The Playing Style Of Lebron James Should Be Blamed For Kevin Love's Struggles
Over the past year and a half, NBA media and fans have been placing all of the blame on Kevin Love for his struggles in Cleveland when in reality the playing style of Lebron James has a lot to do with why Kevin Love is struggling. This is because during Kevin Love's tenure with the Minnesota Timberwolves, he had a diverse plan of attack when it came to scoring the basketball. For instance, Kevin Love would stand around the low post area at the start of a play and then run out to the three-point line where a teammate would pass him the ball for him to shoot the ball. Another example is when a teammate would bring the ball up the floor until he gets up to the three point line, then passes it to Love in the mid to low post. From there he would face up and shoot over his defender if he has a smaller defender on him. If he has a bigger and/ or slower defender on him, he would drive to the basket. Kevin Love would also get near the basket as his teammates were going to shoot so that he could get in position to grab the rebound and put the ball back into the basket. These are just a few examples of the versatility that Kevin Love displayed on the offensive end during his time with the Timberwolves.
However, the versatility that he had with the Timberwolves was taken away once he was traded to the Cavaliers because of the way Lebron James likes to play offense. As most NBA fans know, when the Cavaliers are in their half court offense James likes to have the paint relatively empty so that he is able to put pressure on the defense to make a decision on whether they will double-team him or not. If the defense double teams Lebron James will most likely pass it to the perimeter for an open shot. If they do not he will shoot a jumper or drive depending on whether the defense sags off or plays close to him. As a result of this, Kevin Love has been mostly a spot-up shooter who doesn't put the ball on the floor in fact during his 1.5 seasons with the Cavaliers he is taking 50 percent of his shots from behind the arc according to basketball reference. During his 6 seasons with the Timberwolves, he only took 36.2 percent of his shots from behind the arc. The 13.8 percent increase in three point shot attempts have almost eliminated one of the best aspects of his game which is offensive rebounding. As Love has been averaging 2.1 offensive rebounds per game with the Cavaliers which is 1.6 rebounds less than what he average with the Timberwolves. This is because Kevin Love is farther away from the basket when he is shooting the ball as a result of this he does not have enough time to get in position to grab the rebound.
If Lebron and the Cavaliers want Kevin Love to be more efficient, they need to allow him to be in the paint more often so he can use his offensive versatility.
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