Have the Cavs been missing Kevin Love or Caris LeVert more?

It’s been a windy road with its share of twists and turns, but the Cleveland Cavaliers have navigated their way to a 13-8 record on the 2022-23 season. At the quarter poll of the season, with this being a new-look squad, that’s been pretty respectable.

The Cavaliers have been a hot and cold bunch, as they rattled off eight straight wins early on, lost their next five games after that, swept a four-game homestand, and then lost two of three on a three-game roadie.

For a still young team, they’re still finding their footing, and some of that has been because of reshuffling of lineups, the group still getting their rotations down, and unfortunately for Cleveland, injuries have been part of the story early on, too.

As for Cleveland’s more recent batch of games, in that regard, players such as Kevin Love (hairline fracture in right thumb) and Caris LeVert (ankle sprain) have been out, and Love appeared to be noticeably hesitant prior to ultimately missing the past four outings. Cleveland has been without the likes of Jarrett Allen (back) and Lamar Stevens (non-COVID illness) in the past two games as well, and Allen only played in 12 minutes in Cleveland’s loss at the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.

That said, while Allen is so vital to Cleveland’s success, and Stevens has given the club juice upon his number being called, Love and LeVert’s absences shouldn’t be glossed over of late, either, with both also being vets that can help stabilize things for stretches. Both can give the Cavaliers a lift off the bench, in particular, and we’ve seen that from Love.

Granted, as an aside, LeVert was probable heading into Cleveland’s loss on Monday night at the Toronto Raptors, and he did play 29 minutes in that outing, but given he was sidelined prior to that for some contests, the absence was still fresh on the mind.

So, getting that out there, have the Cavs been missing Love or LeVert more of late?

When it comes to Love, his shooting presence, ball movement and rebounding abilities all help other Cavaliers around him in his minutes on the floor.

His offensive splits after excelling in a move to a bench role last season are down a bit to begin the 2022-23 campaign at 10.6 points as opposed to 13.6, but he’s still connected on 40.4 percent of his three-point attempts. Plus, he’s tacked on 7.2 rebounds (identical to last season) and 2.5 assists in 20.7 minutes per appearance.

With LeVert, his shot creation/slashing, secondary playmaking and hustle play can come in handy as well, and we have seen those things make a difference at times, particularly when Darius Garland was sidelined. His catch-and-shoot play from three-point land has been better than I would’ve expected coming into the season, too, as he has connected on 36.6 percent from deep, and he’s had 4.8 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game.

Unfortunately, though, while it was natural that there’d be an adjustment for LeVert in playing with Garland and Donovan Mitchell, he had problems establishing a rhythm with those guys for stretches. Even prior to an ankle sprain, which led to him missing three games before Monday’s loss to Toronto, he was essentially relegated to the bench for Lamar Stevens, seemingly for defense, to some extent, too.

And while the sample size has been three games, with Monday’s game included, LeVert has had just 4.0 points per contest, and has shot just 14.3 percent, and 10.0 percent from three. Now, to reiterate, it’s been three games, and he has aided the team on the glass, in averaging 4.7 rebounds, and has helped with effort plays, but it’s been a bit concerning.

It was a game he was coming off those absences, so one should cut him some slack, however, LeVert shooting just two-of-nine on Monday was far from exceptional.

So, overall, despite him not being the on-ball player LeVert can be when he’s right, it seems evident that the Cavaliers have been missing Love more than LeVert lately.

Love can still help stabilize things for stretches for the Cavs, his catch-and-shoot presence can aid the team in opening up space for other guys on offense, and his defensive rebounding, in his minutes, is still outstanding. And with Jarrett Allen dealing with a back injury at the moment, that has been missed regarding Love’s play for some of games, too.

Not to mention, although LeVert had been shooting it better from three earlier on, his play from there had been tailing off somewhat. Realistically, even with Love as an expiring player as well, with LeVert’s offensive inconsistencies with Cleveland, one would have to think he could potentially be an expiring trade piece for the Cavs by the deadline.

Anyway, overall, Love’s absence has been missed more by Cleveland of late, again, regardless of LeVert having been back on Monday. The Cavs’ shooting issues for extended stretches the past three games, especially from three, have stamped that true, too.

Hopefully Love can get right in due time; he’s missed five of the past six games for the Cavaliers, and really shouldn’t have played in a win versus the Atlanta Hawks, either.