The Cavs aren't incapable of using Love the right way *vid*

[J Shuttlesworth]

Check out the highlights in Dallas the other night:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXNJxpcm5Jo

Love played great that night. He had a good variety of buckets, majority inside. I think he only made two outside shots that night, and everything else was inside. I understand that Love is great to space the floor for LBJ/Kyrie, but they should utilize Love more, espeically when LeBron is off the floor. That is a good time to change the game plan to Love in the post. If they don't end up with a good look, he can always dish it out to Kyrie who can create a shot in a split second, or pass it out to shooters on the perimeter. Love is a great passer with great floor vision.

Barkley was absolutely right that he needs to exploit the mismatches. Hopefully the tape from last night will do the Cavs a lot of good.

[triangleoffense]

Still not sure if he's a good fit there, I imagine Minnesota is way different than Cleveland.

[navy]

Go back and watch last nights game. He was getting destroyed on the inside. To his credit the refs werent calling shit.

Then Kyrie took over. Nobody on the Cavs even Lebron was relevant.

Outside of hurt feelings, give me a logical reason Blatt should have run more action for Love in that game as opposed to the dallas game where he was going up against softies?

[J Shuttlesworth]

Go back and watch last nights game. He was getting destroyed on the inside.

Then Kyrie took over.
I'm aware he had a bad night, and it's going to tougher to play against San Antonio's defense opposed to Dallas'. Amico reported he was having back problems and was benched in the 4th as a result. I still think it's a game plan the Cavs need to work on. The stats show that he is 1 PPP in the paint

[SHAQisGOAT]

It's clear to see.

Many times Love has a mismatch inside and you'll see Kyrie or Bron dribbling the air out of the ball then taking a contested pull-up.

At this point, 40.5% of his shot attempts have been 3's, too.


Ofc he has to adjust, now playing with those two also, but it's clear they should utilize him way better.

[navy]

I'm aware he had a bad night, and it's going to tougher to play against San Antonio's defense opposed to Dallas'. Amico reported he was having back problems and was benched in the 4th as a result. I still think it's a game plan the Cavs need to work on. The stats show that he is 1 PPP in the paint
Kyrie is 1.1 per iso.

[J Shuttlesworth]

Outside of hurt feelings, give me a logical reason Blatt should have run more action for Love in that game as opposed to the dallas game where he was going up against softies?
Because there were points where he was being covered by Danny Green or Boris Diaw on mismatches and he SHOULD be able to easily abuse them in the post. He's a stretch 4, but he was always a pretty solid post up threat in Minnesota. He can also make some good passes to perimeter guys like Kyrie/LeBron who can play well off ball, or catch/shoot

[J Shuttlesworth]

Kyrie is 1.1 per iso.
To win a championship, you need more of a game plan than LeBron/Kyrie iso.

Also, you really need to have a solid post presence to win rings. In Miami, that was LeBron, but this year LBJ is playing more of a floor general role than post-up threat

[oarabbus]

If Love isn't outlet passing he isn't being used right

[J Shuttlesworth]

If Love isn't outlet passing he isn't being used right
He's been solid on outlet passes.

[Uncle Drew]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B__NZbAU0AA0hcb.png

[navy]

Because there were points where he was being covered by Danny Green or Boris Diaw on mismatches and he SHOULD be able to easily abuse them in the post. He's a stretch 4, but he was always a pretty solid post up threat in Minnesota. He can also make some good passes to perimeter guys like Kyrie/LeBron who can play well off ball, or catch/shoot
Nah, they tried to get it to him and he was unsuccessful. He was 0-6 outside of the 3. I think he got his shot blocked like 3 times in the paint. And after that Kyrie took over.

If Kyrie is cooking you let him work. Not force action to Love. That's just people trying to absolve Love's feelings. It's obvious Blatt doesnt care.

[J Shuttlesworth]

Nah, they tried to get it to him and he was unsuccessful. He was 0-6 outside of the 3. I think he got his shot blocked like 3 times in the paint. And after that Kyrie took over.

If Kyrie is cooking you let him work. Not force action to Love. That's just people trying to absolve Love's feelings. It's obvious Blatt doesnt care.
I agree you gotta let Kyrie go off when he's going off, and I wouldn't have gone to Love last night much since he was having a bad game.

But if they do get Love to be a reliable threat down low, they would be unstoppable. A true big 3

[Smoke117]

Kevin Love is a bitch. Nothing else to say.

[Trollsmasher]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B__NZbAU0AA0hcb.png
/thread

[navy]

I agree you gotta let Kyrie go off when he's going off, and I wouldn't have gone to Love last night much since he was having a bad game.

But if they do get Love to be a reliable threat down low, they would be unstoppable. A true big 3
The thing about Love is that he is an offensive player first. If he is having a bad offensive night, Blatt will replace him. If he was a good defender he would see time no matter what.

The question is does Blatt care about Love's feelings? He doesnt.
Should he? Maybe so. In the long run it might cost them.

[navy]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B__NZbAU0AA0hcb.png
On that note, Blatt straight up hasnt realized his best lineup is the starting lineup. Maybe Shumpert not Smith if you need to defend a guard.

He could play Love more in the fourth if he took out Thompson for Mozgov to cover for the lack of defense. The reason Mozgov was brought over.

[J Shuttlesworth]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B__NZbAU0AA0hcb.png
Yikes. Hard to argue with that :lol

[RedBlackAttack]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B__NZbAU0AA0hcb.png
Yep. All of the team's advanced metrics -- the ones that they actually employ people to create -- show Love is invaluable out there, even if he isn't necessarily putting up the numbers people are accustomed to. That's why you see Blatt oftentimes confused when he is inevitably questioned about Love's lack of contribution.

We only really get to see a tiny sliver of the actual analytics being calculated at all times. The teams that believe in them (the Cavs are one of the forerunners) have entire teams of mathematicians paid well and devoted only to breaking down the game to a microscopic level. We are not privy to those breakdowns, as they help shape gameplans, lineups and rotations.

But, based on what I've heard from people "in the know," Love's contributions to this team from an on-court/off-court standpoint are enormous.

He is not going to light up the boxscore every night. Apparently, his back was acting up last night and that's why he was pulled in the fourth quarter. It may also be why he looked so lost defensively all night long.

But, the game before, he was awesome. A perfect compliment to Irving/LeBron. I know it's a hot topic right now, but I'm honestly not the least bit concerned about Love.

[J Shuttlesworth]

The thing about Love is that he is an offensive player first. If he is having a bad offensive night, Blatt will replace him. If he was a good defender he would see time no matter what.

The question is does Blatt care about Love's feelings? He doesnt.
Should he? Maybe so. In the long run it might cost them.
I'd be lying if I said that wasn't a big part of it.

[navy]

I'd be lying if I said that wasn't a big part of it.
To be fair, it's his first year coaching in the nba. Hurt feelings arent over there in Europe to the same degree.

And I can see why he prefers Thompson to Mozgov in the clutch. But that really hurts Kevin Love the most in my opinion. Mozgov isnt going to complain about minutes.