Cavs should keep Kevin Love on bench

After being blown out in Games 1 and 2 of the NBA Finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers struck back and pasted the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night with a 120-90 destruction at Quicken Loans Arena.

Nothing was different for Golden State’s lineup but Cleveland had the notable absence of forward Kevin Love, who did not clear the league’s concussion protocol. Love was elbowed in the head in the second quarter of Game 2 and after briefly coming back onto the court, was taken into the protocol and did not return.

Without Love, Cleveland was able to roll with a revamped lineup and a much more physical defense. Love might be one of the better players in the sport when he’s right, but for now, the Cavaliers should seriously consider sitting him. Love does not fit into an obvious role with Cleveland in this series. He doesn’t guard any position particularly well and his offense has been spotty.

Currently, his Game 4 status is undetermined as he continues to go through evaluation, according to ESPN. Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue explained the situation, per the piece.

“After the workout, it has to take 24 hours for the NBA protocol,” Lue said. “So once he works out today, it takes 24 hours to see him again to see if everything adds up. I’m not sure what goes into it. But now he had a great workout, and now it takes 24 hours to come and reevaluate him.”

Cleveland is probably going to lose this series either way, but without Love the Cavaliers at least have a small shred of hope. With him on the bench, Lue went with Richard Jefferson in the starting lineup. Jefferson has been pleasantly surprising in this series and was quietly effective in his first start of the Finals, scoring nine points and notching eight rebounds in 31 minutes.

The question for Lue is should Love come back, how does he fit in? We have already seen how Cleveland plays against Golden State with Love in the lineup, and the results were nothing but a total disaster. Lue just watched his team destroy the Warriors with Love hurting on Wednesday, and he is only human. He has to be thinking about benching one of his vest players for a chance at the title.

Ultimately, Lue has a tough call to make on Love. Does he go back to the big man in the big spot, or roll the dice on this new-found lineup?