Cleveland Cavaliers: Will Potential Spacing Issues Be A Problem Against Bulls?
The loss of Kevin Love for the Cleveland Cavaliers will more than show up in the box scores. His lack of spacing ability could give the Bulls just the edge they need in the series
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The Cleveland Cavaliers are going to miss more than just 16 points and 10 rebounds per game that Kevin Love — more often that not — was able to spoon feed them throughout the season. It’s quite known that Love wasn’t the double-double, rebounding monster that we were accustomed to seeing during his time with the Timberwolves, but was also more than just the third fiddle many made him out to be.
More than anything though, the Cleveland Cavaliers are going to miss Love’s ability to space the floor. Cleveland’s offense, which is predicated on penetration (through pick and roll) from Kyrie Irving and LeBron James, needs Love’s shooting threat as a way to clear the paint.
He wasn’t just standing at the three-point line all year long because he didn’t want to get in the paint. That’s what his role was when this whole project started. LeBron James doesn’t want to play the power forward position. He doesn’t want to play in the post. He wants to penetrate and play a more perimiter-oriented offense.
In order for him to do that, he needs the proper spacing from the power forward position — just as Chris Bosh was asked to do during LeBron’s last three years with the Heat — and, more recently, Kevin Love.
Now, if LeBron still is dead-set on not playing the power forward position, that penetrated-oriented offense could get a bit more tricky.
For one, the Cavs don’t have another player they can just stick in the lineup and tell to do what Love was doing. They could shake the cobwebs off Mike Miller, Shawn Marion or James Jones, but what they get in three-point shooting, they will lose in rebounding and defense.
After all, Love is still 6-10.
Spacing
To explain just how important Love is to Cleveland’s offense, here are a few instances from their series against the Celtics (before Love got injured).
We pick it up with LeBron starting the offense from the elbow, Timofey Mozgov dives to the basket:
The result? A wide open Kevin Love, because he can shoot and his defender (Brandon Bass) is more interested in help defense rather than with sticking with the unconventional power forward shooter.
LeBron reads the defense perfectly and hits Love in his sweet spot, Love drains the 3.
Then again, late in the game. LeBron starts the possession with a basic iso clear out.
He then takes his defender off the dribble, Tristian Thompson (the center on the court) sets a screen on LeBron’s defender in the paint.
The result? Well, well — a wide open Kevin Love. Again.
Love hits the wide open 3 and ices the game.
Love gives Cleveland a deadly dimension on offense that it will sorely miss against the Bulls — and beyond if they advance.
Replacing Love
Cleveland will probably try to keep its bench unit as it is. They probably don’t want to slide Thompson into a starter’s role. For one, their spacing will take a huge hit and, two, they won’t have any production off the bench, especially considering J.R. Smith‘s two-game suspension.
David Blatt will try to get away with starting James Jones or Mike Miller, two of LeBron’s favorite reserves, to try and keep spacing as organic as possible.
Problem is — other than Jones or Miller not being as good as Love — the cross matches for both teams, are going to be crazy. Picture this — a starting frontline of LeBron, Jones (or Miller) and Mozgov — who guards Pau Gasol?
Joakim Noah will be on Mozgov and Mozgov will be on Noah. But will the Cavs ask either Jones or Miller to guard Gasol? Probably not. That responsibility will now fall on LeBron, something that he’s not particularly interested in.
The ideal solution for the Cavs is starting Shawn Marion, but who knows if he can still play? It makes sense from a defensive stand-point. At least the most sense. The only problem is that he can’t shoot. Spacing, dead.
Marion shot 26 percent from 3 this season, and only hit 12 the entire season.
The Cavs are almost in a pick your poison situation. They can either try as hard as they can to keep its spacing in tact, by starting Jones or Miller, or the can try to matchup with the Bulls by starting Thompson or Marion in Love’s spot.
Question is, which scenario do the Cavs come away with a series victory? Could be none, could be both.
One thing’s for sure though, the Cleveland Cavaliers spacing will have its issues throughout the series, especially early on when Blatt is trying to find a set rotation. And the Chicago Bulls will have a huge opportunity in front of them.
They just need to take advantage.