5 NBA things to watch for on Christmas Day

Jun 10, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) shoots the ball against Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) during the second quarter in game four of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /

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4. Cavaliers vs. Warriors

Christmas’ marquee game is a Finals rematch and perhaps a preview of the Finals to come. Because of the players involved — LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Draymond Green, Kevin Love, Klay Thompson — there are an infinite number of storylines to pull at and dissect.

Of all the stars in this game, Love stands out because it’s hard to know exactly how he fits in. The other players on the list have largely clear roles — LeBron is LeBron, Kyrie is there to create chaos on offense, Thompson is there to get buckets, etc. — and Love just doesn’t. Despite ‘The Stop’, he had a forgettable Finals. He was benched for Richard Jefferson at one point, suffered a head injury, and really only redeemed himself in that penultimate moment.

Fast forward to now and Love is having the type of season everyone expected him to have after becoming a Cav. The numbers he’s posting this year — 22.3 points and 10.7 rebounds per game with a career best true shooting percentage of 61.9 on the highest usage rate of his time in Cleveland — are the closest you’ll get to Minnesota Love when he’s playing with two ball dominant stars.

And yet, the concerns still remain. When they go small, the Warriors will likely hunt him down in the pick-and-roll and who in the heck is he going to guard? It’s not hard to see the Cavs having to go small or lean on Tristan Thompson more.

But maybe Love can impact the game in a more positive way. He and Thompson could help the Cavs dominate the boards — and then slow the pace — but he also could make the Warriors pay for using traditional centers. When JaVale McGee and Zaza Pachulia are on the floor, Love at the five could draw them way out of the paint and create space inside for LeBron and Kyrie to attack in. This year, Love as also looked good creating for himself and neither of the Warriors’ centers are really capable of totally handling him.

This season, Love has reminded everyone how good he is and what kind of impact he can make. Can he do it against the the one opponent that really matters?

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