Handing out Cleveland Cavaliers midseason awards
By John Suchan
Best Bench Player: Kevin Love
Kevin Love has been a changed man this season and it’s been fun to watch him enjoy the game of basketball again. He’s been the ultimate cheerleader to these younger players on the team. He’s embraced his new role of coming off the bench and has been producing night in and night out.
He’s often been the first player off the bench and has been averaging around 21 minutes a night. He’s averaging 14 points and seven rebounds a game. That’s up from last season’s 12-point average when he played around 25 minutes a game. He’s still putting up over six three-pointers a night and is averaging 40 percent on those.
His contributions go beyond the box score, too, as he always seems far more engaged in the game even when he’s on the bench.
With Love’s previous run with the last group of Cavaliers that included LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, it’ll be a big benefit to this new group of Cavs as they move forward and try to get to the playoffs.
Best Newcomer and Defender: Evan Mobley
The USC product is having a season to remember. Evan Mobley’s near the top in multiple categories from scoring, to blocks to rebounds among rookies. He certainly looks to become the NBA Rookie of the Year. He looks like a savvy veteran when he’s out there on the court as well.
His ability to alter opponents’ shots when he’s playing defense while showing his range of offensive talents too is so special and he’s only 20 years old.
He’s averaging 15 points and eight rebounds a game. He’s in the top three in most rookie categories, and is third in scoring. He’s second in rebounding and points scored with 570. He’s first in blocks per game with 1.7 and first in total blocks with 65, and he’s also first in shots made per game at 6.2.
Plus, his overall plus-minus through all games is plus-130, which is crushing all rookies. The second-nearest rookie comes in at plus-98.