The Cleveland Cavaliers suffered some huge losses recently, especially with head coach Tyronn Lue taking a leave of absence from the team for health reasons. Fortunately, they got perhaps their most key player outside of forward LeBron James back in center Kevin Love.
Needless to say, Love returned in spectacular fashion in the 124-117 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night. According to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com, shooting guard Kyle Korver acknowledged how nice it was to have him back on the court:
“I mean he’s such a threat,” Korver said of Love. “Obviously people are worried about him. He’s playing center and the centers have to worry about him. If it’s a big guy they have a hard time coming out to him and if it’s a smaller guy he can post him up. Just gives us a lot of different ways that we can attack and create triggers. I think there’s still some things that we have to iron out. But for a first night it was really good.”
There is certainly plenty of truth to Korver’s comments. Love made an immediate impact in his first game back since suffering a broken bone in his hand. The five-time All-Star registered 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two blocks in the win over the Bucks. Love did most of his damage from deep after shooting 4-of-9 from the 3-point line in just 25 minutes.
The Cavs still have ways to go before they are in playoff form, however, Love’s return certainly spells optimism for the team’s progression moving forward. The big man will be tasked with holding down the frontcourt until power forward Larry Nance Jr. and center Tristan Thompson are able to make their respective returns.