Love is what he is..
He's a pretty high quality #3/3rd option/3rd best player.
If he's your 2nd best player, you're definitely lacking some things. That's just slightly above his paygrade. He can be that guy some nights....but he cannot be your #2, every night, guaranteed 25 points, etc...that's just not who he is.
But he's still way more than just a "role player". He's just not an elite 2nd option. That's it.
You're giving him way more credit than he deserves.
On the Warriors he'd be their 5th best player? He'd be the 4th best player on the Rockets? What about the Raptors? The 4th best, maybe 3rd?
Would he be the 3rd option on the Bucks? No. Third best player? Nope..
On the Sixers? Nope...
On the Celtics (when healthy)? Nope. Kyrie, Hayward, Horford, Tatum all better than Love. Brown will be soon..
He could be the third option on the Blazers. He'd be a decent third option on the Thunder, but I still think Steve Adams is marginally more useful. On the Wizards? He'd be the fourth best player on the team, behind Otto Porter; but he'd likely be the go-to third option on offense .. maybe.
So yeah, Kevin Love
is a role player. He's not in the same league as really talented All-Star, All-NBA guys like Butler, Draymond, Klay Thompson, Dame, or even guys like Beal, Porter, McCollum, Jrue Holliday, DeRozan, Lowry...
He's in the same tier of player as Jonas Valanciunas, Eric Gordon, Darren Collison, Enes Kanter, and DeAndre Jordan. Good, solid, above-average role players. Guys who could make an All-Star team on any given year, but definitely aren't going to be top-tier players on a serious contender. That's Kevin Love....
At least, that's the version of him we've seen in these past 4 years in the playoffs.
Kevin Love Career Playoff Stats (56 games played):
15.3 PPG (40.6 / 41.7 / 84.7) @ 12.2 FGA/g
9.7 RPG
1.9 APG
0.7 STL
0.6 BPG
1.6 TOV
.501 eFG / .557 TS%
22.7 USG%
0.2 OBPM / 0.9 DBPM = 1.2 BPM
1.4 VORP
17.8 PER
These are respectable stats, but those of a role player. In fact, his aggregate metrics are right above one standard deviation of what would be considered an
average role player at his position.
BTW, Kevin is shooting .398 on two pointers and .458 within 0-3 ft of the rim. For comparison:
2P% / 0-3ft% (playoff career)
JV: .560 / .654
Horford: .523 / .756
Aldridge: .459 / .659
Horford and Aldridge aren't known for their toughness...
Anyway, here's Kevin's stats for these playoffs with no Kyrie to get in his way:
15.3 PPG (39.8 / 36.4 / 91.3) @
13.3 FGA/g (no Kyrie, btw)
10.6 RPG
1.6 APG
0.6 STL
0.4 BPG
2.0 TOV
.462 eFG / .515 TS%
23.8 USG%
-3.0 OBPM / 0.4 DBPM = -2.5 BPM
-0.1 VORP
14.8 PER
Now, these stats are actually below replacement level. His shooting and scoring efficiencies are well below average. He's not out here blocking shots, generate steals, and he's not defending to make up for his exceptionally poor contributions on offense. In these playoffs, over 14 games, he's playing at or below replacement level.
So
yes; he
is a role player. 56 games over a 4 consecutive years is enough to determine that Blatt was right, Kevin Love isn't a superstar talent. He's a high-level role player who shrinks in the playoffs.
Maybe he can shine in the regular season a bit more, but calling him a "3rd option" as though he's like a Kemba Walker or Brad Beal is just not a reasonable comparison. He's nowhere near as good as those guys, especially when it counts the most.