Rivers: Love a 'made man' after Cavs' title
Fresh off of earning his first ever Eastern Conference Player of the Week award, Kevin Love seems to be playing as comfortable as ever with the Cavaliers, but what's been behind the success?
Clippers coach Doc Rivers points to the final moments of Game 7 at Oracle Arena.
"Listen, he made the single biggest stop in Cleveland history other than the block," Rivers said at shootaround Thursday. "He guarded [Stephen] Curry for 15 seconds on an island."
After the Cavs' historical triumph, the two-time NBA Coach of the Year and former champion recalled a conversation he had with Tyronn Lue about Love.
"It’s funny," Rivers reminisced. "When that happened I told Ty that night -- even though he was drenched in champagne I was still talking about basketball -- I said that play will change him forever, and I really believe it has. He’s got great confidence. It’s good to see."
Rivers continued: "I think when you win a title, it’s not the LeBrons that benefit. It’s everyone else, and I think Kevin’s a made man now. He’s a champion and he plays that way. He plays real, like a champion."
Not just Love has benefited, however, according to Rivers. When a team wins a championship, it changes all of those players forever, and he sees that with the way Cleveland has played out of the gate.
"You could watch their whole team; they have the what I call the championship rub now," he said. "They’re playing with such freedom and such confidence."
