Today, the concept of "stretch four" or even "stretch five" has become generally mainstream in the NBA. Long men who used to be aggressive in the penalty area now have to have outside capabilities; however, ten years ago, the Warriors had not yet "dead". When "Five Primary Schools" and Pace & Space (emphasis on accelerating the pace and opening up the court) were flourishing, there was already a long man who could use the outside as a weapon; what was even more frightening was that he could also scavenge rebounds on both offense and defense, subverting everyone's expectations. Stereotype.
From the current perspective, this may be the earliest "unicorn" to become famous in recent years?
From the desolate and cold Minnesota to the rich and livable Cleveland; from the strong and powerful "Wolf King" to the lean and handsome "Forest Guards", Kevin Love's career changes are surprising; even though He can no longer produce the results of the previous "statistic monster". He is still a key puzzle piece that can determine whether a team wins the championship. Here are the highlights of Kevin Love's career during the regular season:
1. The reputation of the rebounder is established
- season：2010-11 (third season of career)
- result:Nick 103-112 Gray Wolf
- data:31 points, 31 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block
At that time, I felt that no matter what the opponent did, I could grab any rebound. I don’t know how to explain it, even I was scared!
Kevin Love
This may be the game that Kevin Love left the deepest impression on many senior fans. On December 11, 2010, when he was only a third-year player in the league, he completed a feat that had never been accomplished in the past 28 years: Kevin Love faced the mighty Knicks in the East and scored an almost crazy 30 points. - 30!
Perhaps more accurately, it was 31 points, 31 rebounds, and 5 assists. This terrifying result was the first in the league since Robert Parish in 1982 (38 points, 32 rebounds). Since then, it has only been during the Hornets era. of Dwight Howard I once stepped into this "Palace of Divine Beasts".
Looking at the game film, "Aphrodite" can get into position immediately when attacking; even if there is no position, he can always quickly go around to the other side and wait for the enemy. In the third quarter, he scored 11 points and 15 rebounds in a single quarter, which also aroused the interest of the audience. He turned the see-saw fourth quarter into his personal show. Every time he grabbed a rebound, he burst into thunderous cheers. The Timberwolves finally won. It also overcame a disadvantage of up to 21 points and completed an amazing reversal.
In fact, after Kevin Love was drafted by the Timberwolves with the fifth overall pick in the first round in 2008, he showed strong rebounding ability. In his rookie year, he averaged 25 minutes of playing time and almost scored double-ten. He even scored 17 points and 19 rebounds at the end of the season; so at the beginning of the second year, the nickname "Rebound Maniac" went away. The Timberwolves also traded former main force Al Jefferson before the 2010-11 season to establish his reputation. as the core team.
In this season, Love not only created a career masterpiece of 30-30, led the rebounding team with 15.2 rebounds, was selected to the All-Star Game for the first time, and set the longest consecutive game of 53 games since the NBA-ABA merger. Double Ten is almost certainly the career year of the "god of love"!
PS Looking back now, the former "Fat Wolf King" looked really similar Nikola Jokic It’s a bit similar!
2. The wolf king’s howling alone is no match for the double thunder
- season：2011-12 (fourth season of career)
- result:Timberwolves 140-149 Thunder (2 OT)
- data:51 points, 14 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 3P 7-11
As early as the season when he became the core of the team, Love began to use the three-pointer as one of his weapons. In 2010-11, he averaged 2.9 three-pointers per game, with a field goal percentage of 41.71 TP3T. With a thick body, a tall release point, and a supple feel, Love is nearly irresistible inside and out.
In the fourth season of his career, Love had his highest-scoring season, averaging 26.0 points (fourth in the league) and 13.3 rebounds (second in the league), including this classic lone wolf duel with two guns, in which Kevin Love scored 7 Including three-pointers, he scored a career-high 51 points─plus 14 rebounds.
Among them, in the last 3 seconds of the regular season, when he was three points behind, Love was strictly guarded at a 45-degree angle and soared into a three-point bullet to tie the score; Unexpectedly, it was difficult for him to beat four hands with two fists, and the Gray Wolf finally lost to Thunder full of talent.
In this game, Russell Westbrook scored 45 points and Kevin Durant scored 40 points. The two shot nearly 60% from the field, not to mention that there was James Harden on the bench who shot 10 of 17. This game can be said to be the best. Kevin Love's classic battle of "Lu Bu versus the Three Heroes".
3. Initial confrontation between almighty elders
- season：2013-14 (sixth season of career)
- result:Gray Wolf 116-120 Speedboat
- data:45 points, 19 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, FG 15-23 (65.2%)
After Kevin Love established his reputation as a rebounding monster, he can be said to be one of the hottest new generation senior players in the league. Sharing this attention and honor with him is another supernova in the Western Conference: "Brother Ganbasket"Blake Griffin.
Comparing the two carefully, they are almost hot and cold, with different special existences: Love is better than Griffin in shooting, rebounding, and even low-post offense; however, the latter has explosive physical fitness and strong ball-handling ability. He is also more passionate than Love, who has a calm personality, and brings unprecedented attention to the Clippers.
It is precisely because of this that the match between the two teams, the Gray Wolves and the Clippers, is bound to be a thrilling duel:
At the end of 2013, this battle was held in Los Angeles. Love almost overwhelmed the Clippers team in the low post and scored 45 points and 19 rebounds. Hakeem Olajuwon The first person to hand over this data for the first time since 1996; in addition, he and another Gray Wolf Bai Dazhu Nikola Peković The team's penalty area combination is also talked about (the latter scored 34 points and 14 rebounds); however, the Timberwolves' defense was ineffective, allowing Griffin to score 32 points and 10 rebounds.
The Timberwolves did not have no chance. Until the last 90 seconds, they still enjoyed a 5-point lead. In the end, they were tied by three consecutive hits including Griffin (Love also missed a free throw), and entered the overtime.
Love missed another free throw in OT (13 of 15 shots in the game), but the Timberwolves' 10 points in OT were all related to him; Unexpectedly, the Clippers' Chris Paul jumped out to take over the game, scoring 9 points in a row to seal the victory, which also allowed Love to compete with Griffin's duel won with face and lost.
4. The almighty leader Gray Wolf wins a great victory
- season：2013-14 (sixth season of career)
- result:Timberwolves 121-104 Jazz
- data:37 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 steal
QuoteI'm very happy that I played like this tonight, and what makes me even more happy is that the team won. This is a night I will remember forever.
Kevin Love
During the Timberwolves period, Love was widely known as a rebounding monster, but if you weren't a die-hard fan, you might not know that he was also good at passing the ball! In fact, Love also has a vision that is rare for ordinary center forwards. In addition to the high and low combination with Nikola Peković, he can easily overwhelm many teams with weak inside lines. His first-time quarterback long pass is also amazing!
However, even if he has set a double-ten record and is an excellent passer, he still has to wait until the sixth year of his career to complete his first triple. Love's performance in the first half of the game was not outstanding, but in the third quarter he exploded. He scored 22 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in a single quarter, directly opening the score. His first big triple in his career was just around the corner.
In the fourth quarter, Love passed the ball to the sneaking Brewer with a two-handed long pass, beautifully completing the third double digit on the record column. For the first time in his career, he scored a super-large score of 37-12-10 in the big three. "Love God" also became the first Timberwolves player to score 35-10-10 since Kevin Garnett in 2003. In addition, he has achieved 25-10 in 9 consecutive games. The last person to achieve this feat was Karl Malone in the 1991-92 season!
Also in the same season, Love made his second and third career triples, and the team won them all. Looking back now, how many incredible obstacles would Love have set if he had stayed in Minnesota? It’s really worth pondering...(But it’s also very likely that he will be hard-pressed to win the title)
5. A record-breaking shot in the first quarter
- season：2016-17 (ninth season of career)
- result:Pioneers 125-137 Cavaliers
- data:40 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 3P 8-12
In the summer of 2014, the Timberwolves, whose record had never been able to improve to the next level, decided to trade the present for the future, trading Kevin Love to Cleveland in exchange for two No. 1 picks, Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett; today, more than five years later, We also know this is a bad bet. For Love, this deal was a turning point in his career.
After serving as the "Wolf King" of the Mega League in Beidahuang, he came to LeBron James's team and even had to take second place behind Kyrie Irving as the team's third in command. In addition, in order to adapt to the league with an accelerated style of play, Love He also gradually lost weight and became the "god of love" we know now. Love has lost the ability to fire in the past, and it is difficult to regain the beast-level data of the past. In the first two seasons of the Cavaliers era, Love had a hard time adapting to the Cavaliers system, and was even insinuated by James in a post: "Just hurry up and integrate!"
In his third season, Love finally found his own comfortable position, regained double-digit averages (19 points, 11.1 rebounds), and even played his masterpiece for the Cavaliers. Against the powerful Trail Blazers in the Upper West, Love obviously felt hot in the first quarter. He hit 3 goals in the first two minutes, leading the Cavaliers to a wild start.
At this time, the Cavaliers teammates headed by LeBron James began to realize that something was wrong, and gave him opportunities one after another. As the anchor said, tonight "Love is in the air", Kevin Love shot again and again, and scored again, The audience in Cleveland was already going crazy. In the first quarter alone, Eros scored 8 three-pointers and scored 34 points. He also set a record for the highest score in the first quarter in NBA history. He was also very close to the 37-point miracle set by Klay Thompson. .
Unfortunately, Irving took the last two shots of the first quarter alone, which prevented Love from joining his junior high school teammates in dominating this rare "obsessed" record. In the following three quarters, he only took two three-pointers, and was unable to challenge. With a record of 13 three-pointers in a single game (at the time), this game also showed Love's passive position in the team. It was not only the masterpiece of his Cavaliers period, but also the epitome of his Big Three period.
️🎖️ More unmissable peak battles for other stars:
- "The Reborn Wandering Dragon King" DeMar DeRozan Top 5+1 in the regular season
- Dance with the Lion King! Joel Embiid’s top 5 regular season moments
- The all-powerful legend of the 21st century? Russell Westbrook’s Top 5 Regular Season Peak Moments
- The Wizard’s Elder Wand! Top 5 of Bradley Beal’s regular season highlights/clinching moments
- A new generation of Magic Johnson? Ben Simmons Top 5 Peak Moments of the Regular Season
- The Ultimate Scoring Kaleidoscope Carmelo Anthony Top 5 Knicks Peak Moments
- Intelligent beast! Blake Griffin's Top 5 Regular Season Moments
- A man who only needs to be replaced by Mus! Dwight Howard's top 5 regular season moments
- Kyridiculous! Kerry is so ridiculous! Kyrie Irving’s top 6 regular season moments
- The three Heat kings create dominance! Top 5 playoff peaks/clinching moments during the LeBron James Heat era (2010-14)
- The Lonely Sun King: Devin Booker’s Top 7 Peak Moments of the Regular Season
