Do the Cavs have the best center rotation in the NBA? Kevin Love
We just mentioned that Jarrett Allen finished fourth among center in EPM; Kevin Love finished 25th, and 22nd in Estimated Wins Added. That came on the back of a superb scoring season from Love coming off the bench behind Allen and Mobley, and his usual excellence on the defensive glass.
Love shot 39.2 percent from deep last season on 6.4 attempts per game. No other center averaged that many attempts last season, and indeed the list over the past five years is just seven players; the only three to shoot better than Love on that volume were Karl-Anthony Towns, Nikola Vucevic and Jaren Jackson Jr.
All of them also did so while starting every game; Love is the only player to reach that volume in a bench role, ever. As in, since the 3-point line has existed, no center has put up six 3-point attempts per game while coming off the bench. Love was the first. What he did last season was truly special.
His defense is continuing to wane as he ages, but he still has decent size and has a number of other tough defenders like Allen and Mobley to help cover up that weakness. Love’s injury history and lack of rim protection mean he is probably a bench player from here on out, but he is a bench player the Cavs can use as a deadly weapon.
Love finished second in Sixth Man of the Year voting last season, and he could very well be in the mix again this year if he stays healthy and hits that 3-point shot at such a high percentage again. He is better than a number of starting centers around the league and still has a lot to offer, and the one-two punch of Allen’s size and defense with Love’s defense-breaking shooting is a lot for teams to handle.