The first article is by Thomas Pestak and does an outstanding job of detailing how well Kevin Love has actually fit in with the Cavs overall. You can read it here.
The second is by Russ Bengtson and is an actual interview with Love that covers a number of topics, starting with how happy he is. You can read that one here and it's pretty outstanding as well.
Now then, on to what I actually wanted to write about the Cavs last game and the Kevin Love media parade yesterday.
On Sunday, the Cavs played against the Milwaukee Bucks in what could be a future playoff matchup depending on where the Bucks finish (then again, with the bottom of the East an absolute mess, who knows what team will actually finish opposite the Cavs). It was an odd start time and the Cavs got off to a really slow start against the Bucks, who seemed overly energized.
The Cavs seemed slow and almost disinterested on most defensive possessions, and eventually fell behind by as many as 11 points in the third quarter before LeBron James decided enough was enough. They woke up on both ends of the floor, turning that 11 point deficit into a 2 point lead at the end of the third, highlighted by two dunks by James and a basket at the buzzer by Iman Shumpert.
They continued the onslaught in the fourth as JR Smith hit a trio of triples, James hit a three, Smith hit James with an exceptional alley-oop, and the suddenly overwhelmed Bucks completely folded. The Cavs ended up winning by a score of 108-90, which was not anywhere close to indicative of how well the Bucks played for 2 and 1/2 quarters.
David Blatt rode a lineup of Matthew Dellavedova, Smith, Shumpert, James, and Tristan Thompson through the entire fourth quarter, which meant that Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving, and Timofey Mozgov never saw the floor in that quarter. Oddly enough, Love was the only person people seemed to wonder about (again, more on this later and in the previously mentioned articles above). Simply put the five on the court were blitzing the Bucks and there was never a need to bring anyone back in as the game quickly got out of hand.
It made the Cavs 27-7 since January 15th and left their overall record at 46-26 and firmly in control of the second spot in the Eastern Conference.
Cavalier Caveats
- This was the rare game where Delly came in and made a huge difference defensively for the Cavs. For the most part, Irving's defense has been much better, but in this game he was having issues, as was Mozgov. Delly, along with Shumpert, Smith, James, and Thompson, took complete control of this game and made it a laugher in a matter of minutes.
- Of course, someone always has to ask Blatt about his rotations, but in this game it was pretty simple why Irving and Love stayed put on the bench. The group that was out there was dominating the Bucks. Why make a change just because?
- One area of concern is that the Cavs are starting to allow more dribble penetration again, something that they had been cutting off relatively well after the trade for Mozgov. Obviously, the vast improvement on defense was going to ebb and flow some, but you'd like to see them shore up some of the issues they've been having lately on that end.
- Offensively, this team is unbeatable when they move the ball and get the ball up the floor quickly, which is why I find it aggravating when they slowly walk the ball up and dribble off the shot clock until it's down to 7 seconds. Iso ball needs to go and it needs to stay away. As we've seen against better defensive teams, it doesn't typically end well for the Cavs, even if hero ball has saved them a few times.
- Much continues to be made about Kevin Love and his level of happiness with the team, his future, and his role on the floor. As I mentioned earlier, the two links provided provide excellent articles discussing Love and I'm not going to get too involved in it because it's simply overbearing and stupid.
I just can't stand the fact that ESPN and others HAVE to have some kind of narrative to talk about with this team. Yes, Love sometimes looks lost on offense, but I don't necessarily think that he's as lost as some of us want to think.
Love himself has talked about how he's trying to get in the post more, but from what I've seen, he's getting mauled down there and isn't exactly getting a lot of fouls called, which makes going in the post a lost cause. The Cavs as a team have been on the receiving end of some interesting calls and non-calls, but then again, officiating across all levels and sports has been getting worse over the years.
The fact is, when you have a team with James and Irving on it, Love being in the post actually allows an extra defender to be in the vicinity of the paint, thus cutting off some of the driving lanes that those two could take. Love and Smith being outside the 3 point line gives them that room to operate better. Sure, they should run more plays for Love in the post, but they don't and for what it's worth, Love isn't complaining much.
Another issue to keep in mind is that it has appeared that Love's back has been an issue for much of the season. Couple that with the large number of blowouts the Cavs have had, there's no reason to drag him back into a large number of the games they've had.
The thing that I've learned, and obviously Love has learned this as well, is that the media microscope is on the Cavs this year and anything that's said and done are being scrutinized to death.
Is it fair? No.
Comments about who should win MVP are getting blown out of proportion, as is the speculation about whether Love and James are friends. It's ridiculous really. But it's what happens when James is on your team and you have a rising star in Irving as well.
Don't expect it to stop either.
After all, we still have the playoffs to deal with.
Thanks for reading everyone!
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