AbeVigodaLive wrote:
Yes. Defenses are incredibly smart and sophisticated at this level and at this stage. It's easier to defend a lack of spacing than to create it. Teams will dare Thompson to shoot. Not having to defend the PF (or C) beyond 8 feet lets defenders clog lanes that would otherwise be open.
The current NBA is very much about spacing. And for all his warts, that's one thing Love gives Cleveland. I do think Thompson helps defensively though. But I don't see the Cavs being a legit title threat without Love.
Not having to defend a guy beyond 8 feet can clog lanes. But it also provides rebounding and easy put backs. Somehow I think LeBron James and Kyrie Irving will still find a way to score without Kevin Love's epic spacing. Just a hunch by me....
Not saying they won't. They're among the best players in the game. But there's a reason why Cleveland opted to use Love (one of the game's very best rebounders) 23 feet away from the hoop most of the time. It's not because he forgot how to rebound.
Maybe it was a mistake. Or maybe Blatt and Co. did research and dug the extra spacing that Love affords the Cavs for a reason. There are actually metrics now to show the impact that a guy like Kyle Korver has on spacing. Even a single step that Korer's defender devotes to him 25 feet way from the hoop can impact the other 4 offensive player's effectiveness.
As I said, I think Thompson can post decent stats as a drop-off and dunk guy. And I think he can make them better defensively. But I also think the Cavs offense will miss the spacing/shooting/passing that Love provides. It makes the Cavs a different team... and recreating on the fly in the playoffs is not usually ideal.
True. But for me - it will be interesting to watch and I'm not ready to say they can't win without Love until I see it with my own eyes. And if they do well in the playoffs without Love - what does that mean for re-signing him?
They might not want to sign him either way. I don't think he's a great fit (at least not at the price tag he comes with). At least if he was playing... and he played mediocre... they could use him as a scapegoat.
Now if they lose, Love's absence might be a big reason. How do they convince the fanbase that they gave up Wiggins for Love... and then gave up on Love without making a legit run? The one caveat which you allude to... is if Cleveland changes how it plays and it's even more effective and they go on a huge run and win it all without Love.
Telling fans that losing Wiggins sucks but that they know what they're doing by dumping Love too is a lot more palatable when the person saying it is wearing a World Champions hat.
Tony Kornheiser tonight talked about the loss of Love, mentioning spacing, rebounding, passing and scoring. He mentioned metrics on what the 3 point percentage is with Love Vs. without, as well as plus /minus, win/loss. He is convinced this is a huge loss for the Cavs. For whatever Tony is worth
They're not a true contender without Love. It was already an uphill battle to beat the team that comes out of the West with Love. Lebron has to move to the 4 and the corpses of Miller, Jones and Marion are now going to have to play significant minutes which is less than ideal. Two stars and a bunch of role players isn't enough to beat a GS or SA this year.
I'm not positive about this, but I think I just read about 15 posts analyzing the impact of Love's injury, and not once was the defensive side of the ball mentioned. Even the Tony Kornheiser post didn't mention anything about Love's porous defense. Remember, this is a guy about whom Tyson Chandler scoffed "everyone knows Love don't play defense", and who was benched in the 4th quarter several times in close games. Yes, they may suffer some spacing problems without Love's long-distance shooting, but this is even more of an issue with Smith out for 2 games...after all, Smith shot more threes and with more success than Love.
The Love injury puts me in a tough spot. I was ready to cheer for my favorite Eastern Conference team, the Bulls, and I'm convinced they would have won this series (yes, I know the Bulls still have to finish off the Bucks). But now, I think I may change allegiance and cheer for the Cavs. I actually like James and Irving, and it makes our unloading Love for Wiggins even more one-sided if the Love-less Cavs beat the Bulls. Plus, I'm emotionally invested in my "Love doesn't make teams better" narrative, and a Cavs series win over the Bulls would provide a lot of support for this narrative :) .
I never thought these words would come out of my mouth, but let me give it a shot....Go CAVS!!!!!
Tough break for kevin love. I know some here dislike him but its always disappointing to see a top caliber player get injured in the playoffs. Its the playoffs, you want to see teams at their full strength battling. It makes the games better in my opinion. Big blow to the cavs.
longstrangetrip wrote:I'm not positive about this, but I think I just read about 15 posts analyzing the impact of Love's injury, and not once was the defensive side of the ball mentioned. Even the Tony Kornheiser post didn't mention anything about Love's porous defense. Remember, this is a guy about whom Tyson Chandler scoffed "everyone knows Love don't play defense", and who was benched in the 4th quarter several times in close games. Yes, they may suffer some spacing problems without Love's long-distance shooting, but this is even more of an issue with Smith out for 2 games...after all, Smith shot more threes and with more success than Love.
The Love injury puts me in a tough spot. I was ready to cheer for my favorite Eastern Conference team, the Bulls, and I'm convinced they would have won this series (yes, I know the Bulls still have to finish off the Bucks). But now, I think I may change allegiance and cheer for the Cavs. I actually like James and Irving, and it makes our unloading Love for Wiggins even more one-sided if the Love-less Cavs beat the Bulls. Plus, I'm emotionally invested in my "Love doesn't make teams better" narrative, and a Cavs series win over the Bulls would provide a lot of support for this narrative :) .
I never thought these words would come out of my mouth, but let me give it a shot....Go CAVS!!!!!
My legit question is how much better is TT defense than Love? It didn't sound like he was that great before this year so has something changed? Sure he may be better than Love but that may not be saying a whole lot. I'll sit back and listen if someone wants to make a case. I don't really are enough to delve into the numbers.
