Cavs’ Love finds his range, gaining Sixth Man momentum
Kevin Love’s acceptance of morphing from “Uncle Kevin” to “Grandpa Kevin” with his 20-something Cavaliers teammates is an indicator of the five-time All-star’s renewed joy this season.
So, too, was his conversation with Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff at halftime of last week’s game at Charlotte, when Bickerstaff told Love to stop hesitating and shoot the ball.
The trust between the two, whose relationship goes back to Love’s rookie year in Minnesota in 2008-09, eliminated any edge in the exchange and resulted in an embrace after Love connected on his first two 3-point attempts of the third quarter.
“J.B. got on me. He said, ‘Why do you keep pump faking?’ ” Love said. “I said, ‘You’re right.’ I kind of laughed at it and he said no more pump faking. That’s why we had that embrace.”
Before those two 3s, Love had gone 1 of 6 from the field, including 1 of 5 from long range.
Love, 33, continued his bid for the NBA’S Sixth Man of the Year award with 25 points — 22 in the second half — and nine rebounds. He made two free throws with 1.2 seconds remaining. That enabled the Cavs to escape with a 102-101 victory over the Hornets before winning their next two games against the Pacers and Spurs.
Love is the last remaining Cavalier from the 2016 NBA championship team, and his renaissance couldn’t have come at a better time.
After battling injuries and being dragged down by three seasons of losing, Love has accepted his sixth-man role and found his shooting rhythm.
He is shooting 39.3% from long range, his best since the 2017-18 season.
“It creates a ton of space,” Bickerstaff said. “But he’s able to make difficult shots. Like those 3s, the majority of
them are highly contested. Those are demoralizing to opponents as well because they do contest. He takes a lot of pressure off a lot of people with his ability to make those shots.”
Tyler Herro of the Miami Heat is the favorite to win the NBA Sixth Man Award. Herro is scoring 20.1 points per game in 33 minutes, compared to Love’s 14.4 average in 22 minutes entering the Cavaliers’ game against the Indiana Pacers Friday night. Love had the edge on Herro in 3-point percentage (.393 to .378), rebounds (7.5 to 4.8), and effective field goal percentage (.545 to .502).
Center Jarrett Allen explained the impact Love has on the offense when he’s on a hot streak.
“It opens it up for everybody,” Allen said. “Everybody’s gravitating towards Kevin. He’s able to knock down the shot, his signature move: pump fake, one dribble to the left — shot. He’s posting up — turnaround jumper . ... He showed why he’s Kevin Love and his accolades and how much he’s done for not only this team but just inside of this league.”