Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (8). Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
Preseason is no time to judge offensive output, but Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love is ready for more touches.
Specifically, he wants the ball in the paint more frequently.
“The offense is built that way but I just have to make a conscious decision to get myself in there,” Love told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “There are a lot of times where I just find myself fading to the three-point line. For me, it’s a mentality and that’s easy to fix.”
With shooting guard Dion Waiters leading the team in preseason shot attempts — first-ear head coach David Blatt said this week that should not be the case when games matter — and stars at nearly every position, Love is still in the breaking-in phase with his new team. The All-Star was one of the only offensive threats with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Now he’s sharing the load with point guard Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, Waiters and a bench with significant depth.
“My entire life I’ve played the game from inside-out,” Love continued. “So the more touches I can get inside to get myself going, the better. I’m not accustomed to starting out a game shooting a three, so it’s just something that I see. I’m 26-years-old and I’ve been playing basketball for quite a long time. Just finding ways to mix it up. If anything, keeping it around the basket a little bit more and the offense will allow me to get offensive rebounds. That will be tough for teams with Andy [Varejao] and myself and Tristan (Thompson) in there.”
