longstrangetrip wrote:Camden wrote:Love's defense is much better than it gets credit now-a-days. I'm not arguing that it's LeBron or Paul George-like, but it's to the point where it looks average in my opinion. I think it's been such a negative about his game since he started getting big minutes, but it's much improved this year. Average on defense, superb on offense.
Defense and passing have been the two biggest differences in his game from this year and last year (last healthy year).
I don't know, cam, I see Love as far below average on defense. I agree with you that he has taken his passing game to a new level this year, but he disappoints me with his defense. The one aspect of his defense that I like is his ability to "show". He does that at a very high level and generally hustles back in time to not get beat. But around the basket his defensive philosophy seems to be "don't foul", and as a result we seem to give up more easy layups than most teams. Don't get me wrong...I don't want Kevin getting in foul trouble. But there are times when a hard foul against a poor foul shooter is the best strategy, and Kevin seldom does it. He also is below average at guarding stretch 4's (he would have no chance stopping Kevin Love!) and I have been disappointment with both him and Pek this year on their lack of effective help defense.
He's still the best PF in the game because of his scoring, rebounding and passing. But I'm just not a fan of his defense at all.
Well, it depends on how comprehensive you define defense. If it's shot blocking and close outs on shooters, he's not very good. If you look at the whole picture though, including limiting free throws, creating turnovers, and limiting second chance points, he's actually very solid. He's one of the best defensive rebounders in the NBA and his lack of fouls not only keeps him in the game for offense, but it also forces other players to finish the shot as opposed to getting a free trip to the line. We're ranked 10th in defensive efficiency. A lot of it is because of Kevin Love.
The problem is that Pekovic has the redundant weaknesses defensively, which means that we give up a high FG% at and around the rim. Even when Pek has a beat on a guy driving to the hoop, his outstretched arm is never quite long enough to get a piece of the ball.
I personally think they need to get Dieng in the game sooner and nibble at some of Cunninham's minutes. When Cunningham comes in for Pek, we're even worse at protecting the rim. I think some of Dieng's rawness can be better hidden if he's out there with Love and a couple of other starters.
