It's easy to forget Kevin Love's even there when people talk about the championship team that ended Cleveland's championship drought. With LeBron James and Kyrie Irving as spotlight-stealing teammates, it's really hard for any player to stand out on their own.
However, the former UCLA Bruin and Minnesota Timberwolf is slowly gaining back his form. His recent string of memorable performances has people talking: is Kevin Love back to his All-Star ways?
People will be looking all over the place to pin-point where Love started his road back to his dominant days in the Western Conference. Many will likely point to that moment in the Finals when a tall, white man wearing the #0 Cavalier jersey was able to stop the league's most lethal scorer from the three-point line.
The way Love managed to stay in front of a player as slippery as Stephen Curry in a moment as crucial as the fourth quarter of Game 7 in the 2016 NBA Finals is nothing short of mesmerizing. From that point on, Love has been putting up numbers reminiscent of his dominant years in Minnesota.
ESPN shows Love's performance over 15 regular season games as nothing short of amazing. He jumped from 16.0 points per game to 22.3. His shooting clip is nearing his best offensive year in Minnesota. His three-point percentage is at .430, his career-best. He has the second-highest PER in the Cavs, behind only LeBron James. Most importantly, he's doing all of this while getting fewer minutes than James and Kyrie Irving.
The former Bruin is also making his impact felt in games. For example, his 27-point outing against the Mavericks was a revelation to many that Kevin Love is back. His touchdown passes are always a pleasure to watch. And of course, it's pretty hard to forget his 34-point first quarter against Portland.
While it's still too early in the season, it's fun to see Love getting back into his element. Seeing #0 grab boards and score buckets makes the Cleveland Cavaliers a very terrifying team to face in the NBA.
