Minnesota Sports Forum

Q12543 wrote:It's really tough to go 100% on defense 100% of the time when you are the offensive go-to player and leading rebounder. Even LeBron has admitted to coasting at times on defense. That's why some teams have had defensive specialists over the years, like Thabo, Bowen, Ty Chandler, etc. It's just really hard to be elite going both ways. Jordan did it. Kobe did it in his prime. LeBron can do it. Duncan and KG (although KG was not as good as Love offensively). I bet Love plays the best defense of his career this season simply because he isn't expected to carry so much of the load offensively.

100%, "we talkin about practice!" How about even 50%. It's not like he is asked to chase a guard around the perimeter out there. Playing the best D this season is a given because he will have Lebron on his ass if he doesn't make more of an effort.

sjm34 wrote:

Q12543 wrote:It's really tough to go 100% on defense 100% of the time when you are the offensive go-to player and leading rebounder. Even LeBron has admitted to coasting at times on defense. That's why some teams have had defensive specialists over the years, like Thabo, Bowen, Ty Chandler, etc. It's just really hard to be elite going both ways. Jordan did it. Kobe did it in his prime. LeBron can do it. Duncan and KG (although KG was not as good as Love offensively). I bet Love plays the best defense of his career this season simply because he isn't expected to carry so much of the load offensively.

100%, "we talkin about practice!" How about even 50%. It's not like he is asked to chase a guard around the perimeter out there. Playing the best D this season is a given because he will have Lebron on his ass if he doesn't make more of an effort.

Lebron was a negative rated defender last year. If he would of just gave 100% all the time, they would of probably won the title

people forget about how Lebron is smarter then everybody. Last year with the Heat, he pretty much had to do all the scoring, passing, and rebounding for the heat, and pretty much never got any breaks because they had no bench. Guys got more miles on his body then anybody and it's not close. Wouldn't be surprised if he's like 3rd in shots attempted on the team next year

alexftbl8181 wrote:

Q12543 wrote:It's really tough to go 100% on defense 100% of the time when you are the offensive go-to player and leading rebounder. Even LeBron has admitted to coasting at times on defense. That's why some teams have had defensive specialists over the years, like Thabo, Bowen, Ty Chandler, etc. It's just really hard to be elite going both ways. Jordan did it. Kobe did it in his prime. LeBron can do it. Duncan and KG (although KG was not as good as Love offensively). I bet Love plays the best defense of his career this season simply because he isn't expected to carry so much of the load offensively.

bingo bango

Love and Varejo will be taking A LOT of charges.

Love improved defensively last season. There were still times when he seemed to relinquish a free pass for some inexplicable reason instead of fouling hard or even challenging a shot.

But his positioning (and whining on the other end after a non-call) was significantly improved. He stepped in and was in position more often than not. Playing with better players. With a better chance to win after whining for years that's all he wanted... I think any of those "Love's massive ego" concerns will be dissolved by the end of November.

Will they resurface in Year 2 or Year 3 when the Curse of More takes hold after "possibly" a bit of success... or failure... and a sense of familiarity takes shape? That's a different discussion.

Love has 18 points in 13 minutes. Man is that guy gonna struggle

alexftbl8181 wrote:Love has 18 points in 13 minutes. Man is that guy gonna struggle

Lebron and Irving didn't play.

alexftbl8181 wrote:Love has 18 points in 13 minutes. Man is that guy gonna struggle

Alex, be careful...I can't remember who it was, but someone on the board was cautioning us during the last Wolves game not to draw conclusions from meaningless preseason games. Just wanted to give you a heads up in case he calls you out.

Actually, I think we can learn a lot from these games...about individuals more than teams. I watched some of the first half of the Cavs game last night, and Love was brilliant...on offense, at least. Defensively, he didn't play hard like he did in the first preseason game, but rather looked more like the guy we saw for 6 years. And the results were what we got used to also...18 points in the first half for Kevin, but his team down 3 at home to the hapless Bucks (who had the overrated, and scoreless, Greek Freak starting at PG!). It's just one game, but I think if either Irving or James plays last night and Kevin sits out, the Cavs win by double digits. Love continues to be an enigma...terrific offensive stats, but lacking the ability to lead a team to consistent victories, and that will b the book on him until he proves otherwise. Fortunately he has LBJ and Kyrie with him this year. As long as James and Irving are healthy, the Cavs are going to be the favorite to win the East.

alexftbl8181 wrote:Defensively, he didn't play hard like he did in the first preseason game, but rather looked more like the guy we saw for 6 years.

I think he is what he is on defense. He can, and has at times put forth great effort and played acceptably on that end, but it's not in his makeup to be consistent. Players can raise their level of play on defense for periods of time which is why the playoffs is such a different animal from the regular season, but they rarely make a lasting change in their MO. Love is never going to be a good game in, game out defender, and the Cavs are fine with that.

TheSP wrote:

alexftbl8181 wrote:Defensively, he didn't play hard like he did in the first preseason game, but rather looked more like the guy we saw for 6 years.

I think he is what he is on defense. He can, and has at times put forth great effort and played acceptably on that end, but it's not in his makeup to be consistent. Players can raise their level of play on defense for periods of time which is why the playoffs is such a different animal from the regular season, but they rarely make a lasting change in their MO. Love is never going to be a good game in, game out defender, and the Cavs are fine with that.

Yeah, I think you're right, SP. Love's offensive production and rebounding are going to give the Cavs a big lift. And players do seem to be able to crank things up a notch when playoffs come. We haven't seen Love in the playoffs, so we don't know how he will perform... maybe he can prove to be an average defender in the postseason by working harder. If so, the Cavs will be that much harder to beat.

"Fortunately he has LBJ and Kyrie with him this year. As long as James and Irving are healthy, the Cavs are going to be the favorite to win the East."

While this statement is technically true, let's not act like LeBron and Kyrie aren't fortunate to have Love as well. They aren't pre-season favorites without the best PF in basketball wearing a Cavs jersey. If you're looking to find the "least" important part of that big three, it's Kyrie Irving and it shouldn't be a discussion.