Kevin Love is off to his best start as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers and his play might finally earn him a spot on the all-star team for the first time in three years
Kevin Love is playing his best basketball in his three years as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, by far. He is averaging 22 points and nearly 11 rebounds. Recently, he exploded for 34 points in the first quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers.
This is an NBA record for points in the first quarter and second for points in any quarter. The record holder for points in a quarter is Klay Thompson with 37, which was set two seasons ago. Kevin Love fell just 3 points shy of this.
Kevin Love was on his way to perennial all-star status in Minnesota. Love had three all-star appearances in his six seasons there. Many thought this would continue in Cleveland as it did for Chris Bosh in Miami when he teamed up with LeBron to form a big three with Dwyane Wade. It was obvious Love’s numbers would drop in Cleveland but people thought he would still be a 20 and 10 guy right away. To most, he had underachieved.
It’s not like Kevin Love has been playing bad as a Cavalier. During his first two seasons, he still put up all-star caliber numbers. He just simply didn’t make the all-star teams. So much was expected from him because of the amazing stats he produced in Minnesota.
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Kevin Love had great years playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves. In his six seasons there he averaged 19 points and 12 rebounds per game.
The three years where he made the all-star team were exceptional years statistically.
- 2010-2011 PPG: 20.2 RPG:15.2
- 2011-2012 PPG: 26.0 RPG: 13.3
- 2013-2014 PPG: 26.1 APG: 4.4 RPG: 12.5
In 2010-11 he had an astonishing 30-30 game against the New York Knicks where he put up 31 points and 31 rebounds. He became the first person to do this since Moses Malone did it in 1982. Kevin Love took the league by storm in Minnesota. Nobody else in the league was scoring and rebounding at the rate that he was. Love was considered a top 10 player around the league, even top five.
Ever since his “underachieving” season in 2014-15, there has been talks about how the Cleveland Cavaliers need to get him more involved in the offense. This hasn’t truly happened until now.
This season, he is flourishing under Tyronn Lue’s system.
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Kevin Love is playing with consistent aggression. He is taking and making more shots. He’s also shooting a career high 42 percent from deep. Love is getting to the foul line more than he has in his previous years as a Cavalier and is making them at an 85 percent clip.
If Kevin Love keeps up the great play he’ll be back on the all-star team. If he makes it, this will be his first appearance in three seasons.