Kevin Love had his 2014-15 season end in very disappointing fashion when he dislocated his shoulder in the Cleveland Cavaliers first round playoff series against the Boston Celtics. Loves was forced to miss the remainder of the playoffs and required surgery on the injured shoulder that he is still recovering from. Love is expected to be ready for the Cavaliers when they open up the season but it is very possible that his minutes will be limited at least during the early portion of the season, according to Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer.
Last season the Cavaliers were able to make it to the NBA Finals with basically just LeBron James and a few ancillary players. Many of the Cavaliers believe that if Kyrie Irving and Love were healthy for the finals they would be the NBA Champions and not the Golden State Warriors so Cleveland's main goal is to ensure they are at full strength come playoff time.
The idea of Love not playing big minutes early in the season is in the same vein as Irving potentially not playing in games until January. Irving could likely come back before the new year but the Cavaliers want him to take it slow as they know they will be able to make the playoffs without Irving and Love contributing as much as usual but they also know that they can't win a championship without them two.
Love having his minutes limited isn't too big of a deal as he will still likely start and see plenty of time to impact the game but he will just be eased into the season. Love for his career has averaged about 33 minutes per game so expect that to dip below 30 and maybe get to 25 over the first couple months of the season.
The Cavaliers will be just fine with Love not playing big minutes as they have depth up front. Tristan Thompson has yet to sign a contract with the Cavaliers but he will likely be a Cav for at least this season and they also signed Sasha Kaun to help Anderson Varejao backup Timofey Mozgov at center.
The Cavaliers are taking the longview this season and that seems to be the wise way to go. LeBron should be plenty to get the Cavaliers into the playoffs but Cleveland knows now that he is not enough to win a championship so keeping their other stars healthy is of prime importance.
