Kevin Love is all about the team.
According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Kevin Love is just fine with his reduced role in the offense, so long as the Cleveland Cavaliers keep winning games: (the link provided above is the source for all three Coach Lue quotes in this story)
"“I told him (Coach Lue), ‘We’re 8-0. I don’t mind it.’ If I get five or six shots, if I get 15 shots, it don’t matter to me, as long as we win. I’ve been in this position before, we’re having success so I’m happy. Feel good.”"
Love had his most productive year in a Cavaliers’ uniform this season. He averaged 19 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. In the postseason, he has averaged only 13.8 points and 9.1 rebounds. So, why the sudden drop in stats?
The Cavs just haven’t gone to him.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Well, it’s because they haven’t needed him yet. Cleveland have swept Indiana and Toronto through the first two rounds. LeBron James is playing arguably the best postseason basketball of his career and Kyrie Irving has been reaching in to his usual bag of tricks.
Players on a championship team have to be willing to take whatever role is best for the team to win, and Love’s willingness to adapt is encouraging. Tyronn Lue loves Kevin’s leadership:
"“It’s just growth. Growth for Kevin, growth for this team and it’s all about winning. When you come here it’s all about one thing, and that’s just trying to win a championship. However you gotta do it, you gotta do it. And it’s about sacrifice. Scoring the basketball is not the most important thing, it’s the small things that Kevin’s been doing that goes uncharted.”"
Coach Lue doesn’t need to throw out every weapon in his arsenal, because no team has yet to threaten Cleveland’s dominance.
Look For Love’s Workload To Increase In The Next Round
Defensive specialist Serge Ibaka harassed Kevin Love in the Eastern Conference Semis. The good news is that neither Washington or Boston has a power forward that can hold Love in check.
As the Cavs advance deeper into the playoffs, look for Coach Lue to give Love an increased role in the offense:
"“Some of it’s my fault because we haven’t really featured him a lot because of the matchups we had on other teams. He has been great. His whole mindset is winning and that’s what it’s all about in the playoffs. In this next series, we have some matchups he can definitely take advantage of and it’s on me to make sure we do that.”"
In the three regular season games against Boston, Love averaged a staggering 23.7 points and 13 rebounds a game.
The Wizards couldn’t stop Kevin either. Love put up 23.3 points and 11.7 rebounds a game in Cleveland’s season series with Washington. So look for Love to put up big numbers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
If the Cavaliers want to take down the real giant, the Golden State Warriors, Cleveland will need to have all three of their All Stars running at peak efficiency. Look for Love to be featured more in the offense and have his coming out party in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Must Read: Grading Each Cavaliers After 8 Postseason Games
Which Cavalier do you think will have the biggest performance in the next series? Comment your thoughts below or on Twitter @KJG_NBA.