Kevin Love
Miami Heat

Player Facts

Height: 6'8"
Weight: 251lbs.

Wingspan: 6'11.25"

Date of Birth: Sep. 7, 1988
College Experience: UCLA (1 year)

Selections

All Star: 5
All-NBA: 2
All-Defensive: 0

Player Grades

Speed/Explosiveness: 5
Physical Strength: 8
Positional Size: 7
Positional Wingspan: 7
Paint Scoring: 7
Midrange Scoring: 8
Three-Point Scoring: 8
Dribbling: 6
Passing: 7
Perimeter Defense: 3
Interior Defense: 6
Rebounding: 10

Embed from Getty Images

JUMP TO SECTION

> Intro

> Ripping the Chords from Deep

> Versatile Screen-Setter

> Productive Post Play

> Aiding His Teammates

> Highlight-Reel Outlets

> Rebounding Clinic

> Defensive Shortcomings

> Offensive Paint Problems

> Beacon Bacon

>Link to Player Contract & Salary Info

*All short clips courtesy of Smart Highlights & Z. Highlights (YouTube)

*All statistical data courtesy of NBA Advanced Stats

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STRENGTHS

Intro

Kevin Love is a sweet-shooting power forward who is also a prolific glass cleaner. At 6'8", he is a touch undersized at the four but compensates with textbook technique on the boards. Love provides a number of other reliable offensive skills to complement his sharpshooting.

Kevin has, played the roles of primary, secondary, and tertiary option in his career. In his earlier days as the go-to guy in Minnesota, he put up some monster statistical seasons. His scoring average peaked at 26.1 points per game in his age-25 campaign.

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Ripping the Chords from Deep

As a member of the Cavaliers (and now the Heat), Kevin has fulfilled a more defined niche on the offensive end. He has become a lethal shooter with volume off the catch. This floor spacing proves to be an essential component of the team offense.

The open looks pumped out by Kyrie Irving and LeBron James' dribble penetration were often cashed in via a Love triple. He has continued to carry this spot-up shooting production even after the departure of these stars. More recently, Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland have found the veteran step-out four-man for open treys.

2019-2020 saw Love nail 39.5% of his 5.3 catch-and-shoot threes per game. This led to 8.0 catch-and-shoot points a night, good for sixth in the NBA. Astoundingly, this mark outpaced volume shooters such as Buddy Hield, Robert Covington, and Tobias Harris.

2021-2022 in his new sixth man role had him at 493 catch-and-shoot points on the regular season. This placed him eighth in volume here leaguewide. Beyond the strong conversion clips, his per-minute volume remains a value-add as the veteran big knows how to get these shots up.

Moving without the basketball is an additional off-ball feature of Kevin's game. He is a timely, mobile cutter relative to other bigs. Love won't hesitate to cut backdoor if his defender is overplaying him because of that shooting proficiency. Moreover, he slides into space nicely to foster clean passing angles as teammates collapse the defense.

Kevin exhibits great balance as he rises up from beyond the arc. This strong base and Love's 6'8" frame help him stay accurate versus aggressive closeouts. He possesses a deadly pump fake that lifts defenders and can lead to Love free throws.

He has a proven track record of being particularly lights-out from the corners. He shot 46.5% from the left corner and 47.1% from the right corner on his 2019-2020 threes.

Versatile Screen-Setter

One of the primary sources of Kevin's three-point looks is the pick-and-roll. Almost exclusively playing the part of screen-setter, Love frequently pops after slipping the screen. He is also capable of gliding into free midrange space where he shot a blistering 52% in 2019-2020.

Love will also roll to the rack after setting a ball screen. These instances are few and far between when compared to his pick-and-pops. Nonetheless, Kevin is very capable in this action with great hands and footwork. He is also a superb free throw shooter when he earns trips to the line.

All in all, Kevin landed in the 89th percentile for roll man scoring in 2019-2020. His lofty 1.38 points per possession was superior to Karl-Anthony Towns, Domantas Sabonis, and Anthony Davis. 2020-2021 had him in the 97th percentile for bucket-getting as the dive man.

Productive Post Play

Unlike most floor-spacing big men, Kevin has a polished post game on either block. He hunts the early seal in semi-transition with regularity. Love can finish with hooks over either shoulder as well as turnaround and fadeaway jumpers.

The UCLA product plays with physicality on his post-ups. He throws his weight around down low and leverages his lower body strength to gain ground. Love is a deliberate, calculated back-to-the-basket player who also exhibits nice court vision here.

He also has a gorgeous face-up jumper to either shoot or use to set up his other moves. He scored the ninth most post points in 2019-2020 despite 56 games played. Fellow power forwards Giannis Antetokounmpo and Pascal Siakam were less productive than Kevin with even more games logged.

Aiding His Teammates

A great way to utilize Love's skillset within the offense is by giving him the ball at the elbow. From here, he can serve as an offensive hub with several viable options available.

For instance, he can find cutters with precisely placed bounce passes. Love was eighth among players who spent time at center in terms of total assist points created in 2019-2020.

Kevin can also have a positive impact from the high post through dribble handoffs. He can serve as either the passer or the recipient within these actions. Love routinely fakes the handoff into a clean step-back three.

Highlight-Reel Outlets

A facet of Kevin's toolkit that must be noted is his outlet passing. He is arguably the most talented player in the league at firing these long-distance bombs. His guards and wings know that they'll be fed in stride as long as they beat their defender down the court.

Love anticipates where his teammate's route is taking him and times the outlet so that it hits their hands crisply. Remarkably, Kevin is so consistently accurate with these difficult advance passes. Recognizing the fact that he primarily fills the power forward slot makes this attribute all the more impressive.

Rebounding Clinic

What sets up Love's countless outlets is his elite defensive rebounding. His career-high here is a preposterous 10.7 defensive rebounds per game in 2010-2011. More recently, he accounted for an impressive 40.7% of his team's defensive rebounds when he was on the floor in 2019-2020.

He exhibits near-perfect rebounding technique to collect boards. He can box out taller players or wedge them under the basket thanks to his powerful legs and these sound fundamentals. As a result, many of Kevin's rebounds are of the contested variety.

32.8% of his 2019-2020 total rebounds were contested boards. This was a higher figure than guys like Bam Adebayo and Ben Simmons. As one defensive strength of note, he is willing to step in and take a charge on the numbers.

WEAKNESSES

Defensive Shortcomings

Love struggles mightily on the defensive end. He is limited significantly due to a lack of lateral quickness and vertical leaping. Kevin is not comfortable when switched onto a perimeter player and is liable to get blown by quite easily. Periodic disengagement further compounds his defensive woes.

On the interior, Love provides minimal rim protection despite being a power forward. He has the timing to draw some charges here but fails to be a difference-maker in the air. A sub-seven-foot wingspan doesn't help his cause either.

Opponents shot a whopping 8.4% above their average field goal percentage inside six feet with Kevin defending in 2019-2020. That year, he put up a feeble 0.3 blocks per contest. He slipped to an even measlier 0.1 per night in 2020-2021.

Kevin gets exposed as a post defender as well. At 6'8", opposing bigs can often shoot over the top of him for a clean look. 2019-2020 saw him miserably land in the 14th percentile defending post-ups.

Many other big men, even centers, can beat K-Love down the court. He can really get outhustled down the floor in transitional scenarios. This leaves his defense largely ineffective in these spots, a standout weakness in his game.

Offensive Paint Problems

On occasion, Kevin will get into the habit of settling for jumpers. He managed only 2.1 buckets per game in the restricted area during 2019-2020. Additionally, he has issues finishing against size as he himself is an undersized, ground-bound player. The weak 58.5% efficiency mark that went along with that 2.1 interior buckets figure captures his struggles here.

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bacon
Beacon Bacon

Love has slimmed down substantially after entering the league at a doughy 270 pounds