Which Cavs are too low on ESPN’s Top 100?
Kevin Love at 97
Kevin Love had an impressive bounceback season a year ago, overcoming multiple injury-plagued campaigns and the malaise of toiling away on a losing team to put in one of the best bench seasons in the league. He averaged 13.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and a solid 2.5 3-pointers per game on really strong shooting splits.
On a per-minute basis, Love was a top-50 player in the league last season. Knock him down a bit for his poor defense as a big, for his injury history and for his age, but he still is more valuable than many players ahead of him on the list, including teammate Caris LeVert at 80. That’s about where Love should have landed here.
Darius Garland at 46
Last year Darius Garland was a first-ballot All-Star in the Eastern Conference. He averaged 21.7 points (18th), 8.6 assists (6th) and 1.3 steals (T-20th) per game. He carried the offense of a winning team that just barely missed the playoffs. Despite creating most of his own 3-point looks, among all high-volume shooters he ranked 19 out of 57 players in 3-point percentage, just ahead of Devin Booker. He was 20th in the league in Offensive Box Plus-Minus, 28th in Value Over Replacement Player (VORP), 21st in EPM (one spot below Donovan Mitchell) and 16th in RAPTOR’s Wins Above Replacement.
Oh, and he was only 22 years old last season.
How in the world did ESPN’s voters think he belonged anywhere outside the Top-35, let alone all the way back at 46? It’s nearly unthinkable to land at that conclusion. His mastery of the offense, his outside shooting, his pinpoint passing and his ability to create mismatches by attacking the rim are all in his bag already, with more certainly to come. Players like Anthony Edwards and Cade Cunnigham got a “so young they’re bound to make a leap” rankings, yet Garland outplayed them both last season and was stuffed behind Tyrese Maxey, a young guard who hopes to make the third-year leap this season Garland already has. He should check in around 30, not 46.