Open Thread: Conference Finals (Bonus: Roster Review, Power Forward edition)

Good evening CtB!!!

We continue with a look at the Cavs’ roster, with the power forwards up next….

Kevin Love

Unfortunately for KLOVE, he had what might be classified as a disaster of a season. Coach JB Bickerstaff and the Cavs organization tried to play the 32 year old injury prone Love on a back to back with a gimpy leg and it pretty much torpedoed the season. He was able to get back on the court eventually, and while he started to round into form offensively, his defense has completely disappeared (-1.5 dEPM, 16th percentile in the NBA). Now half of the problem is Love losing whatever athleticism he had, and the other half is Love not feeling the need to try on the defensive end considering there are others who also mail it in defensively without any consequence (see: Collin Sexton).

Sadly, Kevin Love is emblematic of the dysfunction of the Cavs organization. He’s won the organization a ring authoring one of the greatest defensive plays in Cavs history and will go down as one of the best players in Cavs history. Yet, the Cavs organization treats him like an afterthought with no respect for his game. Fans clamor for more production from Love as he did in Minnesota, yet the Cavs organization has reduced him to a spot up shooter refusing to run any offense for him in the low post where Love did most of his damage in Minnesota. Moving Love to the perimeter also eliminated any chance for Love to use his elite rebounding skills on offense, with his offensive rebounding production plummeting while he’s been with the Cavs. This isn’t a problem that’s new, rather it’s been a problem for at least three years now in the post-LeBron era. Just look at the data, the reason fans haven’t seen Minnesota Kevin Love is because Cleveland has completely changed where Love’s shots come from and the amount of shots he gets, especially in the Collin Sexton era:

I am foolishly and naively optimistic about a bounce back Love season next year for a couple of reasons. First, he still had top 100 in the NBA impact on the offensive end this season in very limited minutes (+1.0 oEPM, 82nd percentile in the NBA). He’s still an elite defensive rebounder (30% defensive rebound rate, 97th percentile in the NBA). In the limited five man lineup data, it’s clear that Love elevates the team’s offense, suggesting he’s the most impactful offensive player the Cavs have.

Secondly and lastly, General Manager Koby Altman appeared to have an understanding of Love’s ability to impact the game. Altman ran cover for Love’s on court outbursts, saying that Love’s just frustrated with losing, which is 100% believable. Altman said Love has the respect of his teammates, and there’s no reason to think differently since Love is one of the only Cavs people around the NBA respect because of his resume. Altman flat out said that Love was never 100% healthy with his calf, and that there will be a weight training plan implemented to get Love to 100% health. Ironically, getting Love to play well will create a trade market for him, and getting Love to play well will also lead to much better Cavs’ basketball. So there appears to be incentive for both Love and the Cavs to get him to return to form.

Larry Nance Jr.

Nance’s season was a tale of two halves. In the first half of the year, Nance showed off the ability to be one of the best defenders in the NBA with elite defensive playmaking (2.8% steal percentage, 97th percentile in the NBA), and a top 50 defensive Estimated Plus Minus (+2.0, 93rd percentile in the NBA, ranked 34th in the NBA among qualifying players). Unfortunately for Nance, the latter half of the year was riddled with injury and illness, suffering a broken wrist, broken thumb, and a mysterious illness that caused him to lose nearly 20 pounds basically overnight.

In spite of those trials and tribulations, Nance is considered to be the most valuable Cavalier from a trade perspective, which speaks to his excellent play on the court along with his team friendly contract. But Nance didn’t just bring it on the court, he’s one of the most beloved players on the team because of how he carries himself off the court, so much so that he was nominated for the NBA Cares Community Assist Award for his charitable work in the Northeast Ohio region, raising nearly a quarter of a million dollars for local businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nance’s professionalism on and off the court should make him an untouchable trade asset. The Cavs simply can’t afford to lose a veteran leader such as Nance and expect to be successful. Here’s hoping that Nance will be a Cavalier for life.

Dean Wade

“James” Dean Wade was one of the more heartwarming stories of the Cavs season, showing off the ability to be a legitimate NBA backup stretch big with his ability to rebound and knock down shots. He also flashed at least average defensive playmaking abilities (1.4% steal rate, 48th percentile in the NBA, 1.5% block rate, 54th percentile in the NBA). The five man lineup data for Wade suggests a player who can be particularly useful in small ball lineups, with his ability to be switchable on defense and spread the floor with his jumper. Let’s hope that Koby and Company have been watching the importance of small ball lineups in the playoffs this season.