The All-Kevin Love Team

Many thought the biggest story heading into this NBA season was the 3-headed hydra Pat Riley assembled in South Beach.  Well, since "The Decision":

• They lost plenty of games.
• Home ticket sales were sluggish enough that the Heat had to tell their fans to "Fan Up."
• Chris Bosh has been exposed as the softest power forward in the league. (Somewhere, Rashard Lewis does a fist pump...)

It's time to move on to the biggest story of the year: the emergence of Kevin Love.  That's right, a white power forward playing on a bottom 3 team is the biggest story of the year, and here's why:

• Toughness: Why explain something with sentences when an analogy will do?  Kevin Love:an immovable object::Chris Bosh:angel food cake.
• He's old-school: Boxing out was a lost relic of basketball - kind of like how the mustache was a lost relic of modern male grooming - until Kevin Love (Ron Swanson) brought it back.
• He plays his position, and only his position: Remember when NBA players didn't play a one-on-one face-the-hoop style at every position?  Instead of trying to play point guard, center, and everything in-between, Kevin's focused on just the skills needed to be a beastly power forward.  The FT and 3-point percentages are just gravy.
• The numbers don't lie: Kevin Love has the highest Player Efficiency Rating (PER) in the league, and he's poised to end LeBron James' three year reign over the category.

Hmm, he kinda reminds me of another awesome power forward...

It's hard to believe that this is a player that struggled mightily for minutes under the absurd regime of Kurt Rambis.  Like the random guy in any given season of 24 that tries to keep Jack Bauer down, Rambis tried to hold Love back.  But like Agent Bauer, Love's brute force and resourcefulness got the job done anyways. With only 22 starts last year (and 60 games played total) averaging 28:30 of playing time a game, Love had 36 double-doubles.  Even to start this year, Love was averaging under 30 minutes a game until the hate mail from fans reached Kanye-West-post-"Swiftgate" levels.

Maybe if Rambis had been wearing these
 sweet spectacles again he would've seen
Love was the best player on his team.

Chart credit: Canis Hoopus

His 31 point, 31 rebound performance on November 12 was literally a once in a generation type of event for the modern NBA; the last time it happened was Moses Malone 28 years ago.  Since that game, Love has received all the minutes he deserves and should be at the top of the discussion for league MVP.

In honor of his amazing season so far, I've compiled a list of other potential breakouts - the All-Kevin Love Team, aka the Put-Me-in-the-Damn-Game Team.  These Chia Pet players are ready to break out!  Just add minutes.

Ryan Anderson - Power Forward - Orlando Magic

• Ryan is not a Kevin Love clone by any means, but the dude knows how to score.  He averages 11 points per game despite playing just 20 minutes a night, often not as the primary scorer on the floor.  His per-minute scoring average puts him ahead of such household names as Paul Pierce, Zach Randolph, and - you guessed it - Chris Bosh.  
• He won't own the boards like Love, but his per-48s have him squarely in double-digits, and that's despite playing in an outside shooting capacity with that monster of the paint known as Dwight Howard prowling the low post.  Clearly a significant improvement over the 4 rebounds a game Rashard Lewis was pulling in next to Dwight.  For shame, Rashard!  That fist pump was premature!
• With Lewis gone and Brandon Bass injured at the moment, we might get a glimpse of what Anderson is capable of.

Ian Mahinmi - Center - Dallas Mavericks

• Ian Ma-wahhh?  Ian Mahinmi.  He's an absolute beast, for better AND for worse.  Despite averaging about 6 and half minutes a game for his career, his per 36s are consistently strong: 20 ppg, 10.6 rpg, 1.7 bpg, and 78% from the line, which is quite serviceable for a man-beast.
• What's the catch?  He's basically the basketball version of Lenny from Grapes of Wrath.  His per 48 fouls is right around 9 per game.  Please officials, he just wants to play with the little people!
• You can't teach physical gifts, but I've got to think you can teach discipline.  With the proper coaching investment and minutes, Mahinmi could prove a formidable Frenchman... two words I never thought I'd use together.

J'aime le basketball!

Ersan Ilyasova - Small Forward/Power Forward - Milwaukee Bucks

• This wily Turk blipped on my fantasy radar last year as he produced a number of double-doubles for the floundering Bucks.  Much to my chagrin, however, his minutes fluctuated between 15 and 35 on a nightly basis, and he became virtually unusable.
• Don't let the random coaching decisions of Matt Walsh look-a-like Scott Skiles fool you: his production is the real deal.  Per 36 he'll give you around 9 boards a game, plus FT%, and his fouls per game have steadily declined.  Points-wise he'll give you 15, but think how much more it would be if Brandon Jennings passed the ball instead of building his own arena with all the bricks he lays on a nightly basis.  A 37.4% shooting percentage, Brandon? Go to your room!

Jared Dudley - Shooting Guard/Small Forward - Phoenix Suns

• This Boston College product gave us a glimpse of what he could do with monster back-to-back 42 minute performances following the Jason Richardson trade in which he averaged 30 points.  Unfortunately the Suns have opted to play the decaying corpse of Vince Carter until further injury.
• On a per-36 basis you're looking at 6 rebounds to go along with plus shooting percentages, but the hidden value with Dudley is steals.  Channeling his inner LiLo, he projects to 1.5 steals per 36.  

Lou Williams - Point Guard - Philadelphia 76ers

• Lou's perhaps one of the better known backup guards in the league, but he's demanding of even more of your attention.  On a per-36 basis he averages a cool 18 ppg for his career.  A quick glance at his game log and you will see numerous 20+ point performances despite limited playing time.
• His corresponding assists per-36 are a less lustrous 5 per game, but consider that he's always played second string for the 76ers.  Assists are largely a symptom of who you're passing the ball to.  Just ask The Brain how many times Pinky dropped the ball.

Congrats to all for joining the first annual All-Kevin Love Team!  You may resume riding the pine until better coaching arrives.