Kevin Love hasn’t had the same level of success this season that he had in the 2021-22 campaign for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Then, Love had a resurgent year in a shift to a bench role for Cleveland, and in a reduced minutes-share, was very effective in his time on the floor.
Last season, Love had 13.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per contest in 22.5 minutes per appearance on average. That scoring clip was not nearly what he was able to produce in prior seasons with the Cavaliers, but in a move to a bench role, his catch-and-shoot play, spacing help and defensive rebounding were all very meaningful in his time on the floor.
For his efforts, and how he aided the Cavs in a bounce-back year for the team in general, too, Love finished as the runner-up for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award. His on and off-floor impact was crucial for the Wine and Gold, and it was a pleasure to see Love in there game-in and game-out, as compared to a number of recent prior seasons, when injuries often limited him.
Unfortunately, though, Love has not had the same effect for Cleveland’s bench thus far this season. Granted, there’s still been meaningful contributions from him, and how he helps the teams’ spacing and rebounding shouldn’t be discounted.
That being said, Love’s splits haven’t been the same in 2022-23, and that, and him still reportedly dealing with a thumb injury has led to him being currently now out of the Cavs’ rotation, to make more room for Dean Wade receiving minutes. Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reported that news involving Love recently.
He is out of the rotation to make room for Dean Wade. There was a conversation between J.B. and Kevin about that recently. Even though it was difficult, it’s what was best. https://t.co/BXVqqtItnl
— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) February 6, 2023
That decision about Love was a tough one, but it’s the right call, at least for now, for the Cavs.
Love has not been fully himself when it comes to his shooting stroke regarding that thumb injury, and more recently, he had missed time because of back spams. More near the turn of the year to 2023, he had seemingly been finding his shooting rhythm and his shooting reputation can still make those around him better on offense, but he had been struggling in terms of hitting perimeter shots, objectively.
In Love’s last 12 appearances prior being out for the past seven outings, he had connected on only 22.9 percent of his three-point attempts, and had only 5.9 points per contest in that span. He shot just 30.3 percent overall in that stretch in 19.3 minutes per game then.
So, to drive it home, Love being out of the Cavaliers’ rotation for now was the right call by J.B Bickerstaff, particularly with Wade being back available prior to missing an extended period due to an AC joint sprain, and then some more time with an ankle sprain. Wade is viable at either the 3 or 4 for Cleveland, given his defensive abilities, and he’s a quality shooter in his own right when given the opportunities.
Wade has been a welcomed addition to the team with his two-way skill set, and whether he is a bench contributor or starter, he’s clearly a player that warrants minutes at either forward spot. He’s not a player that has the shooting reputation of Love, but Wade’s played really well this season when healthy, and at this point, with others involved on the wing, him essentially supplanting Love in the rotation is the right call.
Wade’s defense has to be in mind there, too, and it assuredly is, and on the year, he’s connected on 40.7 percent of his three-point attempts in 22.7 minutes per outing. The volume hasn’t been huge at 3.1 per game, however, Wade’s made continual strides as a perimeter shooter over his time with the Cavaliers, and this season, his two-way play and ability to mesh with a variety of other Cavs has led to him impacting winning.
On the season, while the appearances have been limited to 26, he’s led the team in net rating, discounting two-way player Isaiah Mobley, who has played sparingly in eight games with the Cavs.
Circling back, anyways, Love being out of Cleveland’s rotation currently was the sensible move. It had to have been a tough one, given his leadership impact and his track record, also with last season’s success, too, but Love hadn’t looked like himself and hasn’t had the same shooting rhythm in the 2023 part of the schedule.
He could theoretically be an expiring trade candidate, particularly after this recent Fedor report, sure. Despite that, with the locker room element, and the sacrifices Love has made in the past two seasons, I wouldn’t expect that to occur; we’ll have to see, of course.