1 stud and 1 dud for Cavs in their win over the Wizards on Saturday
By Dan Gilinsky
Cavs dud: Kevin Love
The Cavaliers have gotten great play out of Kevin Love in a shift to a bench role this season. After an injury-riddled past season for him where Love was limited to just 25 games mostly due to a calf injury, it’s been a resurgent campaign for Love in that bench role.
In this last outing for Love, though, he just couldn’t get looks to go down, similarly to that loss to the Pistons a few days back.
There were a number of looks that were really deep for Love, but for him to go 1-of-10 overall and have only four points was rough to see here. He was 0-of-5 from three, which was uncharacteristic from Love, given how he’s shot 38.5 percent from deep on the season, and the off night played into Love only playing 14 minutes on Saturday.
Of course, part of the reasoning for Love being off these last two contests has to do with Cleveland’s injury absences to Garland and Rondo, particularly regarding pick-and-pops. I would still expect Love to get back on track, though, and I’m not overly concerned.
The vet is typically one of the Cavs’ most dependable offensive contributors. And on a positive note, Love did still have five rebounds and three assists in this win over the Wizards.
Hopefully Love can knock down some key shots on Monday night against his former club in the Minnesota Timberwolves, though, and Cleveland can start better.