Love: ‘Condensed’ season could favor Cavs
From any vantage point, Kevin Love doesn’t yet believe the 2020-21 Cavaliers have established their identity. But he knows he needs to be part of the leadership groupformedby a collection of veteran big men.
Love missed the Cavs’ regular season openerWednesday night, a 121-114win over the CharlotteHornets. Love was able to practice on Saturday, though, and was set to play against the Pistons in Detroit on Saturday night.
Love had been dealing with a calf strain, and althoughWednesday night’s game was the goal for his return, the team doctors thought it wise to allowhim a few extra days of rest.
“I just got kicked in the leg and then just a ton of swelling in that calf, so it kind of felt like a calf strain,” Love said on a Zoom call. “It kind of went all the way up and down my calf, all theway into myAchilles, so we just had to get that swelling out of therebefore I could get back on the floor.”
While watching from the bench, Love’s contributions came from more of a mentor’s perspective. Darius Garland struggled to open the game on Wednesday night before Love took him aside.
“Darius, a slowstart in that first quarter but I just kind of wrappedmy arm around him and said, ‘ You know, got that one out the way,’” Love said. “Like I said for everyone, it might be ugly, might be sloppy to start. The last three quarters, he was great. Rebounded the ball, passed the ball, and then we all knowhe can score it. That was great from him.”
The Cavs’ roster is heavy on veteran big men and youthful guards, with Love joining Andre Drummond and JaValeMcGee as some of the most experienced players on the roster. Aside from the on-court responsibilities, part of the Cavs cultivating their identity will rely on those three and others helping Garland, Collin Sexton, Kevin Porter Jr. and rookie IsaacOkoroonthewingfrom a veteran standpoint.
“I mentioned the bigs having more years in this league than some of our guards, and the younger players on the team, just bringing them along,” Love said. “But it’s just that, I guess, that fresh start, it’s going to be a condensedseason. We’relooking at, it could be a playoff situationwhere it’s 7-through-10, so we feel like we have an opportunity to really make something happen here.
“And we have fresh legs more than anything. We all miss the game. I talkedabout myself falling in love with the gameagain this summerand just missing it. I think that’s been kind of the constant theme throughout, is us just wanting to get back on the floor and feeling energized.”
That first test, as Love sees it, might begin with the Cavs’ first back-to-back that ends at home against the Philadelphia 76ers tonight.
“Well, I said all along that you don’t really know what type of team you are until you face adversity, butwhat I’ve felt this entire time being around this group is a sense of togetherness, a feeling of playing for each other, and that goes fromeverything to makingtheextrapasstohelping your teammate up, celebrating each other to off the court just gelling,” Love said.
“I think that’s a big break for us, just our attention to detail andwanting to be better out there on the floor,” he added.
Celtics Hall of Famer K.C. Jones dies at 88
Basketball Hall of Famer K.C. Jones, an Olympic gold medalist and two-timeNCAA champion who won eight straight NBA titles during the Celtics’ Bill Russell era and then coached the Boston teams with Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish to two more championships in the 1980s, has died. He was 88.
TheCeltics said Jones’ family confirmed that he died on Friday at an assisted living facility in Connecticut, where he had been receiving care for Alzheimer’s disease for several years.
“K.C. was the nicest man I ever met. He always went out of his way tomake people feel good, it was such an honor to play for him,“Bird said in a statement. “His accomplishments are too many to list, but, tome, his greatestaccomplishmentwas being such an outstanding person to all who had the privilege of knowing him, I will miss him dearly.”
Leonard needs eight stitches after collision
Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard received eight stitches Friday after suffering a lacerated mouth while attempting to grab a rebound during the team’s 121-108 victory in Denver.
A timetable for his return is not yet known. The Clippers next play today at Staples Center against Dallas, with games on Tuesday and Wednesday, as well.
Leonard fell to the court inside Denver’s Ball Arena after the left side of his face was hit by the right elbow of teammate Serge Ibaka halfway through the fourth quarter. Television replays showed blood coming from Leonard’smouth as the Clippers’ medical staff huddled around him.