Cavs Viewing Guide: Caleb Love goes off, plus 2 guys to watch in Elite 8

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Caleb Love, North Carolina Tar Heels. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) /

Throughout the course of the year I’ve tried to bring to light some of the best players the Cleveland Cavaliers can possibly look at in the in the 2022 NBA Draft, from whatever position they are drafting. Obviously, Jabari Smith, Chet Holmgren, and Jaden Ivey are players a Cavs fan dreams about, but with how well the team has played this year, it’s unlikely the Cavs will crack the lottery. With that being said, this is the perfect time to find a player or two in the NCAA Tournament that is just locked in.

In 2011 it was Kemba Walker and UConn, and all the way back in 2003 it was Carmelo Anthony and Syracuse. This year there are a couple of players that have put out great performances throughout the course of the tournament. Duke’s Paolo Banchero has had an outstanding tournament, giving glimpses of his potential to NBA scouts. However, because he is one of the best prospects, him having a good tournament doesn’t matter as much.

When you look at guys like Ochai Agbaji from Kansas and JD Notae from Arkansas, they are players who are on the fringe of the lottery, and can help their cases with stellar performances in the coming two weeks. But last night, we may have stumbled upon a great target for the Cavaliers to lock in on, no matter where they pick in this draft, feasibly with one of their second-round selections.

Yesterday, KJG’s Dan Gilinsky wrote about Caleb Love and how his shot creation would be a major addition to this Cavalier roster.

"“While he’s not a great finisher in the paint at this point, Love could end up being a valuable shot creator in coming years for Cleveland in bench units, given his propensity to get hot from deep, and he’s more than capable of knocking down shots off-the-bounce.”"

Love went off for 30 points last night in North Carolina’s Sweet Sixteen win over UCLA. He really erupted in the second half, and in the final two minutes in particular. Love drained back-to-back threes during the final minute to give Carolina the deciding edge to move onto the Elite Eight.

While I am a huge fan of North Carolina, and I do like Love as a player, I’m not as sold as Dan is quite yet. It’s true that Love isn’t a great finisher right now, but last night he showed he was more than capable knocking down jumpers and getting to the rim. There was a couple of drives in the second half where Love used his quickness and strength to overpower Tyger Campbell and Johnny Juzang at the rim.

The only real negative with Love right now is that he is very inconsistent. The young man only scored five points in the Tar Heels win over Baylor last week. On top of that there are times where he tries to take over games, and eventually ends up hurting the team by taking bad shots, or turning the ball over.

With that being said, he’s still very young, and in terms of shot creation, there might not be a better player on the board than Love when the Cavs draft. Overall he would be a great addition this summer, regardless if Collin Sexton and Caris LeVert return.