After winning the World Championship with the U.S. team this summer, Love is ready for his close-up. With Al Jefferson in Utah and Ricky Rubio still in Spain, the Minnesota Timberwolves are Love's team, and his performance during the preseason indicates he is up for the challenge: Love led all NBA players in wins above replacement player (WARP), Basketball Prospectus' core metric, during the exhibition schedule as the Timberwolves went 6-2.
Love 3-point attempts proportions
Year 3A/FGA
08-09 .028
09-10 .164
10-11 (pre) .261
More noteworthy is the newfound skill Love has demonstrated during the month of October: the 3-point shot. Love made 58.3 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc, a dramatic improvement on the 33.0 percent he made during the 2009-10 season. Since that's over just eight games, the accuracy may fade, but Love has shown that the 3 will be a regular part of his offensive arsenal. Shots from long distance made up more than a quarter of Love's total attempts, a major increase from his first two seasons.
In a league in which stretch 4's have become prized commodities, Love's improved range would be a positive no matter what. However, it takes on added importance for a Minnesota starting lineup that is short on long-distance shooting. None of the team's likely starters made more than 82 3-pointers in 2009-10. If Love is a threat on the perimeter, that creates more room for newcomer Michael Beasley to operate in the paint as a small forward.
The change did come with a cost. Love has been one of the league's best offensive rebounders over the past two seasons, but it is hard to establish position for second chances while hanging out beyond the arc. Love rebounded 10.3 percent of available offensive rebounds during the preseason, down from 14.4 percent last season. But he compensated by crashing the defensive glass even harder than usual, finishing fourth in the league in exhibition rebound percentage (23.2 percent), trailing only Dwight Howard, Blake Griffin and Udonis Haslem.
And no one's questioning him tuning out his coaches or lack of improvement. But you're right...it's not even a question. His team will win 15 games and everyone knows that that's the true measure of a person's worth.
