Cavs need big efforts from Kevin Love in closing stretch ahead

We know that the Cleveland Cavaliers are in a difficult spot, as they have not been the same team that they were before the All-Star break. The Cavs are 7-10 in games since the break, and in March, they are 6-8, and lost their games last week.

On Monday night, the Cavaliers escaped with a win in what would’ve been a horrid loss to the Orlando Magic, but what was crushing from that one was Evan Mobley suffering a left ankle sprain. Mobley left that game in the second quarter, and while x-rays were reportedly negative, it’d seem that that injury could be a blow to Cleveland’s postseason hopes.

Lauri Markkanen had a knee-to-knee collision versus Orlando, too, and even with him returning in the game, and finishing strong, that’s something that could seemingly be of note from here, and we’re well aware of how much Jarrett Allen‘s finger injury has affected the team. He could potentially return for the postseason; it’s tough to say at the moment, though.

The Cavs have been a resilient squad this season, on the plus side, and based on how this team has responded to injury woes this year, I can’t just write them off. But it is a tough road, and the Cavaliers could very well have to make the playoffs via the play-in tourney, which would be anything but an easy task.

Something that could help Cleveland in upcoming games has to do with one of their vets, in Kevin Love, who has been fully bought into a shift to a bench role this season. Love has had a resurgent 2021-22 campaign, and that role change has led to him making quite an impact often for the team, as he’s had 13.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists in just 22.5 minutes per game.

Love has been a go-to catch-and-shoot presence in his minutes, usually off the bench, and in upcoming games, whether or not Mobley can go, the Cavaliers need him to catch fire again, and have big production in his minutes. That’s feasibly with there being more for him from here.

The Cavs need big efforts from Love in their closing stretch ahead.

It’s clear that in these last seven games, the Cavs will need Love’s shooting, to go with Markkanen’s, among others, to find ways to help out Darius Garland, who has such a heavy workload.

Love has been somewhat hot and cold of late, and it’s imperative that the Cavs get him involved a bunch when he’s in from here, particularly in the middle stretches, to help open up driving lanes when he’s in for Garland, Caris LeVert and others. Lamar Stevens is another player that I’d be referring to, in that sense.

In his last eight games, Love has been decent, with 11.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 24.1 minutes per outing, and he’s connected on 36.8 percent from three. That’s been on 7.1 attempts per contest in that span.

Realistically, though, the more 15-16-plus-point efforts, the better, from here. Obviously, I can’t just expect Love to go out and have 19 points each game, as he did in Cleveland’s win over Orlando on Monday. That was also in 32 minutes, for reference, and while he was 7-of-15 overall, he was 4-of-12 from three, a 33.3 percent clip.

Love was way off against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night, in the game prior to that in a loss, and just didn’t have it in his 17 minutes. He had five points on 2-of-8 shooting in that one, and against the Los Angeles Lakers last Monday in a loss, wasn’t able to get going much, and was a minus-21 in 20 minutes.

Granted, as we hit on, there’s inherently going to be some off stretches for Love, given the nature of the 33-year-old’s role now, but the Cavs just need him to stay aggressive. Plus, his presence in general still can make a difference on the glass, as a passer and multi-level scorer.

Objectively, however, in upcoming games to help the Wine and Gold, especially if Mobley has to miss time, whether or not Allen potentially comes back, Cleveland needs sizeable efforts from Love. And he’s still capable of doing so, provided he gets the looks.