Want It All

Often the target of intense scrutiny, KEVIN LOVE played the kind of big-time, instrumental role in the Cavaliers’ 2016 title run that won’t soon be forgotten.

- Yaron Weitzman

You remember the stop. How could you not? It was the matchup the Warriors wanted—Kevin Love on an island against Stephen Curry. The Cavaliers led by three with just 44.2 seconds remaining. Just 44.2 seconds stood between Cleveland and its first ever title, but only if Love could succeed where so many before had failed.

For five seconds, Curry bobbed and faked and juked, but Love stuck with him. In search of a lifeline, Stephen passed the ball to Draymond Green, who immediately tossed it back. Curry then dipped back into his bag of tricks. He faked again, dribbled left and crossed back to his right. Love stuck with him the entire time. And finally Curry surrendered, heaving an off-balance rainbow from a foot behind the three-point arc. It grazed the back portion of the front rim on the way down toward the net, which sent it careening back into the air and then into the welcoming hands of LeBron James.

You remember that play. How could you not? Kevin Love, 6-10 with the foot speed of a statue running in quicksand, sealing a Game 7 win by stymieing the League’s leading scorer, the two-time reigning MVP who had spent the previous couple years rendering the greatest athletes in the world helpless.

But here’s what you might not remember:

Go back and re-watch the final possession of Game 7. Watch what happens after Curry, with Golden State down 4, misfires on another bomb. Watch Warriors forward Marreese Speights grab the offensive rebound on the right baseline and dribble back into the corner. Watch him rush a three with 0.8 seconds remaining. Watch all that, but also keep an eye on what happens on the opposite baseline.