NEW YORK: Maybe it’s the bling of his championship ring. Maybe it’s the security of his $110 million contract. Likely it’s some combination of both. Regardless, Kevin Love is more comfortable now — with everything. That includes his role in this system and his name constantly being kicked around in trade rumors.
Where Love once grew weary of the speculation surrounding him, stared at the floor when talking to reporters and mumbled brief answers, now he’s at least joking about it and smiling. He’s almost always smiling these days and certainly was again Saturday after he scored 23 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in the Cavs’ win over the New York Knicks.
“My life is so tough. Oh, rumor mill! Aw, God,” he laughed with a mocking tone. “No, it might have in the past, not going through it at such a level as here where everything is kind of under a microscope. The sheer number, just so many of you [reporters]. It’s funny. I don’t think about it. I don’t really pay attention. I do look at my phone but it is not like it is really crossing my mind or what is top for me at all.”
What remains important to Love is thriving on a team seemingly destined for their third consecutive trip to the NBA Finals. He surprised most everyone — including the players on the bench and his head coach — when he passed on a 3-pointer to drive the lane and finish with a vicious dunk in the second quarter Saturday over Willy Hernangomez.
“That’s a surprise to see him drive the lane and dunk like that,” Lue said.
Love insisted again Saturday he believes the back problems are behind him now and that was certainly the case against the Knicks, both on the dunk and overall when he outplayed his counterpart continually mentioned in trade rumors.
Anthony scored 17 points, but shot just 6-of-20. The Knicks have made it clear to him he’s not wanted much anymore in New York and Anthony seems resigned that his time there may be ending, whether his destination is Cleveland or elsewhere.
“It’s testing me. It’s testing my will,” Anthony said Saturday regarding his status with the Knicks. “It’s testing me as a human being. It also is making me stronger throughout this process.”
Lue is hopeful that Love can find his rhythm again after the past five weeks have been so disrupted. Between his back problems and the food poisoning that cost him a few days and 10 pounds, Love still managed to average 14.3 points and 11.3 rebounds in January, even though his shooting percentages dropped to 34 percent overall and 29 percent from 3-point range.
Now that he’s healthy again and feeling good, Lue expects the numbers to start climbing again as long as he’s in a Cavs uniform.
“He’s been playing like that all season before these injuries and the food poisoning where he lost some weight. That’s who Kevin Love is,” Lue said. “He’s capable of playing this way every single night. It’s not surprising to me.”
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ.