With Kevin Love Injury, Tough Times Could Be Ahead for Rest of Cavs Big 3
Kevin Love will have to put his third and best season for the Cleveland Cavaliers on hold.
On Tuesday, just days before Kevin Love was set to appear in his first All-Star Game as a member of the Cavs, basketball teams announced that he will miss the next six weeks following knee surgery:
Love is averaging 20 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 31.9 minutes per game this season. He's shooting 42.9 percent from the field and 38.4 percent from three. On Nov. 23, Love set an NBA record by scoring 34 points in the first quarter of a 137-125 win over the Portland Trail Blazers basketball teams.
In short, he's having a good year.
Although the Cavs lead the Eastern Conference by two games over the Boston Celtics, their bid for the No. 1 seed is hardly guaranteed. The Washington Wizards have won nine of their past 10 games to surge to third place, while the fifth-seeded Toronto Raptors just pulled off a trade for power forward Serge Ibaka, per The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski.
As the rest of the once-dormant East begins to rise, Cleveland's grasp atop the conference is in serious jeopardy. The Cavs are already without starting shooting guard JR Smith for at least the next three weeks.
Love's six-week diagnosis would put him on track to return during the final week of March. At that time, Cleveland would have roughly nine regular-season games remaining.
There's no single player who can step in and fill every role Love plays. The 28-year-old leads the Cavs with a 9.2 net rating (per B/R Insights) and carries an on/off rating of plus-12.0 this season. That nearly matches LeBron James impact (plus-13.0) and the combination of Kyrie Irving (plus-6.1) and Tristan Thompson (plus-6.3).
Veteran basketball teams Channing Frye will most likely become the team's starting power forward, as he brings the same floor-spacing and three-point shooting ability as his injured teammate.
While he can match Love's outside shooting, Frye is a poor rebounder who doesn't spend much time in the paint. Starting center Tristan Thompson is Cleveland's second-leading rebounder at 9.6 boards a game compared to Love's 11.1. Frye averages 3.5 a night and 7.1 per 36 minutes of play.
Behind Frye, 36-year-old Richard Jefferson, who filled in for Love during the 2016 NBA Finals while he recovered from a concussion, will pick up minutes. James Jones, also 36, can space the floor as needed.
The signing of Derrick Williams to a 10-day contract last week now appears crucial. He is able to play either forward position, and his minutes off the bench will increase as the Cavs look to replace Love's heavy scoring load. In two games, Williams is averaging 9.5 points on 83.3 percent shooting.
With the Feb. 23 trade deadline just over a week away, Love's injury places additional pressure on general manager David Griffin and Cleveland's front office to push for a bigger piece than they may have intended.
But the worst part of Love's absence is the shockwaves LeBron James and Kyrie Irving will feel. James is already tied with Kyle Lowry for the league lead in minutes per game (37.6). Irving is 16th at 35.2 ticks a night. James' 112.6 total miles ran ranks first on the Cavs (44th in NBA), while Irving's 105.7 is good for third, per B/R Insights.
Cleveland's strategy has been a heavy dose of Love in the first quarter, Irving in the third and James filling in the gaps and taking over as needed. As far as opening periods go, the Cavs are now without a player who ranks top 10 in the league in total points, field-goal attempts (12th in makes), three-pointers attempted (11th in makes), rebounds, plus/minus and usage percentage.
Now, head coach Tyronn Lue has to be even more careful with his lineups, as units without a Big Three member have struggled the past three years.
"We're still going to go about our plan [to reduce James' minutes]," Lue said, per ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin. "We can't run LeBron into the ground because Kevin is out. Guys got to step up and be ready to play."
Of course, sticking to that plan may be difficult.
According to NBAwowy.com, Cleveland scores 100.6 points per 100 possessions without James, Love and Irving on the court. That's good for just 29th in the NBA. When all three take the floor, the Cavs score a league-leading 120.1 points per 100 possessions.
James has already pleaded for a playmaker basketball so he and Irving can play more off the ball and get more rest, per ESPN.com's McMenamin. Without Love, it seems Lue will have no choice but to increase his remaining stars' workloads even more in the lead-up to another potential Finals run.
Source : http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2692944-kevin-loves-injury-means-even-more-work-for-lebron-james-kyrie-irving
Kevin Love will have to put his third and best season for the Cleveland Cavaliers on hold.
On Tuesday, just days before Kevin Love was set to appear in his first All-Star Game as a member of the Cavs, basketball teams announced that he will miss the next six weeks following knee surgery:
Cavaliers forward and 2017 NBA All-Star mens basketball Kevin Love underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove a loose body from his left knee this morning at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. ... Love will now undergo a period of rest and rehabilitation and his return to play is estimated at approximately six weeks.
Love is averaging 20 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 31.9 minutes per game this season. He's shooting 42.9 percent from the field and 38.4 percent from three. On Nov. 23, Love set an NBA record by scoring 34 points in the first quarter of a 137-125 win over the Portland Trail Blazers basketball teams.
In short, he's having a good year.
Although the Cavs lead the Eastern Conference by two games over the Boston Celtics, their bid for the No. 1 seed is hardly guaranteed. The Washington Wizards have won nine of their past 10 games to surge to third place, while the fifth-seeded Toronto Raptors just pulled off a trade for power forward Serge Ibaka, per The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski.
As the rest of the once-dormant East begins to rise, Cleveland's grasp atop the conference is in serious jeopardy. The Cavs are already without starting shooting guard JR Smith for at least the next three weeks.
Love's six-week diagnosis would put him on track to return during the final week of March. At that time, Cleveland would have roughly nine regular-season games remaining.
There's no single player who can step in and fill every role Love plays. The 28-year-old leads the Cavs with a 9.2 net rating (per B/R Insights) and carries an on/off rating of plus-12.0 this season. That nearly matches LeBron James impact (plus-13.0) and the combination of Kyrie Irving (plus-6.1) and Tristan Thompson (plus-6.3).
Veteran basketball teams Channing Frye will most likely become the team's starting power forward, as he brings the same floor-spacing and three-point shooting ability as his injured teammate.
While he can match Love's outside shooting, Frye is a poor rebounder who doesn't spend much time in the paint. Starting center Tristan Thompson is Cleveland's second-leading rebounder at 9.6 boards a game compared to Love's 11.1. Frye averages 3.5 a night and 7.1 per 36 minutes of play.
Behind Frye, 36-year-old Richard Jefferson, who filled in for Love during the 2016 NBA Finals while he recovered from a concussion, will pick up minutes. James Jones, also 36, can space the floor as needed.
The signing of Derrick Williams to a 10-day contract last week now appears crucial. He is able to play either forward position, and his minutes off the bench will increase as the Cavs look to replace Love's heavy scoring load. In two games, Williams is averaging 9.5 points on 83.3 percent shooting.
With the Feb. 23 trade deadline just over a week away, Love's injury places additional pressure on general manager David Griffin and Cleveland's front office to push for a bigger piece than they may have intended.
But the worst part of Love's absence is the shockwaves LeBron James and Kyrie Irving will feel. James is already tied with Kyle Lowry for the league lead in minutes per game (37.6). Irving is 16th at 35.2 ticks a night. James' 112.6 total miles ran ranks first on the Cavs (44th in NBA), while Irving's 105.7 is good for third, per B/R Insights.
Cleveland's strategy has been a heavy dose of Love in the first quarter, Irving in the third and James filling in the gaps and taking over as needed. As far as opening periods go, the Cavs are now without a player who ranks top 10 in the league in total points, field-goal attempts (12th in makes), three-pointers attempted (11th in makes), rebounds, plus/minus and usage percentage.
Now, head coach Tyronn Lue has to be even more careful with his lineups, as units without a Big Three member have struggled the past three years.
"We're still going to go about our plan [to reduce James' minutes]," Lue said, per ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin. "We can't run LeBron into the ground because Kevin is out. Guys got to step up and be ready to play."
Of course, sticking to that plan may be difficult.
According to NBAwowy.com, Cleveland scores 100.6 points per 100 possessions without James, Love and Irving on the court. That's good for just 29th in the NBA. When all three take the floor, the Cavs score a league-leading 120.1 points per 100 possessions.
James has already pleaded for a playmaker basketball so he and Irving can play more off the ball and get more rest, per ESPN.com's McMenamin. Without Love, it seems Lue will have no choice but to increase his remaining stars' workloads even more in the lead-up to another potential Finals run.
Source : http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2692944-kevin-loves-injury-means-even-more-work-for-lebron-james-kyrie-irving
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