The Point Four-ward: Loves to Pass

Four points I’m thinking about the Cleveland Cavaliers…

1.) The Cavs needed a win like the one they got Monday night at The Q.

For all of the talent accumulated on the Cleveland roster by GM David Griffin… for all of the increased comfort felt by head coach David Blatt and LeBron James, both enjoying much smoother second seasons on the shores of Lake Erie… for all of the “just mark ’em down for the Finals” sentiments floating around out there, for much of the season so far, the 2015-16 Cleveland Cavaliers hadn’t seemed all that dominant.

There’s no faulting their record of 23-9. That’s good for tops in the Eastern Conference and a much better spot than they were in a year ago, when they dropped to 19-16 with a January 5 loss to the 76ers in Philadelphia in a game that was played without James (back injection / Miami trip) and Dion Waiters (traded at game time). Still, these Cavs have often seemed like something less than a powerhouse. They’ve played down to the poorer competition. They’ve fought back against stiffer competition.

They’ve won… they’ve just made it look difficult.

That’s why their 122-100 victory over the visiting Toronto Raptors is such a big confidence booster. The Cavs welcomed one of the East’s top teams into their building… and then handed it to them. Kyrie Irving was Kyrie Irving again, James was able to take the fourth quarter off, Love and Tristan Thompson dominated the glass with 14 points a piece and 20 boards between them. Even J.R. Smith got some of his “Swish” back, going for 24 points on 8-14 from three.

The Cavs just flat-out clicked.

2.) But, really, this is a team that’s been doing a much better job locating its swagger over the last three weeks of the season. All but one of the team’s victories of 20 or more points has come since December 11. They have beaten the Orlando Magic twice, by 35 points and then 25, the Sixers by 22 and now the Raptors, also by 22. Put another way, four out of the 11 games they’ve played in that span (or 36%) have been victories of 20 points or more. Compare that with a six point loss at Golden State to the team with the best record in the league and then… well, that Portland game did happen. But slowly this team has started putting some distance between themselves and, at least, the teams they should be beating, as well as some — like the Raptors — who put up a good fight.

On the heels of all this good feeling, though, comes a truly tough test as the Cavs embark on a  two week road trip, which will include games against the Wizards, Mavericks, Rockets and Spurs. This is when the Cavs figure out how far they’ve come this season and how much work they may still have to do.

3.) There was an interesting article about Kevin Love — or, more accurately, about Kevin Love’s outlet passes — in the New York Times last week. In it, Scott Cacciola delves into the history and development of the move and its line of decent from Wes Unseld, the former Washington Bullet center, to the Cavs current power forward. The connection between Unseld and Love is not new; practically every article that talks about Love’s passing brings up Unseld as the outlet’s perfector, if not its progenator. But two things about this article that really stood out:

First, was the fact that Love could throw a perfect outlet pass long before he even knew how to shoot a basketball. Love’s father Stan, a teammate of Unseld’s in Washington, used to tape targets on walls so that young Kevin could fine-tune the two-handed hoists from his chest. Love focused so much on chest passes, in fact, that he shot the ball with two hands, just like if he were delivering a pass, until he was 10 or 11 years old.

Second, was Unseld’s insinuation that there are players who could be outstanding outlet passers, but they don’t look to ignite the break off a rebound with regularity because it takes away from that player’s ability to score.

“They could if they wanted to, ” Unseld said. “[T]hey had as much ability and strength and knowledge that I had. But the difference is, when you throw that outlet pass, you’re not going to get the ball back. So they would rebound the ball and they would hold it, give it to a guard to dribble it up, and then post up and get the ball back so they could score. It just depends on how you look at the game.”

In Unseld’s mind, the player who throws the outlet pass is unselfish and doesn’t care about his own scoring stats… but Love cares. Everyone knows that Love cares.

While no one has ever called the Cavs’ power forward “selfish,” he obviously cares about his touches on offense. He cares so much about that end of the floor that LeBron James made a point to laud Love as the team’s offensive “focal point,” largely in response to concerns — from Love and others — that the 6-10 UCLA big man wasn’t being utilized properly in his first season in the wine and gold.

Legendary coach John Wooden actually talked about Love’s balance of passing and scoring stats all the way back in college. Here’s what Wooden said:

4.) How much Love cares is going to be tested. With Kyrie Irving rounding back into form, Love’s status as nominal “focal point” of the offense looks to be in jeopardy. In the eight games since Irving’s return from off-season knee surgery (and his six games played), Love has averaged just 13 points a game on 41% shooting from the floor.

On the other hand, Love’s rebounding numbers have stayed strong and, if you exclude the unmitigated disaster that was the team’s loss in Portland, he has averaged a +12 in that same span. So, both he and the Cavs are finding ways to have a positive impact when he is on the floor. Right now, it’s just not a result of his shot.

For the season, Love is averaging 16.4 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists.

Extra Credit: Here’s a video tribute to Unseld, featuring many of his signature pin-point outlet passes.