Throughout the season, it’s been refreshing to see Kevin Love‘s success in a shift to a bench role for the Cleveland Cavaliers. It was expected that Love would be moved to a bench role prior to the season, which was logical, based on injury issues in recent seasons, and that was also with Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen in mind.
It was tough to forecast how that would work for Cleveland and Love, and whether the Cavaliers would receive meaningful contributions from him regularly, with how he was limited to only 25 games in 2020-21, made that even more precarious.
To his credit, Love has blossomed in that bench role, as KJG’s Zachary Shafron illustrated, though, and on the year, Love’s had 14.0 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 21.3 minutes per contest. He’s been off of late, but largely thanks to a red-hot December and a few other big shooting nights prior to a health and safety protocols absence in November, Love still has hit 40.3 percent from three on the season.
We’ve seen Love have his share of success in mid-post situations, and at times, has provided a low-post lift, particularly in cross-matching situations from off-ball movement, too. His defensive rebounding has often been on-point in reserve minutes as well, and he’s still a quality secondary playmaker Cleveland can go to.
That said, the Cavs have actually gotten solid defense out of Love, in the team sense, especially, also. I’m not suggesting that the team was on the ball defensively in their disappointing loss at the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, but overall, Love’s activity on that end has been so much better this year.
And in one area, I believe at least, his efforts have been underrated this season.
Love’s been great at drawing charges for the Cavs this season, and that sort of thing demonstrates how he’s bought-in.
Obviously, there were issues and at times, displays of frustration on the floor from Love in recent seasons, and especially in the 2019-20 campaign, when John Beilein started out as Cleveland’s head coach before J.B. Bickerstaff eventually would take over post-All-Star break.
There were constant trade rumors in those years, and even back to when LeBron James was in his second stint with Cleveland, and while there still seemingly are some potential trade suggestions involving Love, the buy-in has been there far more.
Conversely, even with their share of injuries and COVID-19-related problems, the Cavaliers have far exceeded expectations so far this season, and regardless of the circumstances, it’s been good to see Love’s efforts.
That applies to defense, too, which has been quite the sight, honestly, and as we touched on, Love’s feel for drawing changes has been underrated, and that’s helped generate momentum in games for Cleveland. He didn’t at Chicago, but there were a few times where I thought he might’ve, and the willingness from him this year has been encouraging.
I’m not suggesting he’s been Kyle Lowry-esque in drawing charges, or in the Anderson Varejao-type mold, but Love as a heady helper and/or weak side rotator has led Cleveland with nine charges drawn this season, per NBA.com’s hustle data. Only 10 players in the league have taken more, and especially for a bench contributor, that’s a notable stat for Love’s season to this point.
Love’s shown some of that type of effort and attention to detail in previous seasons, however, this year it’s definitely been on display from him, and it’s evident that with the minutes-share being reduced, his team defensive impact has been far better.
Now, of course, I want Love to stay healthy, because he’s been a true X-factor off the bench for the Cavaliers, and I do believe even at 33, he can still help this team in stretches in the postseason.
And with how his minutes have been managed, I am optimistic he’ll be fine, and as we emphasized, him drawing timely charges has been one of those unheralded ways he’s helped Cleveland this year. His contests of perimeter shots have been considerably better this year than last year, also, for what it’s worth, and being healthier plays into that.
Love reportedly being fully bought into the Cavs’ direction/postseason push, per Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, is telling, too, as opposed to him being open to potential trades before the season.
Hopefully this max effort from Love on both ends hold true as the season progresses here, and the Cavs keep vying for favorable postseason position.