No More 'Hero Ball'

Dear Kevin Love,

Frustrated?  Me too.

Thank you for demonstrating how much you love your team and teammates by rushing to their rescue weeks before you were expected to return to action. Showed a lot of heart.  But you are shooting .400 (24-60) from field, .188 (3-16) from 3-point range and .647 (22-34) from line.  And yet you are fourth in the league in scoring by averaging 24.3 points a game.  That means you are taking and missing a lot of shots!  I know I know...small sample size.  But your team has lost all three of the games you have played in and has frankly looked very stagnant and sluggish, the opposite of how it looked in the first 9 games it played without you. 

This makes some sense.  They exerted so much energy just trying to compete during the first injury plagued short-handed 9 games of the season, when you returned, they took a deep breath, relaxed and deferred to watching you.  This is not okay.  And you, as their leader, can fix it.

You learned a lot from Lebron and the other all-stars you played with on the Olympic team, right?  Why not try to take a page out of their book.  Why not try to make your teammates better?  They don't need you to score 40 points and have 25 rebounds per game.  They were playing great basketball before you returned and tried to do it all yourself.  Your shot will come back.  But when you are in a slump like this and need time to get back into basketball shape and get your shot back, why not take the next step and become an elite player? 

Here is what I am thinking, take a look at this play from your college days:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rJKIZAa71w .  Nothing flashy about that play but completely effective.  You set two picks to free up the wings and hit the slashing big man for an open lay-up. 

Can we have some more of that?  Can you try moving with your teammates?  Try passing to the open guy instead of forcing shots?  Try being the guy who makes the hustle play and the defensive stop?  Step up and play some help defense.  Will you get in foul trouble every now and then, maybe.  But your teammates will follow suit and your team will start to win, a lot.  When that happens, I promise you will finally be a legitimate MVP candidate.

Now is the time!  Your presence has thrown a wrench in what was a good thing.  You have the power to change that.  Take a few less shots, make a few more passes, move a little more on offense and defense and let's see what happens!!!

Thank you.

Casey