Friday, June 10, 2016

Is Kevin Love the "new" David Lee?

Just asking. Warriors at Cavs; game 4, NBA Finals.    PB
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From ESPN.com:


...At first glance, that has almost nothing to do with Love. LeBron lets Barnes go, Irving is slow to switch onto him and Barnes obliterates Irving on the block as if he isn't there.

But that breakdown is actually all about Love, even though Love did nothing horribly wrong. Check out Love in the right corner at the start of the play: He's stuck on Klay Thompson. That is the hangover effect of a Golden State defensive switch on the other end that left Thompson guarding Love.


The Warriors love to do that: screw up the matchups, get a stop and make your head spin in transition as you try to snap back into your preferred assignments.

LeBron reads Love on Thompson as a crisis, makes a unilateral decision to switch onto Thompson and expects Love to reciprocate by sliding onto Barnes. Love doesn't reciprocate, and there is nothing worse in this life than unrequited Love. Barnes springs open and finally bullies Irving.

One bit of fretting -- Oh god, Kevin is on Klay! -- triggered a chain of events that tore apart Cleveland's defense in about two seconds. Love's specific limitations compound the anxiety.

He's slow-footed and he has never shaken the maddening habit of admiring his own jumpers while his man leaks out ahead of him. That crap is fatal against the Warriors....
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Link: http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/16097908/2016-nba-finals-cleveland-cavaliers-bring-kevin-love-bench

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