Cleveland Cavaliers not worried about Kevin Love’s defense
By Sam Richmond
Kevin Love is regarded by many as one of the best players in the entire NBA.
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However, he has never been a rim protector and has received a fair share of criticism for his performance on the defensive end over the years. But Love’s new team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, don’t appear to worried about him being a weak link on defense.
Cavs general manager David Griffin on Love:
#Cavs GM David Griffin to Fox Sports Radio: "I don’t have any concerns about Kevin’s ability to be in right place at right time (on D.)"
— Andy Greder (@twolvesnow) August 28, 2014
Griffin continued: Love's "been really open about fact that he’s bringing a focus to that end of the floor that maybe he didn’t do before.”
— Andy Greder (@twolvesnow) August 28, 2014
Still, Griffin admitted that he did have concerns about rim-protection, but from a team-wide perspective.
#Cavs GM David Griffin to Fox Sports Radio: “I have concerns (on) ability to protect the rim, and that’s not just a Kevin (Love) question."
— Andy Greder (@twolvesnow) August 28, 2014
The fact of the matter is that Love will likely never be a great rim protector, but if he’s simply willing to put forth more effort on defense, as Griffin suggested he is, that might be enough for the Cavs.
With LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Love leading the way on offense, Cleveland might not need to be an elite team on the defensive end to compete for an NBA championship.
Love averaged 26.1 points and 12.5 rebounds per game with the Minnesota Timberwolves last season.