NBA Rumors: One day before the start of the 2018 NBA Finals, Kevin Love’s status for Game 1 is still very much up in the air
If LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers have any chance of beating the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, they’re going to need every bit of help that they can get.
And if Kevin Love isn’t available, their small chances of pulling off what would be considered one of the biggest NBA Finals upset in history, grow even slimmer.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Love is still in the concussion protocol. And his status for Game 1 of the NBA Finals is still up in the air.
No Kevin Love availability today “as he remains in the NBA’s Concussion Return to Play Program,” per league.
— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) May 30, 2018
Love suffered a head injury, which was later diagnosed as a concussion, in the first quarter of Game 6 in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics. He would miss the remainder of Game 6 and the entirety of Game 7.
During the postseason, Love is averaged 11 points and 9 rebounds per game, on 40 percent shooting from 3-point range. Love might not be the stat-stuffing contributor that he was during his early portion of his career – both with the Wolves and the Cavs – but he’s still a valuable piece to the Cavs.
And if Cleveland is going to push – or even beat – the defending champions, they’re going to need a throwback performance from Kevin Love. But that would be awfully difficult to pull off if he’s not even active.
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Concussions are nothing to mess around with, so it’s good that Love is going through protocol. There’s really no rush for him. When, and if, Love is ready, he’ll certainly help the cause for the Cavs. But the most important thing is Love’s health. There will be plenty of other basketball games and playoff series for Love in the future. His health should be the priority right now.