The Cleveland Cavaliers have not had Kevin Love available since Dec. 27 because of him then reaggravating a high-grade right calf strain in a game versus the Philadelphia 76ers. Back shortly thereafter, it was expected that Love would be out for at least three-to-four weeks.
It’s been past that point, clearly, but fortunately, it does seem that Love’s getting pretty close. Love is reportedly highly unlikely to be in game action for Cleveland during this current West road trip in which the Cavs still have four games yet, though, per Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor on Sunday.
Fedor stressed while Love is progressing along and back at that point, how he did go through a pregame on-floor shooting workout before Cleveland’s loss versus the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, the Cavaliers do want him to get in practice before playing. And that’s not realistically, at least for a full practice, until when the Cavs are back from this roadie, per Fedor’s report.
According to Evan Dammarell of Forbes and Fear The Sword, though, he did state how Love’s return is seemingly imminent, and how Love got in a “more extensive workout” before Cleveland’s close L at the Phoenix Suns on Monday. So maybe that means we even see him back versus the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday? We’ll see.
#Cavs star Kevin Love had a more extensive workout tonight in Phoenix.
— Evan Dammarell (@AmNotEvan) February 9, 2021
It seems that his return is imminent.
That bit from Dammarell, in particular, naturally leads us Cavs fans to think about one Cavalier, in particular, when Love is ultimately back, and that’s Taurean Prince.
Prince has started four games of his 12 played with Cleveland since being acquired via trade from the Brooklyn Nets, and in his minutes-share thus far, has played primarily at the 4 spot.
That hasn’t been a drastic change for him, though, as Prince did appear at the 4 for 91 percent of the time last season for Brooklyn. Plus, he did some in his third season with his prior club that traded him previously to Brooklyn before last season, in the Atlanta Hawks.
So how does Love’s return hopefully soon tie into Prince’s role, then? Well, with Larry Nance Jr. expected to be out for approximately six weeks due to a fourth metacarpal fracture on his left hand, I’d have thought that Prince would’ve had to step up even more so, and I’d have thought we’d see him start on Monday at Phoenix.
Albeit Cleveland went with Jarrett Allen and Andre Drummond, and perhaps that pairing will start in games leading into Love’s return. That’s not something I’m a huge fan of, but I guess I get it.
Nonetheless, what’s apparent is that when Love is back in that starting 4 role, that Prince’s role is even more noticable.
When Love’s back, Prince is the Cavs bench bucket-getter.
We’ll first on that reasoning in that realm next.
Examining what Prince has provided for the Cavs so far
Thus far with the Wine and Gold, Prince has settled in nicely, and he’s really given juice to the Cavaliers. Overall in his 12 games with Cleveland, Prince has looked more comfortable than he did in his time with Brooklyn, whether that was playing with Durant in or not.
He’s had 10.2 points per outing in this span, and knocked down 43.1 percent from three-point range, and has had 4.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 25.8 minutes per contest. But one thing has been particularly evident, and that’s the stark contrast in Prince’s efficiency/overall effectiveness as a starter as opposed to coming off the bench.
First, we’ll note Prince’s stats as a starter, and that’s been at the 4 in said instances.
- 8.5 points per game on 32.4 percent shooting, while shooting 35.0 percent on 5.0 three-point attempts per contest
- He’s had 4.0 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.8 blocks per game in 29.4 minutes per game in those outings
- A plus-minus of minus-8.0 stands out, though
Secondly, here’s the bench splits/production for Prince with the Cavs.
- 11.0 points per game on 44.6 percent shooting, and has 48.4 percent of his three-point attempts
- He’s had 3.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, to go with 0.8 steals and 0.8 blocks in 24.1 minutes per outing
- The plus-minus for him off the bench has been plus-4.5
Point being, from my perspective, while I’m not opposed to Prince starting at the 4, perhaps for a few games, if Love isn’t back just yet, his efficiency and the juice he’s provided as a reserve has been especially crucial.
When he’s been able to come in off the bench, both at the 3 and against reserves when at the 4 more, he’s meshed well with guys like Cedi Osman, Dylan Windler and seemingly a staggered Darius Garland/Collin Sexton.
The efficiency has been a big difference, as was noted, and though I get those that would perhaps want Prince to start over Isaac Okoro at the 3 when Love returns, I firmly believe that Okoro, while his minutes should be cut down some, maybe, should still start there. And Prince can play alongside him for spurts/stretches at a different spot, or with Okoro a bit at the 2.
Prince should still be the Cavs bench bucket-getter when Love’s back
Again, to me, while Okoro should feasibly have his minutes-share cut down some, by five or so minutes, I still believe he’s Cleveland’s starting 3, anyhow. The reason for that, when Love is back in the fold, is though Okoro has had some really tough matchups lately, with his thick frame and sturdier build, I’d much rather Prince get more burn against bench 3’s and 4’s.
Besides, Prince has played more at the 4 anyway, and when Nance is back later on, Prince can play more at the 3 again, with Okoro at times sliding to the 2. And a combination of Dylan Windler/Damyean Dotson/Cedi Osman will be in the fold otherwise.
Lastly, although Drummond will continue to be a key subject of trade rumors, and the Toronto Raptors are reportedly interested in him, per Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, I’d still think Drummond could be around for a good chunk still and perhaps leading near up to the March 25 deadline. So, whether I prefer it or not, he’ll likely remain at the starting 5 when Love is back, albeit Jarrett Allen will still get a significant portion of the burn.
But bringing it back to Prince, while he could seemingly get a starting 4 gig in the next game or two, when Love is back, Prince should be the bench bucket-getter for the Cavaliers. That will allow him to hunt shots more, particularly in instances against reserves, and in a starting role, I personally wouldn’t expect him to be able to have nearly as much of an impact as a scorer, as he’d play more minutes with guys like Love in this case, along with Collin Sexton and Darius Garland.
In a bench role more when Love is back, however, Prince can still pack more of a punch in still playing over half of games, anyway, and if he has it going, can be a player in closing stretches at times if he has things rolling in games.
Albeit as a quick side note, when Love is healthy for the Cavs, they will reportedly look to deal him, similarly to Drummond, per Sam Amico of OutKick and Forty Eight Minutes, and he’ll seemingly continue to be a player mentioned in trade rumors.
That said, with how Love’s injury history has been, and with his contract, I still wouldn’t expect him to realistically be moved during this season. In the coming offseason, Love, who is due to make $60.2 million in the two seasons following this one, I’d imagine could have a higher possibility of being traded, though.
But for the rest of this season, when Love again is back in the fold for Cleveland, it’s clear that Prince should be the energy/spark key scorer off the bench, by and large, with that being a role he can hunt shots more.
That’s not discounting other reserves, such as Osman and Windler, and Nance when he is back, who even with rumored interest, shouldn’t be dealt, and in regards to those guys, they still need to get their looks via ball movement/cutting, as we know.
Albeit in an on-ball sense, I’d look to Prince for stretches more so is all.