Cleveland Cavaliers veteran Kevin Love proved on Friday night that even at 33-years-old, he’s still a walking bucket. With the Cavs’ roster hurting right now with numerous absences, Love stepped up and delivered against the Atlanta Hawks, even though his team still ended up losing in a 121-118 thriller.
Love collected 35 points and 11 boards and became the first Cavs player since 1975 to do so off the bench. Via StatMuse:
His minutes have certainly increased lately with Darius Garland, Collin Sexton, and Ricky Rubio out, with the latter sadly tearing his ACL earlier this week. That being said, Love is playing a bigger role in the Cavs offense and he’s actually been showing out, averaging 26.2 points in his last four games.
The Cavs just went out and traded for Rajon Rondo in wake of the Rubio injury, but in order to keep succeeding, they’ll need these types of contributions from Love, who is proving to be the star of their second unit. Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen continue to impress as well, but it’s truly going to be an all-around effort from the entire roster if the Cavs are going to stay afloat amid all of their injuries.
We know Cleveland wasn’t so keen on his big contract and limited production, but Kevin Love is once again proving to be valuable. Let’s hope he can keep it up.