How Great is Love?

[shrink]

I continually under-value this guy. Yesterday he went 23-10, and I thought, "Meh. Just 10 rebounds?"

How unfair! 23-10 is a really nice game for any big man. It's just that Love has set our expectations so high, that we shrug it off. I went back two pages, and I didn't see a single thread on the guy to post the following:

We all know that Love is a great rebounder, but do you know how much better he is than ANYone else in the NBA? Here's the Total Rebounds list:

http://www.nba.com/statistics/player/Re ... plitDD=All Teams

1. 521 Kevin Love

2. 410 Blake Griffin
3. 404 Dwight Howard

4. 368 Zach Randolph
5. 360 Pau Gasol
6. 340 Al Horford
7. 337 Marcus Camby
8. 335 Emeka Okafor
9. 315 Lamar Odom
10 314 Kris Humphries
11 311 Tim Duncan
12 301 Josh Smith

13 296 Al Jefferson
14 293 Anderson Varejao
15 290 Amar'e Stoudemire

He leads the closest guy by almost 100 rebounds!

If you only counted half his rebounds, he'd only be 29 behind Amar'e!

He's averaging 15.3 RPG and at 20.9 PPG, he's broke into the Top 20 in the NBA in scoring as well. And he's just 22!

Yep, he's got areas he can improve upon, but for a guy with such gaudy numbers, I find it amazing that I've just come to expect games like this every night.

[Tha Juice]

thanks shrink, thats just unreal. I was thinking the exact same thing last night when he only had 10 rebounds.

He's on pace for somewhere around 1237 if he can repeat his first 32 games and continue to average 15 boards a game for the other 13. I believe the last player to have more rebounds in a season was Rodman in 1992 (19 years ago). Not bad for a 22 year old.

[bluethunder0005]

He is a stat machine and a fantasy god. I wish he'd play better defense but for the most part he does better than his man on a consistent basis. I bet he gets left off the all-star team and that will be a big shame. At Love's best I saw him as a 17/12 guy but he's proven me wrong and has done so at 22 years of age.

[Ice32]

Although Loves numbers are ridiculous, Rodman averaged more rebounds per game on Championship teams (Pistons, Spurs and Bulls). 7 years in a row, he averaged 15 rebs or more.

I think Love could average at least 16-18 per game on this Wolves team for the next 5 years. And the fact that hes also averaging 20 ppg is awesome. No one since Moses Malone has done that (1978-79). Love HAS to make the All Star team based on coaches picks. They would be crazy not to.

Some games Love starts off with 3-5 rebs in the 1st half, then explodes in the 2nd half. If he really put his mind to it, he could average 4 boards a quarter, thats achievable.

I would love to see him finish the season averaging 20 pts, 16 rebs and 2 asts. Disgusting numbers.

[C.lupus]

The thing that impresses me is that he's scoring and doing other things as well as rebounding. His EFF and WS numbers are tops in the league also.

EFF:

27.88 Kevin Love
26.63 Pau Gasol
26.32 Amare Stoudemire
25.44 LeBron James
25.07 Dirk Nowitzki
24.97 Chris Paul
24.82 Blake Griffin
24.66 Kevin Durant
24.63 Deron Williams
24.57 Dwight Howard
24.21 Al Horford
23.44 Dwyane Wade
23.14 Derrick Rose
22.82 Russell Westbrook
22.79 Joakim Noah
22.61 Zach Randolph
22.53 Carlos Boozer
22.5 Steve Nash
22.21 Carmelo Anthony
22.1 Rajon Rondo

WS:

16.08 Kevin Love
13.44 Pau Gasol
12.98 Dwight Howard
12.73 Joakim Noah
12.66 Al Horford
12.44 Blake Griffin
11.98 Zach Randolph
11.27 Chris Paul
10.98 Dirk Nowitzki
10.05 Amare Stoudemire
10.03 Carlos Boozer
9.94 LeBron James
9.28 Rajon Rondo
9 Dwyane Wade
8.93 Kevin Durant
8.55 Deron Williams
8.54 Steve Nash
8 Carmelo Anthony
6.98 Derrick Rose
6.88 Russell Westbrook

[mark blunt]

He is absolutely dominating in the win shares ranking. The difference between him and #2 is the same as the difference between #2 and #9.

[Piecake]

The Raptors are killing the celtics on the boards tonight. K-love with 20+ rebounds tomorrow?

looks like Pierce just tweaked his ankle too

[CoffeeJanitor]

I think it's crazy how a lot of people act like he's hit his ceiling. I think that he can really improve defensively still, become a better finisher under the hoop, and maybe polish up his post-up game, too. Can't wait to see his peak!

The only thing that can bug me about Kevin is that he's a bit of a stat-hound. It's pretty obvious that he follows his stats (especially rebounds) throughout the game. I prefer players to have the Tim Duncan state of mind--don't watch the stat sheet during the game or after, just do what you can to win on the court and know that you did your best.

Sounds a bit cliche but I really think it's important.

[southern wolf]

The only thing that can bug me about Kevin is that he's a bit of a stat-hound. It's pretty obvious that he follows his stats (especially rebounds) throughout the game. I prefer players to have the Tim Duncan state of mind--don't watch the stat sheet during the game or after, just do what you can to win on the court and know that you did your best.

I don't think it's a big problem. He uses it to his advantage and to the teams advantage. When he was interviewed after his 30-30 game he said he looked at his stats at half-time and it spurred him on. Sometimes looking at his stats is what is needed to get him into that 'every board is mine' state of mind. I'm sure he pays just as much attention to things like blocks and how many points his man has. If he starts stat-padding like Andray Blatche going for a triple-double then i'd be worried.

[cpfsf]

Total Rebounds
1 Wilt Chamberlain 23,924
2 Bill Russell 21,620
3 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 17,440
4 Elvin Hayes 16,279
5 Moses Malone 16,212
6 Karl Malone 14,968
7 Robert Parish 14,715
8 Nate Thurmond 14,464
9 Walt Bellamy 14,241
10 Wes Unseld 13,769
11 Hakeem Olajuwon 13,748
12 SHAQUILLE O'NEAL 13,043
13 Buck Williams 13,017
14 Jerry Lucas 12,942
15 Bob Pettit 12,849
16 Charles Barkley 12,546
17 KEVIN GARNETT 12,473
18 Dikembe Mutombo 12,359
19 Paul Silas 12,357
20 Charles Oakley 12,205

KEVIN LOVE 1,913

He's so great that he will make a lot of these guys move down a spot.

[Dan's with the Wolves]

Total Rebounds
1 Wilt Chamberlain 23,924
2 Bill Russell 21,620
3 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 17,440
4 Elvin Hayes 16,279
5 Moses Malone 16,212
6 Karl Malone 14,968
7 Robert Parish 14,715
8 Nate Thurmond 14,464
9 Walt Bellamy 14,241
10 Wes Unseld 13,769
11 Hakeem Olajuwon 13,748
12 SHAQUILLE O'NEAL 13,043
13 Buck Williams 13,017
14 Jerry Lucas 12,942
15 Bob Pettit 12,849
16 Charles Barkley 12,546
17 KEVIN GARNETT 12,473
18 Dikembe Mutombo 12,359
19 Paul Silas 12,357
20 Charles Oakley 12,205

KEVIN LOVE 1,913

He's so great that he will make a lot of these guys move down a spot.

That is the part I'm not so sure of. He's 22 and run the court likes he is twice that. I'm concerned about his longevity. But who knows. He doesn't rely on athleticism now. So maybe injuries won't deteriorate his production.

[Greco21]

Although Loves numbers are ridiculous, Rodman averaged more rebounds per game on Championship teams (Pistons, Spurs and Bulls). 7 years in a row, he averaged 15 rebs or more.

I think Love could average at least 16-18 per game on this Wolves team for the next 5 years. And the fact that hes also averaging 20 ppg is awesome. No one since Moses Malone has done that (1978-79). Love HAS to make the All Star team based on coaches picks. They would be crazy not to.

Some games Love starts off with 3-5 rebs in the 1st half, then explodes in the 2nd half. If he really put his mind to it, he could average 4 boards a quarter, thats achievable.

I would love to see him finish the season averaging 20 pts, 16 rebs and 2 asts. Disgusting numbers.

Well Rodman was a better defender. At Chicago though had no competition. Luke Longley was the Center and he was not something you would consider as a rebound machine. At Detroit he had Lambeer whenever Bill was not ejected

[shrink]

At Detroit he had Lambeer whenever Bill was not ejected :P

I've been wondering about this for some time:

Because the dramatic improvements in this team seem exclusive to our big men (Love, Darko, Beasley) and not really any other position, how much do you credit to Lambier?

To Rambis?

To just simple natural development?

[Greco21]

At Detroit he had Lambeer whenever Bill was not ejected

I've been wondering about this for some time:

Because the dramatic improvements in this team seem exclusive to our big men (Love, Darko, Beasley) and not really any other position, how much do you credit to Lambier?

To Rambis?

To just simple natural development?

Well they deserve credit for sure. Darko was number 2 draft. I really trust the NBA draft. For decades it has proven that it is more than a scientific guess. Darkos' issues were majorly mental. The coaching staff did an excellent job with his mental development. They traveled to Serbia and trusted him. They "exposed" him during the start of the season by putting the ball in his hands while his shooting percentage was poor.

My comment on Bill Lambier was not ironic. He was passionate at floor. He looks extremely calm on the bench. I have met a lot of guys that are really passionate when they are executing but they are a whole different person when they are outside their "area of activity". I believe he transmits his passion to the team. K-Love on the same end was a good player during college but he is putting monster numbers.

And it might sound funny but i have seen great development in Koufos too. I hope he had been working with Lambier and Rambis rather than Jerry Sloan.

[shrink]

The other thing I wanted to mention is that for people that look at distributions of numbers, Love defies the bell-shaped curve.

This is far from common in the NBA. Players only get 48 minutes max, they play the same game, against the same people.

When I heard people predicting 12-13 rebounds for Love last year, my numbers background made me skeptical. It is really hard to go from 11 to 12 in average rebounds, and pretty rare these days. I'd have bet large amounts of money that Love wouldn't average 15.

[southern wolf]

The other thing I wanted to mention is that for people that look at distributions of numbers, Love defies the bell-shaped curve.

This is far from common in the NBA. Players only get 48 minutes max, they play the same game, against the same people.

When I heard people predicting 12-13 rebounds for Love last year, my numbers background made me skeptical. It is really hard to go from 11 to 12 in average rebounds, and pretty rare these days. I'd have bet large amounts of money that Love wouldn't average 15.

I probably would have bet large amounts of money that Love wouldn't average 20 ppg as well. His rebounding numbers are just absurd. But the improvement he's shown on offense, especially from the perimeter, I didn't see coming. At least not this soon in his career.