The Cleveland Cavaliers pulled off an exciting 30-point win over the Golden State Warriors. With Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green threatening to make this NBA Finals the shortest one to date, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving found an unlikely hero in a 35-year-old journeyman in their roster: Richard Jefferson. With this kind of win sans Kevin Love and with an aging veteran, the Cleveland Cavaliers have no other recourse but to reconsider their deal with the former Minnesota Timberwolves star whom they traded Andrew Wiggins for.
The journey of Kevin Love in the Cleveland Cavaliers have always been filled with inconsistencies, locker room drama and injuries. With the looming free agency season, a number of potential key stars are going to be available in the market including Kevin Durant and DeMar DeRozan. While the contract of the Oklahoma City Thunder star may be too costly for the Cleveland Cavaliers, rumors are rife that the Toronto Raptors star might sign with the LeBron James team soon.
The NBA playoffs series of the Toronto Raptors and the Cleveland Cavaliers saw Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan getting really close to beating the reigning Eastern Conference champs. In particular, DeRozan reportedly practiced until wee hours of the morning in an effort to match LeBron James in the games. Hence, fans are wondering what it would be like for the Cleveland Cavaliers to have the Toronto Raptors star in their roster next season. Will the Golden State Warriors stand a chance then? Moreover, is this a sign that Kevin Love must go to make way for DeRozan?
"Let's peel off the blanket hiding this elephant in the room. The Cleveland Cavaliers are better against the Golden State Warriors when Kevin Love is not on the floor," pointed out Matt Moore of CBS Sports. He continued to stress, "But in a tenure that has been anything but smooth, rife with underwritten tension beneath so much success, there is a mounting file of evidence to suggest that whatever Cleveland needs to figure out how to beat this Warriors team four out of seven times, Love is not part of that equation."
While the fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers are basically calling for the release of Kevin Love, Tyronn Lue has been exerting his best effort to make sure that none of the players in his roster gets discouraged. In fact, the head coach noted that the success of the Cavs vs Warriors Game 3 in the NBA Finals has nothing to do with the absence of Kevin Love. Rather, the LeBron James team only found a lineup that clicks.
"We've tried a lot of different lineups that haven't worked," explained Lue. He added, "We've been big, we've been small.But putting LeBron at the 4 and trying to match their speed I think will help us out a lot tonight."
