Rugged season has toughened Cavaliers’ Kevin Love

After the Cavaliers eliminated the Toronto Raptors, LeBron James was asked whether getting to the Eastern Conference finals was more satisfying than in the previous three years.

“We’ve had four or five seasons wrapped into one,” James answered. “We’ve talked about it all year. To be able to put ourselves in position to represent the Eastern Conference in the Finals, that’s all you can ask for.”

James was referring to trading Kyrie Irving, not having Isaiah Thomas — the key player acquired from Boston in the Irving trade — for the first 36 games because of a hip injury and then dealing Thomas when he didn’t fit what the Cavs were doing, acquiring four players at the trading deadline, health issues for Coach Ty Lue and the ever-present rumors about where he will play next season.

Well, four or five seasons wrapped into one for the entire team is a tall mountain to scale, no doubt about it. It has been four or five seasons wrapped into one just for Kevin Love, and he’s come through it, too — literally battered and broken, but he’s come through it.

Love suffered a broken left land in late January and missed six weeks, but that’s just one part of the drama that surrounded him this season. He is a major reason the Cavs got by Indiana and Toronto for the right to play the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals beginning 3:30 p.m. May 13 in Boston.

“Kevin has been great since he came back — well, all year, actually,” Lue said after practice May 10. “He was an All-Star playing the 5 (center) position. It was tough for him to start, but I think he’s starting to like it.

“We really missed his shooting ability at the 5 position (when Love was injured). We missed his rebounding, his toughness on the glass. He really punches smaller guys in the paint and then rebounds the basketball. With him playing the way he’s played the last three games, it’s huge for us. We need him to continue to do that.”

Celtics coach Brad Stevens is expected to use Al Horford to guard and harass Love in the conference finals. Love is prepared.

“He’s a guy that, especially this year, has been able to step up and hit big shots and make big plays,” Love said. “He’s not only looking to score. He’s a big-time facilitator. He guards the other team’s best big or, in some cases, best player. You got to give a lot of praise to him. The guy plays extremely hard at both ends.”

The Cavs were bounced by the Golden State Warriors in five games in the Finals last year, so what was the best way to make the Cavaliers better? Trade Kevin Love, the national media decided.

Thomas, soon after he did start playing, called Love out for not being a team player. It didn’t take general manager Koby Altman long to surmise Thomas, not Love, was the real problem.

Then Love suffered the broken hand in late January. He was sidelined six weeks.

As he was healing from the injury, Love opened up about suffering panic attacks. His openness about such a private situation was well received worldwide. Positive reaction notwithstanding, the admission is another part of his story this season.

Next, Love suffered partially torn ligaments in his left thumb during Game 2 of the first-round series with the Pacers. He played through the injury, though not as well as critics thought he should. He was 2-for-10 from the floor in Game 4 and 3 of 10 in Game 6. He was not at his best defensively in those games.

Even the Love haters had difficulty picking apart what the 6-foot-10 center did in the last three games of the Toronto series:

• 31 points, 11 rebounds in Game 2

• 21 points, 16 rebounds in Game 3

• 23 points, six rebounds in Game 4

“It just came from me being me,” Love said. “I said after Game 2, I didn’t forget how to play basketball. I found myself missing little chippies, missing shots that were uncharacteristic of me to miss. I continued to be aggressive, continued to put in the work every single day, so for me it (was) just wanting to be myself.”

The Cavaliers will be very happy with Love if being himself means duplicating what he did for them in the conference finals against the Celtics last year. Love averaged 22 points and 12 rebounds in a series the Cavs won in five games.