Cavaliers: Kevin Love’s bigger minutes-share went well

Kevin Love got a bigger minutes-share last night against the New York Knicks, and it was a good showing for the Cleveland Cavaliers star big man.

The Cleveland Cavaliers had a solid showing in a win over the New York Knicks Monday night. That’s not something to be boasting about, as the Knicks had their 17th straight loss in a row, though, per NBA.com, and New York won the tanking contest (well, more fifth pick insurance, if you will, as Tankathon demonstrates). Nonetheless, in Kevin Love‘s first considerable playing time since returning from his reported toe surgery in November, he looked really good, which was a key positive.

Against the Washington Wizards on Friday night, Love played just 6:29, per Basketball Reference, and wasn’t really able to be fully back yet, as he went one-for-five and had four points. Against the Knicks last night, Love played 15.7 minutes, and was able to get shots in favorable spots. He put pressure on New York’s defense consistently, as he had 14 points on 59.5 percent true shooting (per NBA.com).

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His nine rebounds were a nice lift, too, and that skill set will always help Cleveland generate more in the win column.

I get it, though, we need to see Love get through a large stretch of games. He’s only appeared in six of a possible 57 games, and he’s still reportedly on a minutes restriction right now. The sub-16 minute work load showed that yesterday, but this last outing was a step in the right direction.

The Knicks’ D (which has the league’s third-worst defensive rating, per NBA.com) is not exactly a massive test for the inside-out scoring balance of Love, but with him gradually getting his health back, last night’s performance had to feel good for him.

He thought so, too, per Fox Sports Ohio.

Love has the makings of still being a Cleveland Cavaliers’ franchise cornerstone in the near future, if he can stay reasonably healthy. We’ll see how his workload is managed in coming games, and how he responds in the second halves of contests in-game, too.

As we’ve emphasized numerous times here at KJG, though, it is still crucial for Love to be on the floor for Cleveland. He helps with the development of younger perimeter players, and his great feel on the offensive end makes his teammates better.

If he can get more healthy in the last part of the season, it will help Cleveland’s young pieces such as Collin Sexton, Cedi Osman, Larry Nance Jr. and Jordan Clarkson going into the summer. Other bigs such as Ante Zizic still need their rotational run, too, obviously, but the Cavs can’t just plop Love down and not see how his recovery is truly going.