Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love has had a difficult time adjusting to his new team. With the Minnesota Timberwolves, he'd grown accustomed to being the No. 1 option and the offense revolving around him. He was one of the most efficient players on the planet, comfortable almost anywhere on the floor. Now asked to take a backseat, it's taking a bit of time. From ESPN's Dave McMenamin:
"It's come to a point where I'm just trying to find myself in this offense," Love said after his lowest scoring output this season. "It's almost related to when you come into the league; usually the guys that dominate the ball so much tend to learn a lot quicker than a guy like myself, a big man. So, I'm just trying to find different spots in the offense.
"I'll just say we're 10 games in, we're looking at different stuff. I need to find myself. I think everybody knew coming in that we'd have to sacrifice, but at some point we're going to need some low-post scoring and some outside shooting."
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"Both ends of the floor, I think I need to step up, but as far as getting into a rhythm, it's been tough," Love said.
Few would have predicted Love would be shooting 39 percent from the field three weeks into the year. It's still early, and he's still as skilled as they come at the power forward position, but Cleveland is going to have to figure things out. It was obvious he'd get fewer touches and shots given the players surrounding him, but it's important to keep him feeling involved and engaged. He's arguably a top-five player in the league, but he's not playing like one.
In a loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday, the Cavs made a conscious effort to get him the ball early in the third quarter. After that, though, with the game close down the stretch, he barely took a shot. He finished with 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting. This has to be frustrating.
It's going to take a collective effort for Cleveland to fix its problems. The main one is obviously its defense, but head coach David Blatt needs to help his players understand what they're trying to do with the ball, too. While the Cavs are putting up big numbers on a lot of nights, they'll want to be more balanced a few months from now. It's surprising that Love is struggling, and you have to imagine he'll turn things around at some point. The question is how long that'll take.
Cleveland is 5-5 on the season, and its next two games are against Eastern Conference teams with better records -- the Cavaliers face the 7-3 Washington Wizards on the road on Friday, then play host to the 9-2 Toronto Raptors on Saturday.
