It was an unusual workout, but for Kevin Love and a few of his Cavaliers teammates, Friday’s session was the closest thing to normal in the past two months, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. The Cavs and Trail Blazers were the first two teams to reopen their facilities Friday after getting clearance from the league.
Love was joined by teammates Larry Nance Jr., Cedi Osman and Ante Zizic, who each worked on one of the main hoops at Cleveland Clinic Courts. Under the NBA’s new guidelines, only four players at a time can be in the team facility and they must remain at least 12 feet apart.
“I played 25-ish years of organized basketball, and this is the longest I’ve ever gone without touching (a basketball). And it’s something I really, really enjoy doing,” Love said. “So for me, it definitely was a big dopamine hit, and it just felt great to get in there and sweat outside of doing my workouts at home or getting on a treadmill. Going out there and having some sense of normalcy and getting on the court and actually shooting was pretty uplifting.”
Before they could enter the building, the players had their temperatures taken and were required to answer questions about their health. Each player was assigned an assistant coach who rebounded and passed while wearing a face mask and gloves.
Every basket had a nearby table with disinfectants, towels and water. The players weren’t permitted to shower afterward and their access was limited to the practice court, weight room and training room.
While Love enjoyed the return to basketball, he said the new conditions will take some getting used to.
“It’s just going to change the way — at least for the foreseeable future — of not only how we interact but how we live in our daily lives. So for me, was it weird? Yeah,” Love said. “I had (assistant coach) Dan Geriot at my basket and having him rebound and pass me the ball with a mask and gloves on. It’s just odd. It’s just weird.”
I don’t think he LOVEs it
Players who can self-motivate will have an advantage, probably more than players who have a court at home.
Love can’t wait for the season to restart so he can “get hurt” and miss some time.
If they play the season, the paychecks keep coming. That is the only motivation.
I do believe isn’t about the money at all, these guys do actually love playing hoops as simple as! Or they should do. I am sure they would play with no pay, just to go back to the court!
I have some land I’d like to sell you.
Like all things in life, it is a mix. People think that everyone else should feel the same way they do about everything. There are plenty of these guys who are simply playing for the money…but there are also plenty of them that love the game and would do whatever possible to play the game
Says the Astros fan
As protection from COVID-19, hopefully nobody dribbled on the court during the workout !!
Love has the sickness. Guy won’t publish words for facts. Yet still KL you see his uncle was a Beach Boy. Guys this star is not Steph Curry for anything that there is. See the Splash Brothers lose this whole season then try to compete. Does that put guys like King James or DB, similar fools, do anything? Hell no, Love has love for the game. My whole point.
See Stephen lose last season, just not really the gangster people chose. But Kevin love didn’t even play him in the Series. Not ’til Steph went 1-on-1 with him on the Finals material. See Steph Curry blow the whole year jumping over Baynes on a Flagrant 2.
See Steph blow a all-star game doing “bounce-off-the-floor” dunk. It was pretty good. But Steph just blows his season on FF2 and is afraid of KL.
Kevin is devoted 2 the Cav life. So as such I would buy his jersey and say that I love Kevin Love. See the old Cavs won the champion$hip, they are the champ$.
See the headline in this article read: Maybe they won’t have the season back. It could be scrapped. I just care about my favorite players and Love is one. I would purchase his jersey for money. I would keep watching the NBA.
See the Atlanta Hawks had four all-stars in one year: Millsap, Korver, Teague, and Horford. They did that. Kevin Love made them dust. They proved to the NBA floor them professionals saying that he isn’t them. I’d check players like him for dust. But I also heard he could go to Phoenix for assets so let’s see his future “assist”.