Flashback Friday: Fitting In…

Fit is important. When we buy new clothes or shoes, we expect them to fit. If they don’t, they can be uncomfortable or even painful. As kids, we’re encouraged to try and “fit in” to groups, clubs and cliques so that someday we might also “fit” into society at large. But what about a brand new, soft-spoken, 6’10 All-Star Power Forward? How would he fit in to this Cavaliers team? Would he be able to conform and sublimate his game to help the Cavs reach their championship goals?

So much of the narrative of last season, that didn’t involve the return of the King, invariably revolved around the second (or third, depending on your perspective) leg of the Cavaliers’ big three tripod, Kevin Love, and whether or not he was a complementary puzzle piece for this team. LeBron James himself brought things to a head on a Saturday night in early February with a cryptic tweet, seemingly directed at Love.

And while the perception of whether or not Love fit in turned out to be different from the reality, as exhaustively researched and brilliantly analyzed in this instant classic writeup by Tom in March, Kevin’s immediate reaction was to respond with one of his best games of the season against his hometown Lakers.

It was Sunday, February 9, during a matinee afternoon game at the Q, when Love got locked into place with a season-high 32 points, shooting 11-18 from the field with 10 rebounds. He also helped get the Cavs back on track after a rare road loss, making five 3-pointers in the second quarter and two in the third (a near perfect 7-8 overall from beyond the arc) as they opened a 26-point lead, en route to a 120-105 shellacking of the Kobe-less Lakeshow (flash back to Cory’s entertaining recap here).

On this occasion, Love’s performance fit in perfectly with James, who flirted with a triple-double, and Kyrie who also hit double digits in points and assists. LBJ shot 50% (8-16), tallying 22 points with 10 rebounds and eight assists — two on 3-pointers by Love in a 30-second span — in just three quarters of play. Kyrie added 28 points on a ridiculously efficient 10-14 (5-8 from downtown), along with 10 assists. All together, the big three accounted for 82 points, 24 boards and 21 assists.

Aside from Love putting it all together, the Cavs’ most sensational play of the game came on a lobbed inbounds pass from Irving to Iman Shumpert, who caught Carlos Boozer napping (or as Cory wrote a the time, possibly day dreaming about what could have been if he never would have lied to a blind man) and delivered a mean throw-down.

“He made a great play,” said Coach Blatt. “When your kids do something great, you always want to take credit for it but sometimes they’re just doing good stuff.”

During their 12-game win streak over the previous three weeks (ever since LeBron returned from his fortnight away), the Cavs had become the hottest squad in the League. Yet, the team’s rise also coincided with some scoring struggles for Love. Before Love’s breakout performance against the Lakers, his offense had been somewhat anemic for most of January, with the former All-Star averaging just about half of the 26.1 points per game average he put up in Minnesota the season before, on under 40% shooting.

This display against the Lakers was the kind of game the Cavs were hoping to see more often from Kevin, especially after he scored just five points, took only eight shots and sat out the fourth quarter in Cleveland’s loss to the Pacers two days earlier, that snapped their streak (which ironically began with Love taking a monumental charge against these same Lakers in L.A. on January 15).

Love, who had been saying all the right things during the winning streak, never complained about his lack of scoring. But, he did let his frustrations come out in one interview, saying, “I think it’s one of the toughest situations I’ve had to deal with,” and classifying his role in the offense as a “spacer.” He also said, “there’s no blueprint for what I should be doing.”

Which led back to the odd wording of James’ tweet, especially considering this quote from Love that he said back in training camp:

“I’m comfortable and just not trying to, I guess, fit in so much,” Love said. “I had a talk with the guys on the plane ride over [to Brazil] and also at different practices off the floor and they told me to fit out. Just be myself.”

LeBron was asked if the tweet was for someone in particular.

“It was more about people in general,” James told a large media group. “It was a general thought I had. Obviously, whatever thought I have people try to encrypt it and Da Vinci code it. People are always trying to fit out instead of fit in and be part of something special. That’s what it’s all about.”

Later, to a smaller group of reporters, James indicated the tweet was aimed at Love, and he responded with, “It’s not a coincidence, man.”

While James’ message was interpreted in some corners as somewhat confusing and possibly passive aggressive, he made a point on Sunday to pass to Love early and often, and helped him get his season-high in points. According to reports, he even drew up plays during a timeout to keep getting Love the ball, because, as James himself said, “He had the hot hand, I wanted to keep going to him. We need Kev to play at a high level. We know he can shoot the ball. We expect a lot out of him and he gave us everything he had tonight. It was great.”

“It’s huge,” Love said after the game when asked about James targeting him with passes. “Whether I’m running the floor and ducking in or he’s calling a play for me to get it inside or out, he’s one of the best in the league at setting guys up. So when I’m on the other end of that and it’s a crisp pass coming from him, it’s going to be a good look.”

Yet the tweet was undoubtedly part of the discussion during the off-season clearing of the air conversation that Love and LBJ had poolside at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills. But, given that Kev signed a 5-year/$110M max deal shortly after the free agency period kicked in, and from the sound of the video he posted on The Players’ Tribune, it sure seems like he’s finally found a place that fits.

And, based on what LeBron had to say about him in his chat with the media yesterday, he would agree…

“I was one of the people that wanted him there when we made the trade last summer. The fact that he committed to us let me know the type of guy we have,” said LeBron. “I think he’s going to be great for us. I think he’ll be an All-Star this year. And a much more vocal part of team this season.”

A fitting statement, indeed…