Kevin Love cleared to return, will come off Cavs’ bench in Game 4
CLEVELAND — Kevin Love has been cleared to return to action for the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 4 of the 2016 NBA Finals, five days after an inadvertent elbow to the head from Golden State Warriors forward Harrison Barnes knocked him out of Game 2 and landed him in the NBA’s concussion protocol.
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Word came down a little over an hour before tipoff. Love hadn’t yet arrived at Quicken Loans Arena by the time Tyronn Lue met with reporters prior to Friday’s Game 4, resulting in a non-update update that featured Lue reminding the media what his job is and what it isn’t. But shortly after he got to the gym, Love got out on the court to warm up:
… and shortly after that, the Cavs announced that their doctors had evaluated Love and found him fit to resume participation, completing the concussion protocol and getting him back to “active and available” status.
Lue told reporters that he did plan to play Love if he was cleared to return, but also said he was “not going to discuss” whether Love would start. That question has been on the minds of many observers since the Cavs went from struggling with Love in the lineup in Games 1 and 2 to routing the Warriors in Game 3 with Richard Jefferson slotted into his place starting five, bumping LeBron James up to power forward, where he was stellar, and setting the stage for a dominant performance on both ends of the court.
About a half-hour before tipoff, the Cavs made it official: they’re sticking with what worked for them so well in Game 3:
Before he knew whether Love would step back into his starting spot or comes off the bench for the first time in more than six years to act as an offensive focal point for a Cavaliers bench that has lacked firepower through the first three games of the Finals, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he didn’t plan to alter too much about his team’s approach based on the role Love occupies.
“Well, it changes our lineup a little bit, our decision-making about who to play and at what time,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “It does make things a little different. But we’re not changing our offense. We’re not drawing up a new set of plays for when he’s out there and when he’s not, anything like that. But he’s an important player for them. He’s a guy who you have to account for in a lot of ways, so when he’s on the floor, we’ll be well aware of his presence.”
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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