Kevin Love has another reason to feel sick.
The Cleveland forward was called out in practice Monday by teammates who questioned the illness that kept him out of the majority of the Cavaliers’ humiliating 148-124 loss to Oklahoma City on Saturday — an airing-of-grievances session that was instantly pounced upon in an ESPN report.
Love, who left the arena Saturday and missed practice Sunday citing his sickness, responded more with shifty eyes than defiance, taking passive-aggressive aim at the players and/or coaches around him responsible for the story becoming public. Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue and general manager Koby Altman also were reportedly at the fiery team showdown.
“I felt like we should keep it on the court or in the locker room, but obviously it didn’t stay there,” Love told reporters during Tuesday’s shootaround.
The Cavaliers are disintegrating, having lost 11 of 15 and barely holding on to the East’s third seed at the moment. For a franchise that quickly points fingers when adversity hits, Love tried to shrug away his teammates’ accusations and possible leaks.
“Did I feel like a target?” said Love, who was named an All-Star on Tuesday night. “I think everybody, most people, were a target. We’re trying to figure this thing out. People hold themselves to a very high standard on this team and we’re a team that can compete at the highest level. So, for us, it’s not about me.”
With the Cavs, it’s almost always about LeBron James, who did not talk to the media Tuesday. Love tried to spin the narrative away from himself and away from the losing, saying Cleveland has been here before.
“I’m numb to it at this point,” Love said. “We’ve been to three straight Finals. We’ve been able to thrive under a certain amount of chaos at some points. The good thing about us is we’ve got better throughout the course of seasons and we’ve peaked at the right time. We’re hoping that it’s not any different.”