In the Miami Heat’s win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday, Miami opted to start Kevin Love up front alongside Bam Adebayo after Nikola Jovic started the team’s first eight games of the 2024-25 regular season.
Love didn’t play all that much, as he was on the floor for just over 13 minutes. But the veteran made his presence felt in that time, considering he totaled six rebounds, two assists, two steals and one made 3-pointer in his season debut with the Heat.
Adebayo implied that playing with Love in the starting lineup helps him to be at his best on the defensive side of the ball.
“I don’t have to guard the center,” Adebayo said when asked how Love changes his dynamic. “Other than that, it allows me to be more of that versatile defender, being able to switch, being able to impact the game.”
However, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra did not commit to Love being in the team’s starting five for the long haul.
“We’re day to day,” Spoelstra said of his rotation adjustment. “And I guess that’s the best place to live right now.”
Love is far removed from the player he was earlier in his career with the Minnesota Timberwolves, when he racked up double-doubles on seemingly a nightly basis and was in the conversation for being the best power forward in the NBA.
But Love was still an important player for the Heat a season ago, and he projects to be one once again this season.
For one, even if he isn’t likely to finish among the league leaders in rebounds per game in his third season with the Heat, he has a unique knack for cleaning the glass.
Across 55 games played (five starts) for Miami in the 2023-24 regular season, he pulled down 13.2 rebounds per 36 minutes, which was the best mark of any player on the team.
Love also impacted winning with his ability to shoot the ball from deep last season. He buried 1.5 3s per game while shooting a respectable 34.4 percent from 3-point range.
The Heat and Love can get back to the .500 mark on the season if they were to win their next regular-season game, which will be against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday.
The Pistons have been surprisingly competitive since the beginning of the new campaign, as they have a 4-7 record and earned wins over teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets.
