After four years in the playoff wilderness and faced with the reality of a postseason return purely as a spectator, Kevin Love, at 34, decided he wanted another moment when the NBA’s lights shine brightest.
Now he has that moment, as he looks for even more.
Following his fourth successive trip to the NBA Finals with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018, this time of year no longer stood as Love’s time of the year, his Cavaliers out of the postseason in 2019, ‘20, ‘21 and then last year also out, after failing to advance past the play-in round.
And then came Sunday’s playoff opener for the former All-Star forward acquired on Feb. 20 after his buyout from the Cavaliers.
And then came 18 points and eight rebounds from Love in that Sunday night 130-117 victory over the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks.
Left with the possibility of not getting off the bench in the postseason had he remained in Cleveland, the playoffs again had meaning for the 34-year-old, as the Heat turn their attention to Wednesday night’s Game 2 at Fiserv Forum in the best-of-seven opening-round series.
“To come out and have a game like and just contribute, that was the biggest thing for me, to contribute,” Love said of Game 1. “Make these guys’ lives easier.”
He did just that, as needed, by shooting 4 of 7 on 3-pointers, clearing additional space to allow teammates Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo to operate in the paint.
“Allow those guys to operate and get to their spots,” Love said. “So I was able to do that. I felt like I was in a good rhythm and defensively in the right spots, and rebound the basketball. Those contributions were big [Sunday], but I felt really throughout our entire lineup, guys really played a great game. So I was happy to be a part of that.”
Love arrived recognizing there would be no givens, with the Heat’s rotation largely in place two-thirds into the season. That meant playing just 3:26 in the Heat’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the opening game of the play-in round. Three night’s later, Love played just 10:37 in the play-in win over the Chicago Bulls that got the Heat into the playoffs.
But now, a chance to appear in more than four games in a postseason for just the fourth time in his 15-season career, after playing 22:40 Sunday.
“So much of this league is about fit and timing, regardless of the player or situation,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “For us, there was a need for a guy like Kevin. It happened just at the right time. And he’s had to figure things out, but he’s an experienced veteran player that truly cares about winning. So those guys figure out how to fit in and compliment what you’re doing. That’s what he’s done.”
Smaller lineups by the Hawks and Bulls proved limiting during the play-in round. But the Bucks’ size and length should mean continued opportunities for the five-time former All-Star.
And it again could lead to a game of chicken by Bucks center Brook Lopez, who tends to drop into the paint as the anchor of Milwaukee’s defense.
On Sunday night, the freed Love from three.
“That’s just the luxury of being able to have a big that can shoot it,” Love said. “But again, I have to take them when they’re there and knock them down.”
To Spoelstra, that made it not only about Love getting his moment, but reading his moment.
“You can just never underestimate the decorated veteran experience of guys that have been proven winners, and that’s what Kevin brought us,” Spoelstra said, with Love having won the 2016 NBA championship with the Cavaliers. “There was a calmness to him, a competitive fire to him. That’s a hard balance to have both of those things and he knocked down some big ones to keep his defense honest.
“What [the Bucks] do is very unique. But he was able to knock down a few of those. His rebounding was good, his pick-and-roll coverage was very solid. But this is not his first rodeo. He’s been in a lot of these kinds of games.”
Knowing his place is all about creating space.
“Listen, I haven’t been known for my defense,” Love said with a smile. “But just having to guard guys who can shoot the ball as a four or a five, it’s really hard to guard. Plus, it just takes a rebounder and in some cases like Brook, a shot blocker away from the basket. So when we play a small-ball five or they play a couple bigs, I think it’s just the luxury of having a guy who can shoot it. But again, you need to knock them down.”
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