In Minnesota, Kevin Love was the leader. He was the face of the Timberwolves franchise and the best player on their roster. However, with the Cleveland Cavaliers he is not sure if he is either one of those things now that he is on a team with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. With a new upgraded roster, the Cavaliers are struggling to find team chemistry and get the right rotation going with all the recent additions. Love is part of that and he is reportedly frustrated and uncertain with what role he plays on the court.
According to Jason Lloyd of Ohio.com, Love is very frustrated with his role in the offense and his stats are showing that. Lloyd says that while the forward continues to put on a brave face in front of the media, he is very frustrated with how things are going right now with his new team as he attempts to adjust from being the No. 1 guy in Minnesota to the No. 3 guy in Cleveland.
Right now, the forward is shooting just 38.9 percent from the field while averaging just 16.7 points per game. That is down from last season where he would put up at least 26.1 points per night. It could be his new position on the court. The Cavaliers have the forward playing more of a perimeter game as 42 percent of his shots are coming from beyond the arc compared to just 35 percent last season. That could very well be a big source of the ongoing frustration from the All-Star.
"Usually guys who dominate the ball so much tend to learn a lot quicker than a guy like myself, a big man," Love said, via Ohio.com. "I'm just trying to find different spots in the offense. ... I'm not worried about it. I'm not mad and I don't feel any sort of grudge or anything like that. I just want to help this team. I came here to win and we're going to figure it out. We're going to be OK. It's still early."
Love is preaching what the rest of the roster is stressing which is patience. James said it when he signed with the team that wins were not going to be easy to find, but that things would slowly come together. There is no reason to panic yet for the Cavaliers. The team is preparing to face Washington on Friday with the hopes of bouncing back after a loss to the San Antonio Spurs. If James and Love can find their rhythm, things will get a lot better in Cleveland.