Kevin Love and the shoulders of despair

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Poor Kevin Love.

I caught the end of the Minnesota Timberwolves-Utah Jazz game last night on NBA TV. It was a fortuitous meeting of clicker and channel because I had been curious to see if Love got used better and more often now that Kevin McHale has been forced to become Timberwolves coach in place of fired Randy Wittman. Love had expressed admiration for McHale the player when he became a Timberwolf last spring.

With a little over a second to go Tuesday night, the Timberwolves had the ball on their sideline and a one-point deficit to overcome. Rashad McCants threw an inbounds pass to someone in the corner; I didn’t pay attention to who that was because I was focused on Love, who was about 30 feet away from the play or the basket.

Love was waving his arms begging for the ball, and he can hit a three-point jump shot. He is also an excellent passer, and if he had inbounded the ball, it would have gone to someone in scoring position. That’s just what Love does. And he had 15 rebounds in the game, so if he had been standing under the basket, an offensive rebound putback wouldn’t have been impossible.

Instead, McCants’ inbounds pass was stolen, and Love threw his arms up over his head and crossed them. It is an action familiar to UCLA fans. Love can’t keep his emotions secret. He knows what he’s capable of. He doesn’t always make the plays -- he missed seven foul shots, including four in a stretch in which Minnesota blew a lead -- but what’s the point of having a guy who can throw a court-length pass into the basket if you have him wandering aimlessly nowhere near the play?

Utah scored two free throws with .7 seconds left to secure a 99-96 win. After those shots, Love inbounded the ball -- a hopeless bounce pass to nowhere -- and he walked off the court with those shoulders crossed over his head.

Love’s belief in his abilities is a good thing. What can seem selfish is part of his knowledge of basketball -- and not just shooting, but passing, and not any passing, but passing that leads to scores, and not for himself but for others. At UCLA last year, when Love would argue he needed more touches, he added the caveat, ‘When I get the ball, it’s not going to a black hole. I’ll get my teammates shots.’

Whether that attitude is going to help him in the NBA remains to be seen. What hasn’t changed is that when Love crosses those arms above his head, things aren’t going well for Love or his team.

-- Diane Pucin