Cleveland Cavaliers: Where Kevin Love ranks among other starting centers
#9 – Marc Gasol – Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors went for it last season and it paid off. Not only did they trade for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, but they also made a move to bring veteran big man Marc Gasol in.
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Gasol has always been an excellent defender, passer, and low post scorer. However, over the past few seasons, he has done what other NBA centers have done and added the three-point shot to his repertoire.
Gasol had an excellent season, again, last season. Per Basketball-Reference, Gasol had per-game averages last season of 13.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists while shooting 36.3% from three.
#8 – Andre Drummond – Detroit Pistons
Simply put, Andre Drummond is a top-five rebounder in the NBA. For his career, per Basketball-Reference, Drummon has averaged 13.7 rebounds per game.
Drummond, however, is not going to give the Pistons much on the low block. His offensive game is more or less limited to finishing lobs at the rim, which he does very well. Despite his limited offensive game, Drummond still averaged 17.3 points per game last season according to Basketball-Reference.
His pairing with Blake Griffin has turned out to be a very good one, Griffin also had a career year last season. The Pistons will be looking to make a run at the playoffs this season in a wide-open Eastern Conference.
#7 – Kevin Love – Cleveland Cavaliers
Cavaliers big man Kevin Love will be the focal point for them this season and he should get back to his 20 point-per-game ways.
The Cavs likely won’t be very competitive this season which means Love will likely be force-fed and have very high usage. This was the case in the early going last season before Love suffered a foot injury and missed a majority of the season.
The last time Love was a number one option was his final season in Minnesota in which he put up fantastic numbers to the tune of 26.1 points per game and 12.5 rebounds per game according to Basketball-Reference.
Love will be the veteran voice in the locker room for a group of young players and try to get back to his 20 point and 10 rebound a night performance level.