Question No. 1: Will Kevin Love close games?
The best healthy center on the roster is Kevin Love, who is having a resurgent bounceback year after sulking his way through multiple seasons prior to this more successful year. He is a legitimate candidate for Sixth Man of the Year, and the five-time All-Star is averaging 14 points and 7.2 rebounds in just 22.3 minutes per game.
Increasing his minutes would be one way to help paper over the loss of Allen, and Love would certainly juice the offense. He and point guard Darius Garland would make sweet music as a pick-and-pop duo, and he could help shore up the rebounding issues the starting group has had.
The problem is that Love is now 33 years old and has struggled with a myriad of injuries over the past four seasons. If he appears in one more game he will reach 57, the most in the past four seasons; if he gets to 61 it will be his most in six years. Too much of a workload, both in minutes and usage, could trigger the series of nagging injuries the Cavs really want to avoid.
For all of the struggles the Cavs will have to endure over the next 18 games to ensure they make the playoffs, they also want to maximize their chances to accomplish something when they arrive. That means a healthy Kevin Love. He has been dynamic off the bench, and Bickerstaff should keep him there. Increase his minutes and role a bit, but keep the big picture in mind.
Verdict: No