INDEPENDENCE: All of those nights Kevin Love spent waiting and watching during the postseason last year ultimately fueled him for this moment. He spent his first six years in the NBA watching the postseason from his couch. He spent the seventh watching it from the Cavaliers’ bench with his left arm in a sling, his days consumed with rehab and range of motion activities rather than jump shots and rebounding.
Whether or not the Cavs could’ve gotten on this type of roll last year had Love and Kyrie Irving stayed healthy will never be known — although the early signs were trending in that direction. What is clear now is that the Cavs enter the conference finals 12-0 when their Big Three are together on the floor in the playoffs. After scuffling for stretches during the regular season, Love is a big part of that success.
“I think there’s something to be said for being able to sit there and watch and be hungry,” Love said. “There’s a little bit more that goes into it this year. .... I think last year kind of helped me getting a little taste in the playoffs and then having it taken away from me and being able to play has been big for me.”
Love appeared to battle confidence issues for stretches during the regular season and even acknowledged he was passing up good shots he should have taken. He has caught fire from the outside during the postseason, but struggled inside in the series against the Atlanta Hawks.
Love shot just 25 percent in the paint (10-of-40) during the conference semifinals, although Cavs coach Tyronn Lue believes that was more because of the way the Hawks were defending him. They’d double him in the post, front him with a defender and basically do whatever was necessary to get the ball out of his hands inside.
“They tried to be physical with him,” Lue said. “What we did is just spread the floor with him, let LeBron and Kyrie create and he benefited from a lot of open 3s.”
Love said the Hawks dared him to shoot from the perimeter, so he did, shooting a far greater percentage from behind the 3-point line (48 percent) than he did in the paint (25 percent).
“I don’t think we’re concerned about what he didn’t do in the paint,” LeBron James said. “He did the complete opposite of me. I lived in the paint and didn’t make any 3s. So it’s OK.”
Love has maintained for two years now he is at his best when he plays inside-out. He learned that from his father, Stan, who was also a big man who could shoot. Love hasn’t always fit well into the Cavs’ system and one of Lue’s early goals upon taking over was making him more comfortable.
It worked at times; at times it didn’t. Lue finally sat down with Love late in the regular season and told him to be more aggressive, to demand the ball in places he’s comfortable and to be the elite player he was known to be upon arriving in Cleveland.
As a result, he has averaged 18.9 points and 12.5 rebounds this postseason. He is shooting 44 percent from 3-point range and has produced a double-double in every game.
“Kevin is a great player. I believe he’s a top-tier player in this league,” Lue said. “When you have a team with three All-Stars, sometimes you don’t get to play the role you’re capable of playing. That’s what’s been hurting Kevin this last year-and-a-half. Now we’re using him the right way. He’s comfortable and everything is great.”
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ.