RealGM

Purely from my observation, Love get more production when he doesn't play heavy minutes, like 24-32, he can rack 10 rebs, 10 pts in the first 20 min but then he cools off and contrary to Love's opinion he seems to play well off the bench, teams usually start their long athletes worth a damn, so playing off the bench Love faces less length and hops.

Thought?

I think you nailed it. I think 25-30 minutes is ideal for him. I'd prefer he come off the bench, that way we have at least one of Love or Jefferson on the floor at all times.

before he got sick some weeks ago, his conditioning seemed to have improved by a lot. it probably was due to weighing 20lbs less than last season. after he came back he looked a bit heavier again. maybe it makes a bigger difference than we think.

but I agree with you, he's probably best suited coming off the bench. start Hollins and make Love the 6th man.

Love stats through 25 games -

Notice how his %'s drop. ALthough his rebound rate actually slightly improves the more minutes he plays.

Off the bench -- 5 games/26.5 min/game

14.4 point, 9.6 rebounds, .548 FG%, .625 3PT%, .875 FT%

20 - 30 minutes/game (26.3 avg) -- 10 games, 5 started (5 games above are inclusive)

14.3 points, 9.8 rebound, .511 FG%, .500 3PT%, .851 FT%

30-40 minutes/game (33.8 avg) -- 15 games, 15 started (games above are not inclusive)

15.8 points, 13.8 rebounds, .429 FG%, .304 3PT%, .791 FT%

Well, Love's conditioning should improve over time. I like it when he and Al play together but it never hurts to be able to bring somebody like Love off the bench. If Sessions can continue to play well like he has lately and Wilkins brings solid play off the bench as well, we could have a nice second unit to mix and match with.

Enter Pekovic.

Most players cost for large parts of the game, Love is all hustle and I think that is why 30min is his cap. I am a strong believer in the 3-man big man rotation.

If Hollins can keep performing as a starter, I don't mind Love coming off the bench. It's nice to have a bit of extra height, and athleticism, in the starting line-up.

Love is fine ... stop all the bs

It is not a shot against Love. Just a better understanding perhaps of how to let him play to his utmost.

Hollins is not the answer. he went against a bad team with injuries and performed ok. He is a 4th big man.

southern wolf wrote:If Hollins can keep performing as a starter, I don't mind Love coming off the bench. It's nice to have a bit of extra height, and athleticism, in the starting line-up.

He had one nice offensive game, I wouldn't get my hopes up about him. He's a foul machine that can't rebound. I think he had 3 rebounds in 30 minutes against the Clippers; that's not going to cut it for your starting center.

Love should definitely work on his conditioning. This kid shouldn't let anyone have the impression that he's a bench player.

It doesn't take world class stamina to play 35 minutes a game. If anything I'd play him 40 minutes a game so he'd play himself into shape, or at the very least he'd realize what kind of shape he needs to be in.

If Love plays 40 mpg for 20 games I am afraid his wheels may fall off, both him and Al ideally should not get overloaded with heavy minutes for their own good, it will help them stay injury free for more years into their careers.

Turnover_21 wrote:If Love plays 40 mpg for 20 games I am afraid his wheels may fall off.

If they do, that helps reinforce that he needs to be in shape. Unless he has asthma or some other disability, there's absolutely no physical reason why he shouldn't be able to play 35-40 minutes on a consistent basis. Part of the problem may be that Love doesn't understand what type of shape he needs to be in, or he's not seeing the dropoff himself. Running him into the ground might do him some good.
You're right that playing him less will take less toll on his body, but I think that's something you worry about later in his career.