throws, too, bringing his true shooting rate in Game 2 to a whopping 88.7% to start the playoffs. That key third quarter barrage of post-ups was huge for the Cavs on the scoreboard, and most importantly, for the team’s psyche going into the meat of this playoff push.

In addtion, he had a game-high plus/minus of +17. They need to keep feeding their mismatch in Love, because the Pacers are going to try all they can to contain Bron and Ky, and hug the three point specialists.

Love is that tweener that Indiana has trouble matching up with, and that matchup problem is the reason he has the best offensive rating of the Big Three in the first two postseason games at 123.0.

Cleveland Cavaliers

The Pacers did eventually adjust with Iman Shumpert and Tristan Thompson not getting any respect in the fourth quarter, which clogged up the lane, but back to Love. He’s played much better defensively this season as well, and many of his rotations were on point for the Cavs in Game 2.

Although he’s not a “shutdown” defender so-to-speak, Love is a much better help defender than he’s given credit for. He was only credited with drawing one charge in Game 2, but his willingness to put his body on the line for the squad did not go unnoticed. He touched on that in an interview with WKYC’s Matthew Florjancic:

"I think breaking down the film, just knowing that between Tristan and myself and Channing, ‘Bron, whoever was low on some of those pin-downs and rotations, we just had to be there early,” Love said. “I just want to help my teammates out, sacrifice my body.”"

One of the two blocking calls was very questionable anyhow, and he was in great position outside the restricted area on all three attempts he had to draw offensive fouls. It goes back to sacrificing your body, though. Here’s what Love had to say on that soon after:

"I felt like I did that. Whether it called or not, I feel like it set a tone for the rest of the team. More than anything, (it’s) being a selfless act of giving up your body and hoping it goes the right way.”"

Regardless, it was crucial for this team. In this repeat bid, the Cavs are going to need that kind of effort and selflessness. That includes their stars.

He also had a number of huge defensive boards, and for a Cavs team that isn’t all that great at rebounding from the wings, Love’s tenacity in clearing the glass goes leaps and bounds in getting W’s this time of the year. We all know about his amazing outlet passes, too.

It’s clear that the Cavs are much more versatile with Love on the floor, and he’s a perfect compliment to the other guys on the roster who are just spot-up shooters. His net rating of 7.9 in these first two playoff games is the best of the Big Three (per nba.com), and that’s a slight uptick from his regular season mark at 7.2.

Must Read: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Indiana Pacers: What We Learned in Game 2

If he can keep playing even close to this level of efficiency, there are no teams in the East who can realistically keep up with the Cavs seven times in a two-week span.