Cavs: How Kevin Love can help Evan Mobley and Lauri Markkanen

Last season was not a memorable one for Cleveland Cavaliers stretch big Kevin Love. He was hampered by a right calf injury in 2020-21, and it was the main reason he was active in only 25 games.

Love ended up appearing in only 24.9 minutes per contest, a career-low, and he had just 12.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per outing, the latter of which was another career-low. That scoring average was the second-lowest of his career, with the lowest coming back when he was a rookie in 2008-09 with the Minnesota Timberwolves, when he had 11.1 points per contest.

Love did have some really good outings for the Cavaliers last year still, though, which made how the year overall went all the more frustrating. Unfortunately, the injury and lack of rhythm for him, by and large, led to anything but a stellar season for the veteran, who could’ve made a difference for Cleveland’s offense and perimeter shooting efforts.

On the plus side, while one has to read into his comments from Cavs Media Day on Monday with a grain of salt, with how Love has had a few outbursts/moments of frustration in the past two seasons, he does seem to want to help this team make the next step.

He hit on how he even with him seemingly set for a smaller role this upcoming season, with guys such as Evan Mobley, Lauri Markkanen and Jarrett Allen in mind, in regards to the team dynamic, he wants to be a “positive force.” 

Even with suggestions of it from various media outlets throughout the offseason, Love also stressed how he/his representation and the Cavaliers have not had any buyout discussions, either, via Kelsey Russo of The Athletic.

We’ll have to see what plays out with Love/how the year progresses, but heading into the year, he still can help this team. In that realm, I also believe that even with a smaller role, he can aid the likes of Mobley and Markkanen, in particular, with the success he’s had in his career.

Taking that into account, we’ll highlight how he can aid both of those young bigs for the Cavs here.

We’ll begin with how Love can help Mobley, who was Cleveland’s #3 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft back in July.