NEW YORK -- Kevin Love couldn’t see his beloved fiancée, Kate. He couldn’t be around his treasured dog, Vestry. No teammates. No coaches. All alone. Isolated.
COVID-19 hit Love hard. It took about five or six days for him to start turning the corner.
“I went through it,” Love said following Wednesday’s 109-99 loss to the Brooklyn Nets. “The first four or five days were pretty tough. All the usual symptoms that I think people might get. Crazy muscle aches, sensitive skin, can’t smell, taste, muscle spasms, fatigue. Then just chest and head got hit pretty tough as well. Definitely don’t wish that on anybody.”
Unfortunately for Love, extended absences aren’t new. He’s now missed 124 out of a possible 235 games over the past three-plus seasons. Only this was much different. More difficult too.
In most cases, injured players can still be around the team -- on road trips, at the hotel, in the locker room, plane, arena. There’s an important sense of connection. Rookie Evan Mobley, who missed his first NBA game Wednesday, still made the trip to Brooklyn and was with the guys on the bench, standing, cheering and encouraging as the undermanned Cavs attempted another commendable fourth-quarter comeback.
Not Love. Not with COVID. Not for nearly two weeks.
Because of the league’s strict health and safety protocols, Love initially had to stay away. When he arrived at the practice facility for daily testing, Love waited in his car for the results. On one of the test days, Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff sat in his car, distanced from Love (and Lauri Markkanen), and held a conversation from afar.
At that point, Bickerstaff could sense that Love was struggling. The first thing Love mentioned was how much he missed being around the team.
He wasn’t there when the Cavs capped an impressive 3-2 road trip by beating Charlotte, one day after traveling across the country and changing time zones. He wasn’t there when Jarrett Allen stifled Damian Lillard on a game-tying 3-pointer, helping lead the Cavs to an improbable win over Portland in the first home game following the exhausting roadie -- a game where most teams get smacked. He wasn’t there in Toronto or New York when the Cavs barked in the locker room -- and matched their longest winning streak of the post-LeBron James era.
The best, most exciting stretch since the Finals days and Love, who has endured three straight frustrating seasons, was sequestered. He was forced to watch those celebrations on social media. He could only text his teammates.
“That’s what you miss the most,” Love said. “Everyone was texting me, ‘How are you doing?’ I was like, ‘Man, f---.’ That’s the best part about seeing this team grow is how much we celebrate each other. I wanted to be around the team. Even if I wasn’t playing, just being in those locker rooms, because I know that was a lot of fun.”
Love finally got clearance to return to the team environment on Nov. 12. That was 11 days after being placed in the health and safety protocol.
Before that, it was lonely. During his time in isolation, Love talked with his therapist.
“He was like, ‘Do not let it go five, seven, nine days without talking to anybody. FaceTime people and stay engaged,’” Love said. “In the past, I would’ve just been like, ‘Alright, I’m going to turn all the lights off and let 10 days pass.’ I think I did a good job of staying engaged with my teammates and staying engaged with my family. I’m one of those people where if you’re not in my everyday life, in the flesh here, I can lose touch with you or let a text message go for a few days and stuff like that. I took my time, did my work early, got back to e-mails and all that stuff. Tried to stay engaged with everybody as much as possible.”
After testing positive and not playing since Oct. 30, Love, who is vaccinated, made his anticipated return to the Cavaliers’ lineup Wednesday. Because of his lengthy absence and only one recent practice, Love was under a tight minute restriction. He needs time to get his stamina back.
“A little bit of rust there, but I felt like in the second half collectively we competed a lot better than we did in the first half,” Love said. “We gave ourselves a chance. We were fighting from behind against a very good team that after last night definitely wanted to come out on their home floor and get a win. But we didn’t make it easy for them. Very happy to be back. But obviously wish we would’ve won.”
Love scored 11 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out two assists in 21 minutes. He went 4-of-10 from the field, including 1-of-5 from 3-point range.
“I thought he was working his way back,” Bickerstaff said of Love’s performance. “It was the first time he’s played five-on-five since going through the protocols, so you can expect some rust. But I thought he still had an impact on the game. His intelligence, his shot-making, he still carries that same gravity with him. He helps spread the floor, still defensive rebounds and all those things. I thought he was out there really competing and giving effort. I think it was a great start for him, and he’ll continue to build on it tomorrow.”
Brooklyn was the start of a weeklong gauntlet for the Cavs. On Thursday, the NBA’s best team -- Golden State Warriors -- comes to Cleveland on the second night of a back-to-back. Then it’s another matchup with Brooklyn, at home Monday. The Phoenix Suns are headed to Cleveland Wednesday. Three championship contenders. It’s tough to predict where the Cavs will be or what they will look like by Thanksgiving.
Battered and wounded, missing four-fifths of their Opening Night starting lineup, the Cavs need every available body. In that sense, Love’s return couldn’t come at a better time.
Under more normal circumstances, Love would’ve been in the starting lineup, stepping in for Mobley, Markkanen or Jarrett Allen. Mobley is out 2-4 weeks with a sprained right elbow. Markkanen is still in the conditioning phase. Allen missed his second straight game with an undisclosed illness.
Bickerstaff thought it was easier to manage Love’s minutes as a reserve, so he gave little-used Ed Davis an emergency start, with Love coming off the bench. Few would’ve predicted that earlier this season. Suddenly, the Cavs’ talented -- and deep -- frontcourt has been reduced to Davis, Love, Dean Wade and Tacko Fall, who looks much more suited for the G League.
Even though it’s a tough ask given what he’s been through the last few weeks, the Cavs will need more from Love. At least, until the group gets healthy again.
“It’s tough,” Love said. “Obviously want to do so much and fill that void. I think we all do. But for me it’s just getting my wind back and finding ways I can affect the game positively and stick true to our game plan. I’m finding ways to help with those guys being out.”
Wednesday night was the first step. Love picked up where he left off before COVID. He was active and engaged. He helped stabilize the second unit. Brought leadership.
Most importantly, he was back with the guys, feeling like himself again.
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