Why Kevin Love Is Primed for a Breakout Season in 2016-17

A Stronger Coaching Connection

During Love’s year-and-a-half playing under former head coach David Blatt, his play often seemed tentative due to the adjustment in establishing chemistry with James, Irving and Blatt’s own uncertainty about how to use him.

It’s telling that in the first few weeks with new head coach Tyronn Lue, Love’s numbers and overall play improved. Later in the regular season, Lue’s private reinforcement helped bolster Love’s confidence. With a mutual connection between the two, Love has the freedom to become more aggressive on the court. Those circumstances can inevitably lead to better numbers and make the Cavaliers a more dangerous team to defend.

Lue’s attempt at making the Cavaliers pick up the pace on the fly once he took over had its fits in the beginning. However, now having had a half-season and 21 playoff games to absorb it, the team has a chance to fine tune their approach and Love could be one of the beneficiaries.

Even with his inconsistencies last season, Love ended up second only to James on the team in the advanced statistic of Player Impact Estimate (PIE). That statistic measures a player’s impact and contributions in his team’s games. With Lue intent on making Love even more of an integral component on offense, it’s a number that figures to rise.

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