The Cleveland Cavaliers still seem to be figuring things out as they still have not hit their stride even though the NBA playoffs are less than a month away. Cleveland was beat badly in its last game by the Miami Heat on Saturday night, and it has many wondering if the Cavs will ever figure it out.
Kevin Love in particular has hit another lull, as his production has dipped recently and in the last two games he has averaged less than 20 minutes. The Cavaliers have been saying that Love is dealing with an illness which made him a game-time decision this past weekend, but he may also be dealing with an injury.
After Friday night's win over the Orlando Magic, Love was seen in the training room for an extended period of time getting treatment on his back. It is unclear whether this back injury might be related to the illness, but it is serious enough that he likely hasn't been playing at 100 percent. That would explain the lower minutes and the dip in production recently.
The Cavaliers play their next game on Monday night against the Denver Nuggets and Love is listed as questionable to play. Again in this instance, the Cavaliers have called him questionable with a sickness but no mention of the back issue. It seems as though Love will be a game-time decision in this one, but there are some who don't expect him to play. Love was unable to participate in shoot arounds and Channing Frye worked with the starters.
The good news for the Cavs is that Frye has been excellent for them since they acquired him. The bad news is they still need Love at full strength if they want to reach their goal of winning the NBA Championship. Love has been very up and down for the Cavs this season as it seems his role is still undefined, but the back issue and sickness are likely the cause of this recent downturn. Over his last five games, Love has shot just 43 percent from the field and head coach Tyronn Lue has gone with Frye over him on multiple occasions to end the game.
The fact that the Cavaliers have not mentioned anything about Love's back could mean it is part of the sickness and not a big deal. But it could also be something to worry about because if he is going to be dealing with back pain for the rest of the season that hurts the Cavs chances in the playoffs. Frye has been great, but Love is a guy they need to produce for them moving forward.
