The morale is reportedly high in Cleveland. LeBron James, who was admittedly hard on Kevin Love last season in a way that disrupted the team’s chemistry, is on a better page with the star big man according to Ohio.com.
Last season James is said to have soured on Love from the outset because Love wasn’t in shape when he reported to camp, and wasn’t the player James had admired from afar. Because of this, James “gravitated” toward Kyrie Irving and it resulted in Love being used as little more than a spot-up shooter. This season, Love is in better shape, and James has chosen to call him the “focal point” of the offense.
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“I don’t know if that quote is completely true,” Love said, “but I’m going to treat it like a big opportunity for me and a big responsibility.”
So far, Love has been productive. He’s averaging 17 points and 11 rebounds, although his field goal percentage (41 percent) and 3-point percentage (32 percent) are still below what he’s capable of. His shot attempts have risen by two per game as well, so James’ efforts to get Love involved are working. This new working relationship will be put to the test when Irving returns from injury, however.
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Last season Irving was second to James in shot attempts per game, and as the point guard, he touches the ball the most unless James decides to play the point. Irving shot 41.5 percent from deep, five points better than Love last year, and much better than he’s shot it this season. Finally, Irving seemed to connect more with James on a personal level than Love.
Pictures like this perpetuated that narrative.
A photo posted by LeBron James (@kingjames) on Mar 12, 2015 at 11:09pm PDT
And just in a basketball sense, both Love and Irving need the ball to be effective, while James, the best player in the world, also needs to have the ball constantly to maximize his effect. If Love is the actual “focal point,” then Irving may be the one left hovering around the 3-point line waiting for passes to come his way. There’s no way to know if he can accept that role until he’s back from his knee injury.
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