All Heat’s Kevin Love wanted was a chance; what he doesn’t want is a return to the play-in

Kevin Love is more than familiar with the perils of the NBA’s play-in round.

Last season, while with the Cleveland Cavaliers, there was a 115-108 road loss to the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the play-in, with Love closing with 14 points and 13 rebounds in reserve. That was followed by a season-ending 107-101 home loss to the Atlanta Hawks, Love limited to 10 minutes.

And yet, when given the choice at the All-Star break of continuing on with the Cavaliers, who have comfortably been in playoff position for months, Love dared tempt the fates with the Miami Heat, a team very much facing the realities of the play-in, then and now.

Why? Love’s love for the game, and playing the game.

“I’m very grateful for this opportunity, the opportunity to play,” Love told the Sun Sentinel. “Because in Cleveland I don’t know if that would have been the case.”

Now there is a degree of question of whether that will continue. A starter since he joined the team on Feb. 20, the Heat have been uneven since Love’s arrival, particularly on the defensive end.

Still, no regrets, feeling embraced by coach Erik Spoelstra, the front office and the team since his arrival.

“Not had to second guess at all,” said Love, who also drew interest on the buyout market from the Philadelphia 76ers. “They’ve been extremely welcoming, the Heat organization. Obviously I know Spo, what he’s done in his career. Also, he’s a Portland guy, so we have so much in common. The whole coaching staff, teammates, it’s a great locker room.

“So all of that stuff, just the professionalism of everyone, I spoke about that when I got here. So all of that still holds true.”

But Love also is well aware that desperate times can lead to the unanticipated. At the moment, Love is trending between the boost Jae Crowder delivered upon his 2020 midseason arrival and the lack of impact from Trevor Ariza when he was acquired at midseason in 2021.

“We know we had our backs against the wall at the start of All-Star break,” Love said. “Then tough losses, all of those things. Yeah, I think when it comes to that, we need to make something happen here, for sure.”

There have been moments when Love, 34, has delivered as he did last season in Cleveland, including key contributions in victories over the Memphis Grizzlies and Detroit Pistons. And then there have been times when his defensive deficiencies effectively had him played off the court, as was the case in Saturday night’s stinging and costly loss to the Brooklyn Nets.

Over the years, Spoelstra has not been shy about late-season rotation and lineup changes.

The question becomes whether Love, 15 games into his Heat tenure, is still acclimating.

Off the court, Love said that remains the case, with this the first time in his 15 seasons he has changed teams at midseason.

“It’s definitely been different, something that I’ve never had to go through, and just getting acclimated, in general, even away from the floor, as well. It’s just still living out of a hotel, with my wife in there, as well. Everything is an acclimation,” he said, with the Heat on Tuesday night opening a road back-to-back set against the Toronto Raptors that concludes Wednesday night against the New York Knicks.

“So just trying to settle in, find my shots, find my rhythm, see where I fit in with this team, make an impact, even if it’s not showing up on the stats sheet, get on the same page as my teammates, get on the same page as the coaches.”

Now with just seven games remaining in the Heat’s regular season, and the play-in tournament looming for him again.

“So I wish I had more time,” Love said of gaining his Heat footing. “But, again, every game is huge for us at this point. So trying not too hard to put too much pressure on myself or press too hard. But we do need to win basketball games.”

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