The Kevin Love Conundrum
I've been a Kevin Love fan since the day he entered the league. The moment I read an article after the Timberwolves played the Spurs early in Love's rookie year, where Duncan essentially told Love after the game that he "was going to be something special," I knew I needed to pay attention to this kid. Coupled with the fact of being a fantasy basketball nerd and seeing Love's rebounding numbers in limited minutes at the time (he had to split time with Al Jefferson) I knew he was someone to take note of.
So what's the conundrum? I'm not worried about how he will coexist with LeBron, I know he will do fine even if he has a rocky start. My main concern is much more selfish.
Will I even still like Kevin Love by the end of the season?
Let's face it, the hype machine isn't as much as it was for Miami in 2010, but it's still there. The Eastern Conference is absolutely putrid, and with Paul George probably out the entire season the Pacers will be nowhere near a contender anymore. Thus making it that much easier for the Cavs to slide into the NBA Finals. (Hopefully the Bulls will have something to say about that, but time will tell.)
For all the fans in Cleveland, I am happy for you. For all the fans outside of Cleveland that have been true to their team no matter what, I am happy for you. For all you that are just following LeBron from team to team or just like them because you think they will win the championship, I can speak for a lot of us saying: "I hate your guts." You fans are the type that drive the rest of us up the proverbial wall.
This isn't LeBron's fault either. But once you reach superstar status, the fair-weather fans seem to multiply by the day. I'm the type of guy that is really bothered/insulted by this. I shouldn't be, but I am. I can't stand the phonies. And naturally, Kevin Love is now guilty by association.
Think back to your opinion of Chris Bosh pre-Heat days. Unless you really hated dreadlocks, you thought, "Bosh is a nice player, I wouldn't mind him on my team." Once the Big 3 had their "not six, not seven" championship victory celebration, it turned into, "FUCK YOU BOSH!" The sad thing is, Bosh was the most likable of the three from a personality perspective.
Do you see where I'm going? Will I hate K-Love now because of his association with the fair-weather fans? I probably shouldn't let other's dictate my opinions so much, but to deny that it happens would probably make me less human. But let's face it, the Timberwolves have been on national TV just a handful of times since Love's rookie year. So needless to say it will drive me insane hearing all the Cav's "fans" saying how they have "always loved Love," and he's their "favorite power forward in basketball." When in actuality, last year their favorite power forward was Blake Griffin, their favorite team was the Heat, and the only thing they knew about Love was "isn't he that guy in Minnesota that gets a lot of rebounds?" Meanwhile, I'm following the Timberwolves on Twitter, SportsCenter highlights, etc. Going to see him play once a year (10+ hour round trip), and relishing the day the Wolves are on a TNT Thursday night. Now he is thrown into the Cav's fan's laps, and will be on TV every week (which is good for him so he will be more appreciated at least). So I guess you could say life isn't fair.
Which, that statement is definitely true because Love's career hasn't exactly been fair. 6 years in the league as of 2014. You could say the last 2 or 3, the T-Wolves were disappointing. The talent was there, (or close to it) but injuries piling up coupled with being in the West lead to 0 playoff appearances in that time. That's bad news, but his first 3 years were atrocious. Not from him personally, but those Minny teams were absolute garbage. (24, 15, and 17 wins) Love knows "not fair." So with a talent like his, he deserves to chase the brass ring in the spotlight. He knows all the hate that will come with it. As long as their winning, it makes it much easier to deal with. Should the Cavs stumble, or not make it to the Finals at all, (I don't think most people expect them to win it necessarily, but they should be in the mix.) that could very well be a brutal situation. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you view it, this isn't a "one and done" deal. LeBron still has 3 or 4 seasons left being a superstar, and Love probably has 7 or 8. They have plenty of time to figure it out.
With all this in mind, is that reason enough for my opinions of Kevin Love to pull a total 180? Knowing myself as the cynical, oddball that I am, I can say it probably is. I haven't even mentioned Dion Waiters and Kyrie Irving yet, who have proven nothing their first few seasons short of being disappointments and unlikable guys. (Despite Irving's solid gold medal performance on Sunday.) Yeesh, the hate keeps piling up.
The only difference with my opinion of Love and the Big 3 of Miami is that I never really liked any of 3 that much to begin with. Love on the other hand, is one of my favorite players. That's a pretty damn big difference. So in actuality I'm in uncharted waters. I'm sure I will get sick of the Cavs and all the "I'm coming home" promos that will air ad nauseam this season, but maybe that won't transfer to my thoughts on Love. Let's not put money on it quite yet though.
Cheers to the new season!
So what's the conundrum? I'm not worried about how he will coexist with LeBron, I know he will do fine even if he has a rocky start. My main concern is much more selfish.
Will I even still like Kevin Love by the end of the season?
Let's face it, the hype machine isn't as much as it was for Miami in 2010, but it's still there. The Eastern Conference is absolutely putrid, and with Paul George probably out the entire season the Pacers will be nowhere near a contender anymore. Thus making it that much easier for the Cavs to slide into the NBA Finals. (Hopefully the Bulls will have something to say about that, but time will tell.)
For all the fans in Cleveland, I am happy for you. For all the fans outside of Cleveland that have been true to their team no matter what, I am happy for you. For all you that are just following LeBron from team to team or just like them because you think they will win the championship, I can speak for a lot of us saying: "I hate your guts." You fans are the type that drive the rest of us up the proverbial wall. This isn't LeBron's fault either. But once you reach superstar status, the fair-weather fans seem to multiply by the day. I'm the type of guy that is really bothered/insulted by this. I shouldn't be, but I am. I can't stand the phonies. And naturally, Kevin Love is now guilty by association.
Think back to your opinion of Chris Bosh pre-Heat days. Unless you really hated dreadlocks, you thought, "Bosh is a nice player, I wouldn't mind him on my team." Once the Big 3 had their "not six, not seven" championship victory celebration, it turned into, "FUCK YOU BOSH!" The sad thing is, Bosh was the most likable of the three from a personality perspective.
Do you see where I'm going? Will I hate K-Love now because of his association with the fair-weather fans? I probably shouldn't let other's dictate my opinions so much, but to deny that it happens would probably make me less human. But let's face it, the Timberwolves have been on national TV just a handful of times since Love's rookie year. So needless to say it will drive me insane hearing all the Cav's "fans" saying how they have "always loved Love," and he's their "favorite power forward in basketball." When in actuality, last year their favorite power forward was Blake Griffin, their favorite team was the Heat, and the only thing they knew about Love was "isn't he that guy in Minnesota that gets a lot of rebounds?" Meanwhile, I'm following the Timberwolves on Twitter, SportsCenter highlights, etc. Going to see him play once a year (10+ hour round trip), and relishing the day the Wolves are on a TNT Thursday night. Now he is thrown into the Cav's fan's laps, and will be on TV every week (which is good for him so he will be more appreciated at least). So I guess you could say life isn't fair.
Which, that statement is definitely true because Love's career hasn't exactly been fair. 6 years in the league as of 2014. You could say the last 2 or 3, the T-Wolves were disappointing. The talent was there, (or close to it) but injuries piling up coupled with being in the West lead to 0 playoff appearances in that time. That's bad news, but his first 3 years were atrocious. Not from him personally, but those Minny teams were absolute garbage. (24, 15, and 17 wins) Love knows "not fair." So with a talent like his, he deserves to chase the brass ring in the spotlight. He knows all the hate that will come with it. As long as their winning, it makes it much easier to deal with. Should the Cavs stumble, or not make it to the Finals at all, (I don't think most people expect them to win it necessarily, but they should be in the mix.) that could very well be a brutal situation. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you view it, this isn't a "one and done" deal. LeBron still has 3 or 4 seasons left being a superstar, and Love probably has 7 or 8. They have plenty of time to figure it out.
With all this in mind, is that reason enough for my opinions of Kevin Love to pull a total 180? Knowing myself as the cynical, oddball that I am, I can say it probably is. I haven't even mentioned Dion Waiters and Kyrie Irving yet, who have proven nothing their first few seasons short of being disappointments and unlikable guys. (Despite Irving's solid gold medal performance on Sunday.) Yeesh, the hate keeps piling up.
The only difference with my opinion of Love and the Big 3 of Miami is that I never really liked any of 3 that much to begin with. Love on the other hand, is one of my favorite players. That's a pretty damn big difference. So in actuality I'm in uncharted waters. I'm sure I will get sick of the Cavs and all the "I'm coming home" promos that will air ad nauseam this season, but maybe that won't transfer to my thoughts on Love. Let's not put money on it quite yet though.
Cheers to the new season!
Comments
Post a Comment