Kevin Love was ticketed for a bigger role in the Cavaliers’ offense this season.
But just how big on a team that also has LeBron James and eventually Kyrie Irving?
LeBron, via Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com:“We’ll use Kevin however he wants to be used,” James said. “I told you Kevin is going to be our main focus. He’s going to have a hell of a season. He’s going to get back to that All-Star status. He’s the focal point of us offensively.
“I know I can go out and get mine when I need it,” James continued. “But I need Kev to be as aggressive as he was tonight, and when he rebounds at the level he did tonight, the shots will automatically fall for him.”
This is a change of tone from last season, when LeBron said Love needed to demand the ball more and questioned Love’s confidence to shoot.
It’s as if LeBron learned all those self-created weird public feuds hurt more than they helped.
LeBron and Love famously chatted poolside over the offseason before Love re-signed, and it seems that talk could do both good. Love looks more aggressive, not a natural mindset when it’s so easy to defer to LeBron. Also credit David Blatt for putting Love in better position to succeed rather than just having him spot-up beyond the arc, as happened too often last season.
Love led the Cavaliers in points (17) and shots (14) in their win over the Grizzlies last night. He also scored 18 points on 17 shots in an opening-night loss to the Bulls, though the offense ran more through LeBron in that one.
This is a nice balance. How long will LeBron let it last, especially once Irving returns from injury? LeBron dictates how Cleveland plays.
Right now, that means a major role for Love, but that’s subject to LeBron’s patience.
