:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59154205/usa_today_10724192.0.jpg)
The Cleveland Cavaliers are 4-0 since Kevin Love returned to the lineup. The All Star forward has breathed life into the team and has made an immediate impact with his shooting and rebounding.
Typically you expect players to be rusty when they spend almost two months on the sideline. But while Love was out, he took the time to make a few tweaks to his jumpshot. Tweaks that he credits for his hot shooting since returning:
“I’m out in front of my head more,” Love told cleveland.com Friday night following the 120-95 win against the Phoenix Suns. “I looked at a bunch of my shots when I was out and I was kind of bringing it back a little bit more over my head.
”Just like Kyle (Korver) and I talk about it all the time and he’s always trying to figure out how he can fix anybody’s shot no matter if you’re a 90-plus percent free-throw shooter or he’s always looking in the mirror too and seeing where he can get better so I kind of did the same. Hopefully it helps and will continue to get better.”
Love is shooting 45.6 percent from the floor and 48.1 percent from deep in his first four games back from injury. He has transformed his game during his time in Cleveland in order to grow from a catch and shoot threat, to a pure shooter. He is comfortable putting the ball on the floor to create a shot, or hit pull-up threes in transition.
It’s unlikely that Love will continue shooting at this clip for the remainder of the year, but he is in the middle of his most efficient season as a professional. If this tweak during his time off helps build upon that, he will be an even more deadly threat for the Cavs in the playoffs.