Cavaliers get big boost for NBA Finals as Kevin Love is set to return
LeBron James will get some help Thursday night in Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors.
The Cleveland Cavaliers announced that Kevin Love has cleared the league’s concussion protocol and will be able to play.
STATUS UPDATE: @kevinlove has completed the NBA’s Concussion Return to Play Program and will be available to play tonight in #NBAFinals Game 1.https://t.co/Mi7Xicsh8k
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) May 31, 2018
The All-Star forward was injured in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals when he bumped heads with the Celtics’ Jayson Tatum in the first quarter.
Kevin Love went off to the locker room after knocking heads with Jayson Tatum pic.twitter.com/HYd59F3VSo
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) May 26, 2018
Love left the game and didn’t return, but the Cavaliers went on to win 109-99. His replacement, Jeff Green, had 14 points in 31 minutes.
In Game 7, Green had 19 points and eight rebounds as Cleveland won without Love again, beating Boston 87-79 to advance to a fourth straight NBA Finals.
Despite those two victories, the Cavs are plus-2.6 with Love on the floor and minus-0.9 without him this postseason, per NBA.com.
Fans had mixed reactions to news of his return.
https://twitter.com/TheWavvyBoy/status/1002279665665564673
I'm glad you're back, @kevinlove! Bring all your grit and hustle tonight, man! #WhateverItTakes
— Joe Cool (@JoeCool4TWD) May 31, 2018
Im not really sure if this a good thing or a bad tbh. If he plays like he has been so far this postseason, he needs to go back to not playing.
— Hurts is H1M (@DisLikedObject) May 31, 2018
Bad news. Defensively Love has struggled with the dubs athleticism. Cavs won two straight games (6&7) in east finals because they were consistently a athletic defensive team without Love in the lineup.
— Perry Shelton Jr (@PrinceAbneyFay) May 31, 2018
Love was the team’s second-leading scorer (17.6 points per game) and top rebounder (9.3 per game) during the regular season, although his scoring has been down in the playoffs. He has averaged 13.9 points in the postseason, shooting just 38.8 percent from the field and 34.6 percent on 3-pointers — well below his career averages.
Cleveland will need him to step up in the NBA Finals.
The Cavs are big underdogs against a powerful Warriors team that beat them in five games last year.
As of Wednesday, Golden State was favored by 12 points in Game 1, which is the largest point spread in a Finals game since 1991, according to ESPN.
Cleveland opened as a plus-650 underdog in the series — the biggest number since 2001, when the Lakers played the Nets. The Cavs were plus-300 in last year’s Finals.
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