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The Cleveland Cavaliers have been the pleasant surprise of the NBA this season.
With three games left in the regular season, the Cavaliers have a playoff berth wrapped up and are jostling with a few teams for positioning. Cleveland is currently 43-36 and about three games behind the Toronto Raptors in the loss column for the No. 6 seed in the NBA playoffs.
Cleveland will be in the postseason without LeBron James for the first time since the 1997-98 season.
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Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love, center, prepares to pass ball to Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland, left, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday April 2, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
Kevin Love, one of the veterans on the team, told Fox News Digital in a recent interview the turnaround from winning 22 games last season to winning more than 40 this season is a huge credit to how the roster was constructed and everyone’s ability to buy into the team mentality.
"I think (it’s) a combination of a lot of things," Love said. "Our front office has put us in a really good position to have success. I think drafting Evan Mobley was huge, bringing in Ricky Rubio – and I know he went out with an injury but just establishing a great culture. It wasn’t forced. We just had guys that wanted to play together and play for each other.
"We’re one of the top few or maybe even the number one share the wealth type of team in the NBA and our identity is to play defense and to play really hard. I think just a combination of all of that and mixing it with great talent and a good coaching staff, I think it’s allowed us to take a big step in the right direction for us this season."
Love, who partnered with Milk-Bone with his dog Vestry to promote the launch of their birthday cake flavored biscuits, said he hopes this is the year the Cavaliers make a little noise in the playoffs but it will hinge on some of the guys getting healthy.
Kevin Love talks with Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff of the Cleveland Cavaliers during the first quarter against the Orlando Magic at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on March 28, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Jason Miller/NBAE via Getty Images)
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Mobley has been out with a sprained ankle while Jarrett Allen and Collin Sexton have missed a ton of time with injuries. Rubio and Dean Wade are out for the season while Rajon Rondo recently returned to the lineup.
"… Trying to (get) those guys back into our lineup is kind of going to dictate where we are, where we fall within what’s being asked there," Love said. "We are likely either going to be in that five and six range at the highest and probably in the playing game at the lowest but we hope to avoid that if we can. And if not, we have got to make sure we’re on the top of our game because that ends up being like a March Madness situation where you lose one game and you’re out.
"Hopefully, we’ll be able to see through that because I do believe that having playoff experience would be huge for this team and go into the offseason definitely hungry and wanting more."
Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers hi-fives teammates during the game against the LA Clippers on March 14, 2022 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio. (Lauren Bacho/NBAE via Getty Images)
Love has been a key part of the Cavaliers team this season. He accepted a bench role and has thrived as the team’s sixth man this year. He’s averaging 13.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game in 71 games.
The team has a young crew built for the future. Darius Garland has thrived averaging 21.6 points per game with a player efficiency rating of 18.92. Mobley had been a Rookie of the Year candidate before his injury averaging 14.9 points and 8.3 rebounds. Isaac Okoro has also been a sparkplug at times averaging 9 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. Cleveland made each play their first-round pick the last three seasons.
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The Cavaliers play the Orlando Magic on Tuesday before a tough game Friday against the Brooklyn Nets. The Milwaukee Bucks await them on Sunday on the final day of the regular season.