As the Miami Heat beat the Indiana Pacers Friday night to get a win in NBA Cup group play, the star of the show was Bam Adebayo, who put up a dynamic game amid a slow start to the season. However, it was Heat veteran Kevin Love who put up a productive game, proving time and time again how age is just a number, garnering the reaction of head coach Erik Spoelstra.
In the victory to the Pacers, the 36-year-old was in the starting lineup due to the injury to Heat star Jimmy Butler and finished with 15 points on six for eight shooting, including three of four from beyond the arch. He would also collect seven rebounds, recorded two assists, and even had four steals as Spoelstra expresses his gratitude for having a player like Love on his team, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
“I just really appreciate Kevin,” Spoelstra said. “I appreciate that he’s able to morph into different roles. Guys like him have that cachet that on any given night they can be that for short bursts. What he did in basically 12 minutes and change is pretty amazing. But it’s because he’s about the right things.”
Heat’s Kevin Love on his return to the team after absence
Love had missed the first eight games of the season due to “personal reasons,” and when he was back with the team, he had to work on his conditioning to get back into game shape. As he’s been giving his veteran experience to the team, they paid back with kindness as Love spoke about the “unbelievable” support from his teammates.
“Certainly eight or nine days away, I was able to take care of a lot,” Love said via The Miami Herald. “The support was unbelievable from my teammates, coaching staff, organization. But now having to work your way back in is also something that is tough in itself. You watch and see where you can help and impart a little wisdom away from the court, as well. So now that I’m back, I’m just trying to add that freshness, that lightness to the locker room and hopefully help out there, as well.”
“It was really tough,” Love continued. “Obviously, you want to be there, especially at this point in my career, too. I want to be there to support the guys, add value, add leadership. But the organization, they were so amazing in supporting me, letting me have my time and allowing me to come back refreshed in my mind.”
Heat’s Erik Spoelstra on the “fit” of Kevin Love
Love re-signing with the Heat this offseason was not surprising in the slightest as the team and himself have embraced each other in the roughly two seasons being in Miami. Spoelstra has spoken time and time again about the versatility of Love and how he fits with his offense.
“He knows how to fit in, he knows how to complement or do more as necessary,” Spoelstra said about Love when he returned against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 10. “We need it. I think it will help our rebounding, the offensive IQ that he brings, and the spacing certainly will help, as well, and his competitive spirit.”
Heat’s Kevin Love on how the team responds to him
Love has been public about his awareness of mental health, which could have played a part in his absence, but it has been described as a “personal family matter.” However, the empathy that he received from the rest of the team was “amazing,” per Love, as he is, in some ways, the replacement for Udonis Haslem, who had been with the organization for two decades.
“It was amazing,” Love said. “I certainly didn’t want to make it about myself, I had a little bit of, I don’t want to say reluctance going back to work, but I certainly didn’t want people asking all sorts of questions and making it about me, I just wanted to come back and kind of get integrated back, and it was that. As soon as everybody saw each other and asked is everything OK — of course, I said yes — that we were able to just proceed and try to get me back to playing again.”
Last season, Love was tasked with the role of being the primary backup for star center Bam Adebayo, but the plan was changed to start the season due to his aforementioned absence. It would be Thomas Bryant who filled in that spot until Spoelstra would give more time to Heat rookie Kel’el Ware, who stands at seven-foot tall and has elite athleticism.
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Heat’s Kevin Love described as a “connector of all connectors”
However, neither yet has the skills that Love has, which is to not only add skill on the glass but also space the floor as he is a clear threat from three-point range. Plus, he has been described as a “connector of all connectors” by Spoelstra in terms of his leadership and how he can use his experience for the benefit of the team.
“With Kevin, it’s kind of easy. It’s not like rocket science, you’re talking about a highly decorated, multi year all star who has embraced and accepted a role coming off the bench,” Spoelstra said. “If you could get players of his caliber to do that all the time in their mid 30s and bring that Veteran experience, but also the talent like on any given night, he can still be who he was in short bursts. If you can get guys to embrace that, there’d be a whole lot more guys like that that would have an impact around the league. He makes our best players better because of experience and spacing. As we know he’s a fantastic rebounder, but that experience is something that has really helped our group. It’ll be good to have him back.”
At any rate, the Heat are now 5-6 after the win over the Pacers, which also brings them to 1-1 in NBA Cup group play. The overall record puts them sixth in the Eastern Conference as they next face Indiana again to close out the rough six-game road trip, which they are 2-3 before they return home Monday when they take on the Philadelphia 76ers.