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Authored by Christopher Reina - 29th May, 2008 - 4:16 pm
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Kevin Love had one of the best freshman seasons on record in his first and only year at UCLA.
The aspects of Love’s game that people rave about (passing, low post moves, feel for game), are universally heralded while the genuine concerns (lack of length, quickness, elevation), are cited with equal passion.
Cut both sides right down the middle and I think that’s where you will find Love; he isn’t a top-five caliber pick (especially not this year), but he also won’t be an ineffective bust.
Love’s passing abilities are outstanding and are every bit as good as advertised. He creates strong transition opportunities on simple defensive rebounds by getting the ball to downcourt players the average outlet passer cannot because of the high degree of difficulty. The way he pushes the ball out to his backcourt breakers makes the opposing team play defense for the full duration of the possession.
If there isn’t an open man, Love has a particularly reliable open floor handle and can play the role of point forward.
Love is also a great passer in the halfcourt, both in the post and on the perimeter. He finds open shooters and cutters and gets the ball to his teammates in a position where the scoring chance is maximized. He reads the floor well, both in its current state and what is developing, and he almost always makes not only the correct decision but an imaginative one.
He has great hands on the catch, both in the post or going up for lobs.
Love’s up and under move is highly effective, and he should be able to use his bag of tricks to get his shot in the interior over most defenders; however, since he is playing beneath the rim, he will be vulnerable to help shotblockers.
The best way for long defenders to guard him in the block is to keep their hands straight up because he lacks elevation to go over the top. He creates space for his shot by using his body to separate the defender from him or, more impressively, selling the pumpfake and timing his shot when the shotblocker is at his most neutralized state.
He is typically more effective when catching the ball at the midpost because he’s able to use his face-up game and creat space. Love is also able to use a quick dribble with his back to the basket, lose his man, and finish on the other side with a powerful one-handed dunk.
Finally, one area of his that is too frequently overlooked is how phenomenal he will be on the pick and roll/pick and pop. With his wide body, Love’s screens will be more than just a token obstacle. His footwork here is extremely refined, whether it’s rolling to the basket for popping up a shot or 20 feet away from the bucket.
His perimeter range is very good since an open 20-footer from Love is definitely a good shot. But he also is capable of making a move when facing the basket from this far out whether through a shot fake into a drive to the bucket for a dunk or even a behind the back dribble to free a mid-range jumper.
I really like his jumper, and he will be one of the most accurate at his position almost immediately.
Early in the season he would defend penetrating guards by going straight up, and he frequently would get fouls called against him, but eventually he became more aggressive in attempting to block those shots. He won’t be a frequent shotblocker on drives straight to the rim although he will often be a challenging target, but he will be able to get a paw on blue collar second chance attempts.
His lateral quickness defensively is not surprisingly below average, but he is an engaged defender when guarding the pick and roll, and his effective efforts forces the guard to go around him. He is susceptible to being beat off the dribble, though, when he has to close out quickly on an open jumper.
Defensively, he is most effective when he has the opportunity to body his man.
Love is a positional rebounder, boxing out his man and anticipating how the ball will bounce off the rim. An opposing rebounder who is athletic and elusive will give him fits, however, and Love will frequently be a beat too late to 50/50 balls if he is a little slow to box out.
His endurance could improve although it isn’t really an issue because he works hard on both sides of the ball; however, he clearly needs to get a little lighter since his man beats him back down the floor. Running the full length of the floor is a struggle. He became less of a vulnerability as the season progressed, but quicker fours should get an easy dunk or two each night simply by sprinting ahead of Love.
Past Prospect Reports
Prospect Report on Brook Lopez of Stanford
Prospect Report on Anthony Randolph of LSU
Prospect Report on Richard Hendrix and Alonzo Gee of Alabama
Prospect Report on Marreese Speights Of Florida
Prospect Reports on Dozier, Douglas-Roberts and Dorsey of Memphis
Prospect Report on Derrick Rose of Memphis
Prospect Report on Michael Beasley of Kansas State
Prospect Report on D.J. Augustin of Texas
Prospect Report on Jordan Hill of Arizona
Prospect Report on Jerryd Bayless of Arizona
Prospect Report on O.J. Mayo of USC
Prospect Report on Davon Jefferson of USC
Prospect Report on Eric Gordon of Indiana
Christopher Reina is the executive editor of RealGM. He can be reached at Christopher.Reina@RealGM.com where he may use your draft questions in a future mailbag edition |
