LeBron Says Playing without Kevin Love is Difficult
In Cleveland’s 113-105 loss on Thursday to the Portland Trail Blazers, in which LeBron James scored 35 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and handed out six assists that was still not enough to win, the superstar for the Cavaliers admitted that the absence of injured forward Kevin Love is really affecting the team.
James said it has been quite some time since he played with an All-Star on his team, so having Kevin injured has become very challenging for the entire team. LeBron said that Love is very important to the team especially with things are becoming chaotic on the court.
The loss on Thursday dropped Cleveland to 10-10 since January 30 when Love fractured his hand against the Pistons.
Love told the media he is expecting to return to the Cavaliers lineup when the team returns home next week, with a target date of either Wednesday when they host the Raptors or on Friday when the Cavs host the Suns.
Love’s absence however it not the only reason most of the load for the team has been shouldered by LeBron.
Larry Nance Jr. missed Thursday’s game due to a pulled hamstring. After returning Thursday from a back injury, Rodney Hood re-aggravated it and played just 19 minutes in the game against Portland. Tristan Thompson is out with an ankle sprain, as is Cedi Osman with an injured hip flexor.
James added that it was not just having Love sidelined, but the team is missing Tristan, Nance and now Hood again. However, LeBron said that regardless his approach always remains the same.
That approach has him averaging 26.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and 8.4 assists during his 15th year in the NBA.
He keeps it simple by attacking as much as possible and if he attracts a double team he looks for his open team. He looks to rebound and defend but admits a great deal of energy goes into that.
Time is running out on the regular season and the Cavaliers sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference. They hope to remain at least there to open with a home court advantage during the first round of the postseason and with Love almost ready to return to action that could help them get back on track.
