National Basketball Association

Cavaliers' Kevin Love: 'Like a chicken with my head cut off' in first playoff game

Published Apr. 21, 2015 5:54 p.m. ET

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It’s easy to forget just how new it was for Kevin Love to play his first playoff game on Sunday against the Boston Celtics. Maybe that’s been part of the disconnect or apparent disappointment that some Cavs fans have felt with Kevin Love since he’s arrived in Cleveland.

There were certain expectations of what Kevin Love was going to be as a 26-year-old in his seventh NBA season. In the end, there’s no replacing the good, old-fashioned experience of doing things first-hand. But despite being a very good NBA player, Kevin Love’s teams had just never made it to the playoffs. So, it stands to reason that Love was a little over-eager to play his first postseason minutes. Bleacher Report's Ethan J. Skolnick quoted Love on Twitter as saying:

Despite the frantic start, Kevin Love had a good first playoff outing. He hit some big shots in the second half and was his typical monster self on the boards, pulling in 12 rebounds (three offensive) in just over 33 minutes of court time. He also scored the last bucket of the game for the Cavaliers, hitting a 3-ball assisted by LeBron James. Moments later, Love, LeBron and Kyrie Irving all exited the game to huge ovations.

So, butterflies aside, that’s not a bad start at all.

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