After running roughshod over the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks in the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Cleveland Cavaliers finally have a series on their hands against the Toronto Raptors.
The Cavaliers now head back to Ohio with the Eastern Conference Finals knotted at two and a six-foot-10-sized problem on their hands.
Starting power forward Kevin Love went ice cold in Toronto, making only five of his 23 shot attempts in the two games for a total of 13 points and 11 rebounds. This is the same player who averaged 18.4 points and 10.9 boards on 45 per cent shooting from three-point range in the Cavaliers’ first 10 post-season contests.
The three-time all-star is getting clean looks at the basket, but the results have not been there.
“I had a lot of great shots, I just didn’t knock them down,” Love said in the locker room after his team’s Game 4 loss. “I had a lot of confidence shooting the ball, a lot of great, wide-open threes and a number of them went in and out. I just need to stay aggressive. I don’t think I’ve been to the foul line in both games so it’s something that I need to keep telling myself.”
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While these shooting struggles are obviously a major concern for Cleveland, Love’s slump has helped Toronto just as much.
Raptors head coach Dwane Casey has been able to get away with starting Luis Scola at the four spot and not getting burnt early on. It would be a stretch to say the Argentinian has played well, as he failed to score a point or grab a rebound in Games 3 and 4 combined, but he hasn’t been exposed. If Love were knocking down his shots on the perimeter or exploiting Scola off the dribble or in the post, Casey would likely have to go to Patrick Patterson earlier in the game.
Instead, Scola has been able to log about 15 minutes per game as a starter in this series, which shifts Patterson back to his familiar position as the first man off the bench – the same role in which he thrived during the regular season. The move helps the second unit, and also keeps Patterson fresh down the stretch.
Thanks to his versatility on the defensive end and his ability to stretch the floor as a three-point shooter, Patterson boasts the best net rating on the team by a wide margin at +24.6 over the past two outings.
When it comes to defending Love, Patterson revealed the Raptors have tried to make him uncomfortable, but admits luck has come into play as well.
“Kevin, knowing he likes post-ups, knowing he likes to pick and pop, knowing he likes to hit the three, we’re just trying to be as physical as we can and force him into tough shots,” Patterson said following Game 4. “Granted, he’s missing a lot of shots. There’s not too much that we’re doing to make him miss other than being physical and putting a hand up. He’s gotten clean looks, he’s had threes, he’s had his post-up shots, turnaround jumpers that he’s been taking all year long, they’re just not falling.”
Love’s offensive cold spell is especially concerning to the Cavaliers because of his lacklustre defence. The big man is considered a poor one-on-one defender, and offers no rim protection against the likes of DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry.
Over the first four games of the series, opponents are shooting 52 per cent when Love is defending the shot attempt. To give that some context, the typical field-goal percentage of these players averages out to 43 per cent. If Love isn’t contributing offensively, he becomes something of a liability on the floor.
Making matters worse, the 27-year-old’s body is not cooperating, as he appeared to have tweaked his knee late in the third quarter of Monday’s loss. Love doesn’t anticipate having to miss any time with the issue.
“I stepped on the official’s foot, and it didn’t feel too great,” said Love. “It’s more the knee than the ankle. It will be sore tomorrow, but nothing that will prevent me from playing.”
The series is far from over, but one more blip from Love and the Raptors could move to the brink of truly shocking the NBA world.