Kevin Love’s Place in the Cavaliers Offense
Oct 14, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) is congratulated by forward Mike Miller (18) and guard Joe Harris (12) in the first quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
The Cleveland Cavaliers are turning around their season, winners of eight in a row after starting the season 19-20 in disappointing fashion. Kevin Love however, has yet to play up to expectations. He is shooting only 29-of-83 from the field (34.9 percent) during the eight-game winning streak. It’s important for the Cavs that Love become a bigger contributor on offense, or at least an efficient one. Not only because Love is great and his offense is what the team will be paying a max contract for, either this summer or the next. But because other teams are willing to do so also, and having Love as an engaged and an integral part of the offense is likely going to help a lot in their efforts to retain him.
Love is only shooting 42.4 percent from the field and 33.0 on three-pointers but, interestingly, he’s actually on fire from the mid-range, shooting 47.1 percent—a mark on par with Dirk Nowitzki, Chris Bosh and Al Horford. Love’s shot distribution has changed, but only slightly as he’s taking the same amount of shots between the restricted area and the three-point line as last season (37.4 to 37.5 percent this season). Some of Love’s attempts at the rim have been converted to three-pointers from the corners, which he has shot already 78 of this season, compared to 48 total last year.
Love has shot poorly from the most efficient areas of the floor, but he has been getting good shots generally. On wide open shot attempts (closest defender 6ft+), Love is shooting only 34.3 percent, compared to 43.6 percent last season, and he has been getting slightly more of those looks than last season. If Love had shot as well on wide open shots as he did last season, Love’s Effective Field Goal % would be 51.0 percent instead of 48.6, and much closer to his last year’s mark of 52.4 percent.
Kevin Love 2014-15 vs. 2013-14 Points per Shot vs. Expected Points per Shot (from Nathan Walker)
Kevin Love Points per Shot vs. Expected Points per Shot in 2013-14 & 2014-15
There’s good reason to expect that Love will start shooting better. However Love’s shooting isn’t the most interesting part of his struggles, but how Love is used in the Cavaliers offense. Love’s elbow touches have fallen from 11.6, second-highest in the league only behind Marc Gasol in 2013-14, to 3.2 per game in 2014-15. That ranks Love 65th and just behind Udonis Haslem. Love’s assists have halved from 4.4 a game to 2.3. According to VantageSports.com, Love ranks 70th among 160 big men in Offensive Activity Rate (number of significant actions per offensive chance), while players like Tim Duncan, LaMarcus Aldridge, Blake Griffin and Marc Gasol are in the top-10.
Love isn’t a third option like Chris Bosh, since the bulk of his contributions come on the offensive end. Surprisingly, even though Love’s catch-and-shoot efficiency has gone up from 34.4 to 41.0 percent, he is taking more shots off multiple dribbles. 17.6 percent of Love’s field goal attempts have come after two or more dribbles, up from 12.3 percent last season. This points to the fact that Love is either shooting immediately, or isolating on one side while everyone else watches. Love shouldn’t have to feel like he needs to take a either take a shot immediately or try and pound the ball in the post every time he touches the ball because he won’t get it back.
The answer isn’t as simple as just getting Love the ball at the high post more often. And part of the conversation criticizing David Blatt on how he’s been using Love should also take into account that Rick Adelman’s corner offense in Minnesota was perfect for Love. But Love should be given the opportunity to be more active in the offense and not just stand in the corner. Nowitzki can be the most impactful player player on the court without taking a shot for ten minutes just by pulling the defense in his direction. And when given the chance Love is that player too.