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Cleveland Cavaliers: 5 steps to repeat as NBA Champions

By Jacob Yturri

Jun 22, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; A fan sits atop a tree in front of the LeBron James mural during the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA championship parade in downtown Cleveland. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 22, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; A fan sits atop a tree in front of the LeBron James mural during the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA championship parade in downtown Cleveland. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /
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June 19, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) and center Tristan Thompson (13) keep the ball away from Golden State Warriors guard Leandro Barbosa (19) in the second half in game seven of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
June 19, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) and center Tristan Thompson (13) keep the ball away from Golden State Warriors guard Leandro Barbosa (19) in the second half in game seven of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

Step 2: Figure out Kevin Love

The Cavaliers have a slight problem. The team’s problem circles back to the simple sports mantra of are you winning because of a player or are you winning in spite of a player .

Enter Kevin Love.

Kevin Love was a good basketball player this season. He averaged 16 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists, making him just shy of a double-double. Additionally, Love made a decent amount of his shots this season— his field goal average was 41.9 percent.

Since joining the Cavaliers, Love has had to trade in the role of being his team’s top player to being the third scoring option behind Kyrie Irving and Lebron James. The obvious result of this paradigm shift is that Love won’t put out stat lines like he did when he played for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The issue with Love is that he is being paid a max contract, but his level of output versus the Warriors in the Finals was alarming. In the six games he played (was inactive for game three), the 27-year-old power forward averaged 8.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.3 assists.

In the most critical six games of his career (thus far), Love underperformed.

In order to figure this out, Cleveland needs to evaluate Kevin Love’s fit with the organization.

However, looking at his statistical performance won’t simply be enough. The Cavaliers organization will need to figure out if Love can mesh with the team offensively. If the team determines that Love is a square peg, and the Cavaliers have a round hole, then it might be time to cut bait and see what assets the talented power forward can bring in via trades.

If the Cavaliers don’t figure out what issues plagued Love’s Finals performance then they might create the team’s biggest roadblock to repeating as champions.

Next: Step 3: Take some time for rest and relaxation

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