Kevin Love Initially Frustrated By Playing Center

Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue moved Kevin Love to the center position, and the big fella wasn’t exactly thrilled with his new role.

Lue, however, says Love is now enjoying playing the 5.

Lue expects Love to have plenty of open looks this season.

Per Cleveland.com:

“It’s going to be tough for fives to move around with him,” Lue said recently. “When we run pick-and-rolls, they can’t really get out and show. He’s going to have a lot of open shots and we know Kevin, he can make shots.

 

“When we play big and Tristan (Thompson) goes to the 5 and he goes to the 4, we’re back to our normal positioning. We’re going to try it out and see how it works. He was frustrated at first, but now he’s enjoying it.”

 

But for now, Love, one of the few holdovers following a flurry of off-season moves, is trying to get adjusted to his new position. He hasn’t been a full-time center since late in his tenure with the Timberwolves, forced into the spot because of injuries to Nikola Pekovic.

 

“It’s been a little bit of a change for me,” Love admitted. “I still find myself spacing a little bit wanting to roll a little bit more and on the defensive end just playing the primary big on their team the whole time on the defensive end. It’s been a little bit different figuring things out on that end, but it comes with the growth I’m talking about. We need to do that and hopefully be a machine when things start clicking.”

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