CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Now 14 years into a likely Hall of Fame career, preseason games aren’t going to move the proverbial needle when it comes to reputation. Exhibitions shouldn’t be considered a proving ground.
Still, few players needed a confidence-boosting tune-up more than Kevin Love, the oft-injured and embattled Cleveland Cavaliers power forward who’s seen his value crater since inking a massive contract extension in 2018 to be the face of the post-LeBron James era.
Two weeks ago, coach J.B. Bickerstaff spoke about Love arriving to training camp healthy and motivated. Bickerstaff said he was putting his trust in Love. That Love was one of the team’s best players and despite endless offseason chatter, there was a role -- albeit a much different one than at any point in Love’s career -- waiting for him.
The usual preseason caveats apply. These are games against teams that rarely go all out, don’t care about the final score, experiment with different lineups and only play regulars about half the time -- if that. This is when teams speak with optimism and announce playoff goals. There’s a natural happy-go-lucky vibe.
But Love looks … good.
“The reports of his demise have been exaggerated,” Bickerstaff said. “He simplifies the game for everybody else. You put the ball in his hands and everybody’s a threat. He’s still a good defensive rebounder. He’s still ... one of the best outlet passers in the game, so he helps trigger a lot of the things that we’re trying to do.”
Few people knew what to expect from Love after he abruptly pulled out of the Olympics just 10 days into training camp. The term “done” floated around Las Vegas and stuck to him.
Could he still be an effective player at 33? Had he physically recovered from that high-grade calf strain? Would he be willing to come off the bench after the Cavaliers drafted his long-term replacement (Evan Mobley) and then traded for a player with a similar skill set (Lauri Markkanen)? What’s up with those buyout rumors? How about his attitude?
Following the Team USA departure, Love spoke with a few friends in the military about the value of being available. Their messages resonated. So, he set a modest goal to play as many games as possible while also being a positive force for a young, impressionable, still-rebuilding team. According to Love, he put his head down, tried to stay away from the cesspool that can be social media and focused on getting his body right and game sharp.
“If I’m feeling good, I’m -- more often than not -- gonna play good,” he said.
So far, he’s backed that up. Renewed health has led to increased confidence.
On Day 1, Bickerstaff got a closeup -- and started to rethink some things. It quickly became obvious -- to everyone -- that Love was still one of Cleveland’s best eight players and deserved a defined role in what’s going to be either a nine- or 10-man rotation. Even though his starting days are behind him, Love can space the floor, knock down shots, take advantage of mismatches in the post and draw a crowd. Most importantly, he knows how to play, something that shouldn’t be overlooked on a team with six of its most important players age 24 or younger.
When Love popped off the bench as one of the first reserves, often alongside veteran point guard Ricky Rubio, the two brought a calming presence.
“We have to get him on the floor,” Bickerstaff said of Love.
But how? Is it possible to satisfy four bigs? Are there enough minutes to go around? What’s the proper range for Love?
One option is a lineup Bickerstaff unveiled early in the third preseason game, with Markkanen playing small forward in a jumbo, three-big grouping. Because of Collin Sexton’s shoulder injury, Markkanen started at the 3 in the final two exhibitions, looking more comfortable with every rep. Stealing minutes with Markkanen at that unconventional spot creates more available playing time at power forward for Love.
Mobley looking capable of playing center, in certain matchups, has helped the number crunch as well.
Combine that frontcourt versatility with the concerns at small forward, and it’s the ideal path for Love to log about 20 minutes per game -- the kind of total that befits someone at this stage of their career.
“We want Kevin to play as many games as he possibly can,” Bickerstaff said. “That’s managing his workload, that’s paying attention to back-to-backs and practice in between and all those things. That’s us working with our medical staff to figure that out. He’s making shots. He’s facilitating. He’s rebounding the ball. And he’s all about what we’re doing, which is the fun part.”
In five preseason games, Love averaged 6.4 points on 50% from the field and 43.8% from 3-point range in just 13.0 minutes. In Friday’s finale, he scored 10 points in 10 minutes, hitting four of his five shots before giving way to lesser-used guys.
The Cavs have been duped before. Some of this dialogue is familiar. Love has lost the benefit of the doubt. But even the greatest skeptic must admit the last few weeks have been encouraging. Around this time last year, Love was hobbled, suffering that worrisome calf injury in the preseason opener that left his Opening Night status in doubt.
That’s not the case now. The 2021-22 season tips off Wednesday night in Memphis. Barring something unforeseen at practice the next couple days, Love is ready. He’s healthy and buoyed by a successful preseason. Can he sustain that level of play? Can it lead to a reawakening?
“I think he’s in a great space,” Bickerstaff said. “We always talk about sacrifice, and it’s always easy until it’s you that has to make the sacrifice. I give Kevin a ton of credit. He came into what could have been a difficult or awkward or uncomfortable situation, and he made it easy on everybody. We feel like there’s still a lot left in the tank, and I think he’s shown that this preseason. Our goal is to get it out of him.”
General manager Koby Altman echoed those thoughts.
“Kevin is still a big part of what we’re trying to do,” Altman said during a recent radio interview. “In the locker room. On the court. Off the court. Kevin is back in really good shape. The injury stuff is behind him. That veteran presence is something we need. Kevin is ours. Uniquely ours.”
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