Cleveland Cavaliers: 5 ways Kevin Love’s return will fix the team

Cleveland Cavaliers</a>. No team can lose a player such as <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/13/cleveland-cavaliers-5-ways-kevin-loves-return-will-fix-team/2/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/jamesle01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" ref="nofollow">LeBron James</a> and bounce back instantly. However, nobody expected their struggles to be this severe.</p> <p>After dropping the first two games of the season, the Cavaliers took a turn for the worst when their only All-Star, <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/13/cleveland-cavaliers-5-ways-kevin-loves-return-will-fix-team/2/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/loveke01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" ref="nofollow">Kevin Love</a>, suffered a toe injury. This injury has had Love sidelined for the last 10 games and isn’t expected to be evaluated for another five weeks.</p> <p>While we may not know exactly when Love will come back, we do know one thing for sure and that is he will have a positive impact on the court. Love, a five-time All-Star, is the real deal and will help fix many of the Cavaliers’ biggest problems.</p> <p>With his return, Cleveland will grow stronger. Perhaps the team can right the ship before it’s too late and turn this season into a more memorable one. Regardless, here are five ways Love’s return will benefit the team.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/13/cleveland-cavaliers-5-ways-kevin-loves-return-will-fix-team/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 5 </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_325832" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img class="size-large wp-image-325832" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/13/cleveland-cavaliers-5-ways-kevin-loves-return-will-fix-team/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F914997554-850x560.jpeg" alt="" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">Cleveland Cavaliers Kevin Love (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h3>5. Leadership</h3> <p>Whether you believe Kevin Love is capable of being a leader or not, there is no question he is the most experienced player on this roster.</p> <p>Love has been in almost every situation a player can be in. He went from a borderline superstar in Minnesota, to the third option in Cleveland behind LeBron James and <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/13/cleveland-cavaliers-5-ways-kevin-loves-return-will-fix-team/2/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/i/irvinky01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" ref="nofollow">Kyrie Irving</a>. He even had a brief stint as the second option when Irving left in the 2017-18 season and now with James gone as well, Love is back to being the star of the team once again.</p> <p>It’s safe to say that Love has experienced a fair share of pressure in his career. He has faced high scrutiny as the scapegoat for years and been forced to play through nonstop trade rumors. Despite this, Love managed to have a successful four years with Cleveland and even helped bring home the city’s first NBA championship.</p> <p>As a result of all of these experiences, Love has obviously grown as a player and as a leader. Having a player like this on the court will have an instant impact on the guys around him. When watching the Cavaliers, it is clear that they are still learning how to win. Love will be able to provide the timely mentorship needed to get this team through close games.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/13/cleveland-cavaliers-5-ways-kevin-loves-return-will-fix-team/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 4 </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_323175" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img class="size-large wp-image-323175" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/13/cleveland-cavaliers-5-ways-kevin-loves-return-will-fix-team/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F949700986-850x560.jpeg" alt="" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">Cleveland Cavaliers Kevin love (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h3>4. Depth</h3> <p>One thing the Cleveland Cavaliers are severely lacking is depth. Multiple injuries to key players such as <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/13/cleveland-cavaliers-5-ways-kevin-loves-return-will-fix-team/2/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hillge01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" ref="nofollow">George Hill</a>, <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/13/cleveland-cavaliers-5-ways-kevin-loves-return-will-fix-team/2/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/dekkesa01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" ref="nofollow">Sam Dekker</a>, <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/13/cleveland-cavaliers-5-ways-kevin-loves-return-will-fix-team/2/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=nancela01,nancela02&amp;search=Larry+Nance&amp;utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" ref="nofollow">Larry Nance</a> Jr. and <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/13/cleveland-cavaliers-5-ways-kevin-loves-return-will-fix-team/2/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/o/osmande01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" ref="nofollow">Cedi Osman</a> have attributed to this issue. As of now, the Cavaliers have given minutes to a total of 16 different players as they attempt to stay afloat.</p> <p>The Cavaliers only have two point guards and three power forwards on the roster. Because of this, injuries to Hill, Dekker and Love have left the team with little to no options on the bench. It’s extremely tough to win games when the Cavaliers are forced to give playing time to players that are usually used to being benchwarmers.</p> <p>With Love’s return, the team will not only gain back its best player, but will finally add some depth back to the lineup. The second unit will grow a little stronger and pressure will be taken off of the guys who are currently trying to hold the weight of the team.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/13/cleveland-cavaliers-5-ways-kevin-loves-return-will-fix-team/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 3 </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_273576" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img class="size-large wp-image-273576" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/13/cleveland-cavaliers-5-ways-kevin-loves-return-will-fix-team/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F10%2F693807784-2017-nba-finals-game-three.jpg-850x560.jpg" alt="" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">Cleveland Cavaliers Kevin Love Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images</p> </div> </div> <h3>3. Big scoring potential</h3> <p>Right now, the Cleveland Cavaliers have no player on the team with the ability to go off for 30-40 points on any given night. Outside of Kevin Love, only one other player on the Cavaliers’ 16-man roster has scored 40+ points in a game before. That player is <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/13/cleveland-cavaliers-5-ways-kevin-loves-return-will-fix-team/2/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/smithjr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" ref="nofollow">J.R. Smith</a>, whose career high is 45 points.</p> <p>As for Love, he has scored in the 40s a total of 10 times and even had a 51-point game back when he played in Minnesota. During the 2015-16 season, Love had a quarter in which he scored 34 points. This mark would be higher than the career highs of nine different players on the current Cavs roster.</p> <p>Kevin Love has the big scoring capability that will strike fear into opposing teams. At the least, he will force opponents to devote attention to him each game to keep him from going off on a nightly basis. This will remove pressure from the rest of the team and open up chances for other players to play more comfortably in their roles.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/13/cleveland-cavaliers-5-ways-kevin-loves-return-will-fix-team/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 2 </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_301421" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img class="size-large wp-image-301421" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/13/cleveland-cavaliers-5-ways-kevin-loves-return-will-fix-team/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F951292862-850x560.jpeg" alt="" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">Cleveland Cavaliers Kevin Love (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h3>2. Rebounding</h3> <p>The Cleveland Cavaliers are one of the worst rebounding teams in the entire league. Through 12 games, they rank 22nd in overall rebounds and 27th in defensive rebounding. Grabbing the rebound is the key to ending a defensive possession and the Cavs have failed to do this time and time again.</p> <p>A direct result of their lack of rebounding, the Cavaliers give up an average of 12.5 second chance points a game. With a team whose margin for error is already small, giving up this many offensive rebounds to their opponents is killing them.</p> <p>Gaining Kevin Love back will help to fix this problem. Love is a career 11.3 rebounds per game guy and is currently averaging 13.5 rebounds for the two games he appeared in this season. Furthermore, he has averaged 8.0 defensive rebounds per game during his four years with Cleveland.</p> <p>With Love in the lineup, opposing teams will not be able to grab offensive rebounds as easy. While the defense will still struggle to guard other players, at least the rebounding situation will be fixed.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/13/cleveland-cavaliers-5-ways-kevin-loves-return-will-fix-team/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 1 </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_317840" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img class="size-large wp-image-317840" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/13/cleveland-cavaliers-5-ways-kevin-loves-return-will-fix-team/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F958978634-850x560.jpeg" alt="" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">Cleveland Cavaliers Kevin Love Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images</p> </div> </div> <h3>1. Consistent scoring</h3> <p>In addition to being a threat to score big numbers, Kevin Love also provides a consistent scoring clip that the Cleveland Cavaliers are missing. So far this season, the second leading scorer for the Cavaliers is <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/13/cleveland-cavaliers-5-ways-kevin-loves-return-will-fix-team/2/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/clarkjo01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" ref="nofollow">Jordan Clarkson</a>. Clarkson is averaging 15.2 points per game on 46.3 percent shooting.</p> <p>From those stats, it seems as if Clarkson might be reliable on offense. However, in many cases, he is simply chucking up shots and forcing isolation plays that take the team out of rhythm. To prove this, Clarkson plays the seventh-most minutes on the team but is attempting the second-most shots.</p> <p>The next best scorer on the 2018-19 Cavaliers is <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/13/cleveland-cavaliers-5-ways-kevin-loves-return-will-fix-team/2/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hoodro01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" ref="nofollow">Rodney Hood</a>, who is putting up 12.9 points per game and has been largely inconsistent. Outside of Hood, not many other players on this roster are capable scorers. <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/13/cleveland-cavaliers-5-ways-kevin-loves-return-will-fix-team/2/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/sextoco01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" ref="nofollow">Collin Sexton</a> has potential but is still learning how to be an NBA point guard on the fly.</p> <div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="The 50 greatest NBA players of all time (updated for 2017-18)" data-url="https://hoopshabit.com/2018/09/21/nba-50-greatest-players-time/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2018/11/13/cleveland-cavaliers-5-ways-kevin-loves-return-will-fix-team/2/"https://hoopshabit.com/2018/09/21/nba-50-greatest-players-time/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> The 50 greatest NBA players of all time (updated for 2017-18) </a> </div> </div> <p>As for Love, he is the only guy who can handle being a 20 points per game scorer. His offensive game is by far the most polished on the team. When Love returns, expect him to shoot at a high rate and be the reliable scorer that the Cavaliers have been begging for this year.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">