PORTLAND, Oregon. – Kevin Love again patiently waited for his teammates to leave the court, catching up with the injured Portland Trail Blazers CJ McCollum swingman, before starting another practice before the game. It was the fourth game in a row that Love was able to test his right calf strain – a persistent injury that has forced him out of action since December 27.
As Love continues to progress, a busy schedule with limited practice time has led him to wait a little longer. The Cavs are not going to force this. They will land at home after a disastrous five-game trip on Tuesday. Then, they receive the San Antonio Spurs a day later. After that, there are three days left before a meeting against Oklahoma City Thunder. The Cavs will likely train on two of those days, giving Love a chance to test his injury in a different and more competitive environment. If all goes well, he can play soon after. Maybe even next Sunday.
The Cavs could use it.
A band called Cinderela released a song about three decades ago entitled “Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone)”. While the Cavs didn’t need a reminder of Love’s importance, they certainly received a shocker anyway, especially with Larry Nance Jr. suffering a fractured left hand that magnified Love’s loss.
“I don’t think he ever left, the appreciation we had for him,” said Cavs coach JB Bickerstaff on Friday afternoon. “It is clear what he can bring. There is a lot of respect for what Kevin does and we don’t think it will diminish. I know how important it is to us, so I don’t know if it needed to be reaffirmed. “
Love initially injured his calf at the opening of the preseason. He returned from a two-week absence on December 26, the second game of the regular season, and scored 15 points from nine rebounds and three assists in 38 minutes. With him on the ground that night – a 128-119 overtime victory in Detroit – the Cavs beat the Pistons by 14 points. In the next game against Philadelphia, Love aggravated the injury and hasn’t played since.
“There are times in games when you can see ‘This is where Kevin would help us’ or’ This is where he would help us settle. I know now that he would make a foul because we are in the bonus. ‘ There are those moments when you see, ”said Bickerstaff. “He’s taking steps in the right direction. I would expect an update next week or so. “
With Love out – and Nance recently joining the injured list – Bickerstaff is left with a strong striker: Dean Wade.
Because of that, Bickerstaff was forced to be creative. In the first two games of this trip, he defied logic and used Andre Drummond and Jarrett Allen together in a crazy two-center line that looked like it came out of an 80s manual. The result was respectable against Phoenix, the team that starts a pair of seven feet. But the Drummond-Allen duo was a disaster against Denver.
Bickerstaff changed course on Friday night against the smaller Portland Trail Blazers, opting for Taurean Prince as a replacement. But until love returns, neither option is attractive.
“I’m definitely excited to have him back,” said Bickerstaff recently. “We have to put him in some live training and stuff, to see where he is and get his conditioning and everything right before I just throw him at the wolves. But, I mean, you have the opportunity to bring back a Hall of Fame, and we’re definitely excited about that. “
Cavs lost six in a row, five by two digits. They fell out of the Eastern Conference playoff table, falling close to the bottom alongside Detroit, Washington, Chicago and Orlando. Cleveland’s attack is broken and archaic, with pained Andre Drummond as the inefficient focal point. Ranked last in 3 points made and attempted per game, the Cavs broke the 100 point mark in less than half of their games. They are ranked 27th in effective percentage of field goals.
Love, a versatile exhaust valve and floor spacer, should help in all of these areas. He can unclog the paint, paving the way for Darius Garland and Collin Sexton. In Wednesday’s defeat against Denver, the Nuggets sent several bodies to the undersized defense area. The Nuggets were content to over help, disregarding any of Cleveland’s perimeter threats, and the young guards were forced to play in the crowd, causing the offense to explode.
An elite rebound, Love can also help a team that ranks 24th in the overall ranking and 23rd in percentage of defensive rebounds. Stopping opportunities for a second chance – and ending possessions – can help decaying defense.
The absence of love was not felt so much in the first few weeks. This is a credit to Nance – an initial quality backup and an unprecedented axis. But playing without both is paralyzing.
Despite all his frustrating failures – the bloated contract, injury history, bad mood – Love is still one of the best and most important players on the team. This has never been so clear.
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