Who was the best at their peak? Minnesota Towns, Toronto Bosh, or Minnesota Love?

[Im Still Ballin]

You can define peak however you want. If it's single-season, that's going to correspond to 2009-10 for Bosh and 2013-14 for Love. I'm not sure which season for Towns.

[tpols]

Bosh very slightly > Love = Towns for me.

[ShawkFactory]

At their peak as solo guys? Probably Love > Towns > Bosh.

But if I’m trying to win and they’ll be second or third scoring options then give me Bosh for sure. Love and Towns are similar in softness and unpredictability night to night. Love did more things well though so probably him over Towns.

[Monta Ellis MVP]

They are all pretty close. At first thought I would go with Kevin Love. His production was excellent. He had a very long streak of double double games, won a rebounding title. Very efficient scoring. He had some poor teammates so some people completely invalidate the season like it never existed or something.

Chris Bosh and KAT are close too. I would maybe go with KAT slightly? I don’t think KAT would have been as good on the Heat when compared to Bosh though. Doesn’t have the foot speed to replicate Bosh’s role on defense.

[Xiao Yao You]

Bosh certainly

[90sgoat]

They're about the same but Love probably is the one who had the highest potential.

[Im Still Ballin]

Minnesota from 2011-12 to 2013-14:

with K. Love: 72-78 (48%/39.4 win pace); 107.9 ORtg; 106.5 DRtg; +1.4 NRtg
without K. Love: 25-55 (31%/25.6 win pace); 102.4 ORtg; 106.8 DRtg; -4.4 NRtg

+5.5 ORtg; -0.3 DRtg; +5.8 NRtg

[dankok8]

It's close but I'd say Love > Bosh > KAT.

[Kblaze8855]

Bosh least talented but probably the best teammate which makes up for it.

[90sgoat]

Love was a much better passer than the other two, which isn't considered enough.

[2swift4u]

Love.

[dankok8]

Minnesota from 2011-12 to 2013-14:

with K. Love: 72-78 (48%/39.4 win pace); 107.9 ORtg; 106.5 DRtg; +1.4 NRtg
without K. Love: 25-55 (31%/25.6 win pace); 102.4 ORtg; 106.8 DRtg; -4.4 NRtg

+5.5 ORtg; -0.3 DRtg; +5.8 NRtg

This got me thinking.

The Wolves in 2014 with Love were actually very good. 40-42 and a +3.10 SRS which was 9th best in the league. In games that Love actually played, the Wolves were 39-38 with a +3.40 MOV. They played like a 50-win team but struggled to close games. His reputation as a statpadder on a bad team is pretty darn unfair. You can blame him becoming injury prone once in Cleveland but his combination of scoring, rebounding and passing is historically great actually. Not many players in history had a 26.1/12.5/4.4 line on +5.0 rTS that he had in 2014. And he actually had winning impact.

[Im Still Ballin]

This got me thinking.

The Wolves in 2014 with Love were actually very good. 40-42 and a +3.10 SRS which was 9th best in the league. In games that Love actually played, the Wolves were 39-38 with a +3.40 MOV. They played like a 50-win team but struggled to close games. His reputation as a statpadder on a bad team is pretty darn unfair. You can blame him becoming injury prone once in Cleveland but his combination of scoring, rebounding and passing is historically great actually. Not many players in history had a 26.1/12.5/4.4 line on +5.0 rTS that he had in 2014. And he actually had winning impact.

Yeah, and that 2014 supporting cast was nothing special at all. Kevin never played with an ideal center, even in Cleveland. The closest was Mozgov for 40 or so games in 2014-15. That Kyrie-Smith-LeBron-Love-Mozgov lineup was incredibly elite:

Basketball Reference: +20.8 per 100 (478:58 minutes played)
NBA.com: +20.4 net rating (116.2 ORtg; 95.8 DRtg) (481 minutes played)

Right there with Curry-Thompson-Barnes-Green-Bogut as the best starting lineup that year.

I would've loved to have seen him play with Bogut, Gasol, Gobert, or even old Duncan around that time. Like Bosh, he was the sacrificial lamb. Put him on a team like those Vogel Pacers or 2010s Spurs that can defensively insulate guys like David Lee and he'd look like a legitimate top 5, All-NBA 1st team, MVP guy.

[tpols]

Love was a much better passer than the other two, which isn't considered enough.

Also a better rebounder. Being a 6'7 white guy rebounding champion is crazy. He had a nose for the ball.

[Im Still Ballin]

Hell, GSW had the best starting lineup in the NBA for the 2013-14 season. That's Curry-Klay-Iguodala-Lee-Bogut.

Basketball Reference: +16.0 per 100 (817:28 minutes played)
NBA.com: +15.5 net rating (112.4 ORtg; 96.9 DRtg) (819 minutes played)

Love needed to play alongside a big defensive center to offset his limitations on defense. David Lee is a good physical/size/defensive comparison.

Imagine if GSW made that Klay/Love trade. They made the right decision but it's interesting to think about. They still win 2014-15 in my opinion. Kevin fits that motion offense well and they have the personnel to maximize his strengths and minimize his weaknesses.

[dankok8]

Yeah, and that 2014 supporting cast was nothing special at all. Kevin never played with an ideal center, even in Cleveland. The closest was Mozgov for 40 or so games in 2014-15. That Kyrie-Smith-LeBron-Love-Mozgov lineup was incredibly elite:

Basketball Reference: +20.8 per 100 (478:58 minutes played)
NBA.com: +20.4 net rating (116.2 ORtg; 95.8 DRtg) (481 minutes played)

Right there with Curry-Thompson-Barnes-Green-Bogut as the best starting lineup that year.

I would've loved to have seen him play with Bogut, Gasol, Gobert, or even old Duncan around that time. Like Bosh, he was the sacrificial lamb. Put him on a team like those Vogel Pacers or 2010s Spurs that can defensively insulate guys like David Lee and he'd look like a legitimate top 5, All-NBA 1st team, MVP guy.

Mozgov was incredible in 2015. He low key had DPOY potential that year including in the playoffs. Dude was an absolute wall. In 2016, Love was healthy and with Tristan taking a step, Mozgov lost minutes and faded away.

[Im Still Ballin]

2013-14 Minnesota in 77 games with K. Love: +3.2 rORtg; -0.3 rDRtg
2013-14 Minnesota in 2787 minutes with K. Love on-court: +4.9 rORtg (111.6 ORtg); -0.7 rDRtg (106.0 DRtg)

Swap him out for LaMarcus Aldridge, David Lee, Zach Randolph, Boris Diaw, David West, or Carlos Boozer. Those are the six ideal 2013-14 teams I've identified. Put him in Boozer's place and Chicago is probably the #1 seed and he's getting MVP votes instead of Joakim. Probably a strong 3rd behind KD and LeBron and ahead of Blake.

[Im Still Ballin]

Mozgov was incredible in 2015. He low key had DPOY potential that year including in the playoffs. Dude was an absolute wall. In 2016, Love was healthy and with Tristan taking a step, Mozgov lost minutes and faded away.

Did Mozgov lose a step or something after 2014-15? He was such an integral piece to that mid-season turnaround.

[dankok8]

Did Mozgov lose a step or something after 2014-15? He was such an integral piece to that mid-season turnaround.

I'm not sure. I just think with Love healthy and TT improving, they just gave those guys minutes at the expense of Mozgov. And they probably thought that small ball style without Mozgov fit better against GS. I actually disagree. I think the most fits the Cavs ever gave GS was in the 2015 Finals with big lineups.