Kevin Love arrived in Miami midseason with the hopes of getting increased playing time from the diminished role he had seen with the Cavaliers. He got exactly what he was looking for.
After starting just three of 41 total appearances in Cleveland, Love made 17 starts in 21 appearances for the Heat down the stretch after he had his contract bought out by the Cavaliers and made the decision to sign in Miami on Feb. 20. He has also been a cog in the team's postseason plans, having made starts in 14 of 16 appearances.
But since Miami's Game 5 loss to Boston, Love has been absent from the floor. No starts. No coming off the bench. The 34-year-old forward went from starting and playing 13:44 against Boston in Game 5 to being completely absent ever since.
That trend continued in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, when the Heat lost to the Nuggets 104-93.
MORE: What Miami's Game 1 struggles mean for the rest of the series
Where is Love, and why wasn't he on the floor against Denver? Here's what you need to know.
Why didn't Kevin Love play vs. Nuggets?
There is a simple reason why Love didn't play in Game 1: He didn't fit the plan against Denver.
As Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel pointed out, Love would have to be prepared to take on defending Nikola Jokic when the two-time MVP is on the floor.
"For Love, it basically is an all-or-nothing proposition when it comes to starting, since he does not fit with the zone approach when Jokic goes out," Winderman wrote.
Getting Love on the floor would also mean taking out others. Haywood Highsmith has recently taken on a larger role with the Heat as the backup center, which has eaten into Love's minutes. Highsmith played well on Thursday, shooting 70 percent from the field and scoring 18 points.
MORE: Who is Haywood Highsmith?
The potential answer, as Winderman noted, could be to remove Max Strus, who went 0-for-10 from the field against Denver in Game 1, and shift Caleb Martin to guard.
Following the Heat's Game 7 win against the Celtics, Love addressed not playing in either of the last two games of the series, and said he understood why the adjustments to the lineup needed to be made and appreciated how things worked out.
"It made perfect sense to me, honestly," Love said, according to the Sun Sentinel. "I obviously was eager and wanted to play, kept myself ready. At the same time, those matchups, how they took [Robert] Williams out of the starting lineup, decided to go small, that's how kind of it plays into matchups, that's how it works within the playoffs."
And heading into the series against the Nuggets, Love said there was going to be more evaluation about how he might be used.
"I think the beauty of it is you get to reset the deck, you kind of get to figure out what the matchups are going to look like in this series," Love said, per the Sun Sentinel. "Again, this is a great group to be a cheerleader for."
MORE: Heat set dubious free throw records in Game 1
Love has been called on to start for Miami plenty since arriving, but his role has not been that of a typical starter — and certainly not how he used to play in Cleveland. Despite starting 17 games for Miami, he averaged as many minutes (20) during the end of the regular season as he did during his time on the bench in Cleveland (20) when he started just three times.
Love's usage depends on how the Heat plan to handle their opponents. If coach Erik Spoelstra decides that Love's style of play doesn't fit well against Denver, it's possible the veteran will spend most of the series on the bench.
Is Kevin Love injured?
Love had dealt with an injury during the series against the Celtics, leaving Game 3 early with a muscle strain in his left leg. However, he was back out on the court for the next game and logged 11:46 and played even more in the following game.
There has been no reporting of another injury for Love, indicating that he is healthy heading into Game 2 on Sunday.
