LeBron James says Kevin Love is Cavaliers’ offensive focus
By Tom West
Despite having a host of talent and an elite scorer in Kyrie Irving, LeBron James has said the focal point of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ offense will be Kevin Love.
After ranking 4th in offensive efficiency last year, and having a trio of All-Stars, the Cleveland Cavaliers are used to being an elite offensive team. From Kyrie Irving’s acrobatic layups, to LeBron James’ explosiveness and playmaking, they have various options at their disposal. However, for their 2015-16 campaign, the Cavaliers will be doing things a little differently.
Last season, Kevin Love was noticeably underused as a post scorer. It was easy to see and they simply didn’t utilize the talent he has to offer. But now, that’s going to change.
Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com has reported LeBron’s comments after the Cavaliers’ authoritative 106-76 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night, and it’s clear that he wants Love to return as the offensive force he was with the Minnesota Timberwolves:
"“We’ll use Kevin however he wants to be used,” James said. “I told you Kevin is going to be our main focus. He’s going to have a hell of a season. He’s going to get back to that All-Star status. He’s the focal point of us offensively.”"
As the Cavaliers dominated the Grizzlies, the emergence of Love as their offensive focal point was noticeable. Not only did he lead the team in field goal attempts with 14, he also led them in points (17) and rebounding (13). After such a performance, he’s now averaging 17.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game after the Cavaliers’ first two contests of 2015-16. These numbers are nice, but it’s the mere fact that Cleveland are looking to Love as their focal point on offense that’s the key; regardless of the way he’s filling the box score for the time being.
In his first season with the Cavaliers, Love’s numbers fell dramatically across the board. He averaged 16.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, not to mention taking just 12.7 shots each night. All of which were the lowest numbers Love had recorded in the last five years, and despite being a 26 point, 12.5 rebound force in Minnesota the year before, he never received the some role in Cleveland alongside greater talent.
Primarily, it was due to not getting enough touches in the post. Love received a minuscule four touches in the post per game, which was almost half the number he had with the Timberwolves in 2013-14 (7.4). To add even more context to how little he was used, Love had less touches in the post last season than limited offensive players players such as Nerlens Noel and even DeAndre Jordan.
In other words, Love fell from being the 6th most used post player in 2013-14 to the 44th most used in 2014-15.
It took away his ability to make the most of his turnaround jumper and hook shot, and even limited his effectiveness as a passer to set up teammates on the perimeter out of the low block. Of course the Cavaliers have far more talent than the Timberwolves, but they still didn’t make the most of what Love has to offer.
However, this seasons is set up to be a year of improvement for Love. He’s back after recovering from shoulder surgery this offseason, and with a significantly bolstered role in the offense, there’s no reason why he can’t return to being an All-Star calibre player again.