Kevin Love has said all the right things in Cleveland so far about making sacrifices in his personal game for the betterment of the team, declaring at media day late last month, "I'm going to do what's best for this team to win, because at the end of the day that's what we want, is to win."
That is easier said than done, though — and we have no less of an authority on it than Chris Bosh, the man who was asked to do the very thing Love will now be asked to do.
Bosh deferred to LeBron as part of the "Big Three" in Miami, winning two championships but also watching his personal stats take a hit. In his previous five years in Toronto, Bosh never averaged fewer than 22 points per game – including 24 ppg (and 10.8 rebounds per game) in his final season. In Miami, he averaged anywhere from 16.2 to 18.7 ppg while LeBron (and Dwyane Wade) ran the show.
Love, a power forward with range just like Bosh, averaged 26.1 ppg a game for the Wolves last season. He almost certainly will see several points per game shaved from that average with the Cavs — and more than that, he'll have to adjust the way he plays, Bosh said.
Here are some snippets from Bosh's interview with Bleacher Report, which is worth a read:
"It's going to be very difficult for (Love). Even if I was in his corner and I was able to tell him what to expect and what to do, it still doesn't make any difference. You still have to go through things, you still have to figure out things on your own. It's extremely difficult and extremely frustrating. He's going to have to deal with that."
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"Everybody says they want to win. But when you start talking about sacrifice and doing what's right for the team, it's like, 'Wait a minute, I didn't mean that. I want to win, but…' There's always a conjunction with that. It's never what you think it is. And it's always like your weakest point where you got to do it."
