With all the struggles the Cleveland Cavaliers are having lately, they decided to have a team meeting recently where the players discussed different issues that they may have. One of them was about Kevin Love leaving a game early and skipping practice last Sunday because he was ill. Some of his teammates questioned it, and now it has been reported that Isaiah Thomas led the charge.
It can be recalled that Love did not finish the game where the Cavs suffered an embarrassing loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday and was a non-participant in practice the following day. According to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, the two-time All-Star point guard started the questioning on Love, as he and some of his teammates were not sold about him truly being sick that time.
“A source told The News that Isaiah Thomas led the charge against Love, who turned up ill for Saturday’s embarrassing loss to Oklahoma City and went home after playing just three minutes. That reportedly didn’t sit well with some of the Cavs, including Thomas who arrived for training camp injured and didn’t play until January.”
While the news is not yet confirmed, it can still be considered a possible distraction to the Cavaliers, who cannot afford to have any more of that this point, especially after already losing nine of their last 13 games. If it is indeed true, it could cause a rift between the players and could lead to less chemistry on the court and more potential losses.
Love and Thomas have both received some criticism for how they’ve played during the Cavs’ tough stretch of late. Should the rumor be true, it may not help the team at all as negative news like this may result to more subpar performances. No one knows exactly what happened during the meeting outside of the players and team personnel and it could be that Thomas was only a mere participant in it and just gave his side about the issue concerning Love. However, the true test to its legitimacy is how they will co-exist on the floor in their coming games, which should reveal a lot if there’s indeed some truth to it or not.
If there’s any good news at this point for the team and their fans, Love doesn’t see the meeting as an attack on him. He even made it known that he remains focused on moving forward and start winning consistently once again.
“Did I feel like a target?” Love said. “I think everybody, most people, were a target. We’re trying to figure this thing out. People hold themselves to a very high standard on this team and we’re a team that can compete at the highest level. So, for us, it’s not about me.
“I’m not going to make it about myself. I’m sure with other guys, it’s the same thing. The biggest thing is moving forward. For me, the thing I’ve always done is kept my mouth shut, I continue to work hard and try to do best for the Cavs. That’s all I can do tonight and moving forward these last 35, 40 games and overall just try to help this team.”