But these are unforgiving times and the NBA Finals are an especially intolerant terrain, and so Love has become anything from a lamented to a lampoonable figure, depending on either your choice of social media or how charitable you wish to be.
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Had Love been a really bad matchup for the Cavs against more than one team, maybe the idea of a trade could be considered differently.
Coming off a two-point performance in Game 5 of the Finals, Love is facing the wrath of a Cleveland sports scene that hasn’t witnessed a title in well over a half century. Because you go back to some of the other series’ earlier in the playoffs and Kevin Love wasabsolutelytremendous and when he was hitting his shots, he was helping to close out teams, he was fantastic. “They play five smalls, so he’s not going to be able to rebound the ball as well as if he’s playing inside against a bigger guy, so Kevin was great defensively, and Kyrie and LeBron carried us offensively because they had two very special nights”.
CLEVELAND – Annoyed with a question recently, LeBron James disavowed the experiences of his 13-year National Basketball Association career that includes seven trips to the Finals.
One good thing is that coach Tyronn Lue and the rest of the guys are behind him all the way. However, when he came back on the court in Game 4 and started again for the Cavaliers in Game 5, Love’s efficiency on the court was noticeably low. We just want him to go out and play.
The Cavaliers’ Triumvirate is their best bet against Warriors’ Splash brothers. I do know the narrative that Love is a bad defensive player has followed him – and continues to be proven in stories like this one about how teams have exploited the pick-and-roll defense Love and Kyrie Irving play. They’re going to say Kevin Love is a champion.
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There is a reason, after all, that James so badly wanted Love to be a part of this Cleveland experiment. “When the Heat won their back-to-back championships, the second championship Chris Bosh had zero points and nobody said nothing, so I don’t see why it’s a big deal with Kev if he goes out there and has two”. Love’s smile disappeared instantly as he awkwardly put his hand down.
