The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Resting Love means winning not a priority
“Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing.”
History gives the late Vince Lombardi, coach of the great Green Bay Packers teams of the 1960s, credit for that famous motivational quote.
History has it wrong. It was actually uttered by former UCLA football coach Henry Russell “Red” Sanders in 1950.
Who said exactly what exactly when isn’t important here. What matters is winning at this point of this lost season definitely is not everything to the Cavaliers.
Coach Larry Drew decided not to play Kevin Love against the Brooklyn Nets on Feb. 13 at Quicken Loans Arena. “Rest” was the explanation on the game notes distributed in the media room 2 ½ hours before tip-off.
Rest? Sure, Love is still working his way into playing shape. But the Cavaliers are off the next eight days.
The Cavaliers who did dress played their hearts out in a 148-139 triple overtime loss. Jordan Clarkson scored 42 points — the first time all season a Cavalier even scored 30 points.
Larry Nance Jr., David Nwaba, Ante Zizic and Marquese Chriss all fouled out for the Cavaliers.
“We ran out of bodies,” Drew said after the game.
Love played the first four games of the season, missed the next 50 recovering a foot injury and surgery, played six minutes against the Wizards in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 8 in his first game back and was rested (understandably) the next night when the Cavaliers played the Pacers in Indianapolis.
Love played nearly 16 minutes against the New York Knicks on Feb. 11. He scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds in a game the Cavaliers won, 107-104.
The Cavaliers were off on Feb. 12. Even if he isn’t 100 percent, Love should have played at least some minutes against the Nets. It isn’t like he’d have taken time from an All-Star. We know that’s a fact because the Cavaliers have no representation in the All-Star game Feb. 17 at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C.
“First of all, (Love) is in a really great place right now, physically and mentally,” Drew said before the game. “Why push it? He has eight days where he can continue working out. His wind is not there. That’s the thing I see missing more than anything.
“Right now, our focus is the second half of the season after the All-Star break, and he’s a huge part of that. He’s feeling good. We’ll finish this out and come back the second half, have everybody and take it from there.”
Just as a team trying for a playoff spot can’t get losses back, a team with the chance of getting the first pick in the draft can’t give victories back. The Cavaliers, Knicks, Bulls and Suns are competing to finish with one of the three worst records in the league to have the best chance of winning the lottery and getting the first pick in the draft.
After losing to the Nets, the Cavaliers are 12-46, 1 ½ games behind the 13-44 Bulls. The Suns (11-47) and the Knicks (10-47) trail the Cavs.
Of course, the Cavaliers will never say they are tanking, and players never themselves tank. They are not going to miss shots on purpose. Their will to win is usually strong, and their will to perform well so they can be paid well in their next contract is stronger.
But not playing Love in a game like the one against the Nets is a way to increase the chances of adding a game to the loss column. It doesn’t have to be Drew’s decision. He isn’t out to lose; he is unlikely to be back next season. But losing works well for general manager Koby Altman.
Not playing Love with so much down time ahead isn’t fair to the fans who showed up at The Q, either. It isn’t even fair to the people who coughed up $6 a ticket on Stubhub, not to mention those that paid face-value for their tickets. Injuries are part of the game and fans understand that, but when there are no back-to-back games to deal with, the stars should play if healthy — especially in this type situation.