After starting their season with a tough loss to the Chicago Bulls, the Cavaliers responded with a strong 106-76 thumping of the Memphis Grizzlies. Kevin Love led the Cavaliers with 17 points and 13 rebounds, while LeBron James struggled a bit with a pedestrian 12-point performance. The four-time MVP simply hasn’t shown off his normal level of explosion through the first two games of the season.
James is dealing with a nagging back injury that required a pain-relieving injection earlier this month. When he comes off the court for a breather, LeBron lays on the ground instead of sitting on the bench. It’s something Steve Nash used to do because of his back issues. Hopefully it’s not a debilitating injury for him throughout the season.
If it is, though, the Cavaliers might get by, regardless. Why? As he told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin after the game, LeBron is ready to hand the scoring reins Love.
“I told you Kevin is going to be our main focus. He’s going to have a hell of a season. He’s going to get back to that All-Star status.”
Through two games, this proclamation appears to be true.
David Blatt is putting Love in more advantageous positions this season instead of just leaving him behind the arc to collect dust. Timofey Mozgov has been setting a lot of tricky cross-screens to free space for Love to catch the ball on the low block where he did so much damage as a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves. As a result, he looks for more like the dominant force of the past that never quite materialized in Cleveland last season.
Obviously, it appears that Blatt has found some ways to unlock Love. His emergence will be an interesting storyline throughout the season, especially when Kyrie Irving returns from injury – and if James continues to labor.
(ESPN)
