Basketball is a different sport. It’s the only sport where you have to transition from offense to defense or vice versa on a moment’s notice. It’s also a sport where you can execute a play perfectly, and the shooter misses a shot or you can do everything wrong, and a player puts a ridiculous shot in the hoop.
It’s also a sport where too many people look at numbers and think about how the player with those statistics can fit in with their team.
That was the case when the Cavaliers traded for Kevin Love prior to the 2014-15 season. Many people assumed Love would put up the same 26 points and 12.5 rebounds he did for the Timberwolves, but Love was the primary offensive option on Minnesota, and he would be the third scoring option in Cleveland, after LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.
Love scored ten points less per game in his first season here and grabbed three less boards. But the Cavs went to the NBA Finals, the first of four consecutive trips.
We believe that is why fans were so critical of Love in his early tenure with the wine and gold. They expected more than the player could have produced considering he was no longer the best player on the team.
For the most part, Love understood and did his job, and was rewarded when the Cavs won a title.
We think the same is true for Caris LeVert, another player we don’t think Cavalier fans appreciate enough. When LeVert came over from Indiana last season, he was scoring 18.9 points per game and was the primary perimeter scorer (the Pacers also had Domantis Sabonis at the time) for the Pacers.
He was hurt shortly after he arrived in town and averaged 13.6 points a game with the wine and gold. Our guess is people expected him to score the same 19 points he did in Indiana, but the Pacers didn’t have a player like Darius Garland.
His role changed again when the Cavs acquired Donovan Mitchell. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff started him a small forward to start the year, but they agreed he would be better coming off the bench.
He’s not a great three-point shooter, which seems to be the fixation of all fans these days, but he still is very important for the Cavs because he is one of the few players, and the only member of the second unit, that can create his own shot. And believe us, that’s very important come playoff time.
Besides LeVert, the only players on the Cleveland roster who can create their own are Mitchell and Garland.
He’s also shooting the three ball at a career best 37.6% and he’s not just a scorer, averaging four rebounds and four assists per game. And he’s the tallest guard (6’6″) on the roster.
In short, even though his numbers aren’t where they were in Indiana (again, circumstances), he provides the Cavs with a unique set of tools. Meaning he is very important to the team.
We’ve been saying since the beginning of the year the Cavaliers have six proven players, and Caris LeVert is one of those six. Be careful about wanting to move him.
The problem all along were the expectations of what LeVert could be vs. the player he is. And he is a very good player.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 