NBA Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland Cavaliers Have a Kevin Love Problem

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By @MattSamFolk

Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Cavaliers (18-12) had one of their ugliest performances of the season yesterday in a shocking 103-80 home loss to the Detroit Pistons. In light of the losses to Detroit as well as the Miami Heat on Christmas Day, David Blatt has been under fire from the media for his struggles to earn the respect of his players and to create a system for those players to thrive in. The problem with all of the criticism of Blatt is the difficulty in creating chemistry and culture so quickly as a new head coach on a team with so many new faces. The real issue for the Cavs may be hiding in plain sight: Kevin Love.

Love is an All-Star forward who put up excellent production as the top option while with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Upon his arrival in Cleveland, pundits pegged the Cavs as a potentially historic offense due to this unique skill set and the brilliance of LeBron James. That hasn’t happened as Blatt and LeBron have struggled to discover what identity the team should strive for to maximize its talent. Love is finding himself relegated to the third banana of Cleveland’s “Big Three” behind LeBron and young G Kyrie Irving, and the big man is not taking the transition as well as Chris Bosh did in Miami.

Bosh transformed his game to fit what the Heat needed to win, spacing the floor with his mid-range jumper on offense and providing relentless pick-and-roll coverage with his athleticism on defense. Though Love is one of the league’s top rebounders, his game doesn’t seem to be the ideal fit alongside LeBron.

Defensively, the Cavs have been mediocre at best and are in serious trouble after losing rim protector Anderson Varejao to a torn Achilles. Love is not an above the rim player, and his lack of shot blocking and agility on defense make him a liability. Meanwhile, Irving and Dion Waiters have been tepid defenders on the perimeter so far in their young NBA careers as the athleticism of LeBron James is finally beginning to wane enough to limit his defensive abilities.

The early returns on the new Cavs team have been lukewarm, especially for Love. The forward has an expiring contract and although it seemed a foregone conclusion he would re-up in Cleveland, the tide may just be turning. The Cavs’ front office should start testing the waters for what they could get in return for Love. While it is rarely the correct decision to trade All-Star players in their prime, Cleveland should carefully weigh the possibility of Love not re-signing.

The Cavs’ list of needs can’t be fully addressed by swapping spare parts as the supporting cast is desperately missing at least a perimeter defender, a rim protector and a shooter capable of steadier play than Mike Miller or James Jones. Any team with LeBron James is in win-now mode, and Cleveland may need to deal Kevin Love to maximize that potential.

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