Kevin Love Stays Cool, Indiana Pacers Win Game
by Tom Lewis on Feb 2, 2012 9:01 AM EST
in Indiana Pacers News
Email
PrintKevin Love knows all about acting. The guy has an incredible ability to finish plays while flailing to draw contact which certainly helps his production.
He also likes to put up a California cool front, presenting a know-it-all maturity beyond his 23 years of age. So after taking another loss last night, Love complained about Danny Granger and the Pacers taking exception to his hard foul on Granger, trying to stay cool and mask the fact he had just been put in his place by the Pacers.
"I've said all along," Love said, "I don't like the Pacers."
"I know that none of them were going to do anything," said Love, who finished with 21 points. "Just play ball. It's part of the game -- a hard foul, everybody is getting fouled out there."
"(They think) they are so tough," Love said. "They take those pills and they got all that toughness. I don't know where that comes from. They all think they are tough guys. I just don't know where that comes from. It just blows my mind. They are all tough and that makes me laugh."
"I guarantee the next time we play them, it will be just as physical," he said.
On that last point, we can all agree. The question is: Will Love show up or shrivel up?
Last night Love complained about the Pacers play after the game but wasn't able to do anything about on the court. His "too cool" approach was exposed last night when Granger and the Pacers stood up to his flagrant hack and he backed down once play resumed, showing Love still has a thing or two to learn about winning.
After the skirmish, Love wasn't heard from again until his team was down 18 points with five minutes left in the game. During that Love-less stretch of time, Granger kept "acting tough" by scoring 13 points and taking his fired up teammates along with him. Heck, Lou Amundson had a bigger impact on the game during that stretch.
What Love fails to realize is that the Pacers aren't trying to act tough, they are trying to make opponents uncomfortable. In past seasons, team's and certain players would go off against the Pacers in part because they were comfortable on the floor and able to get shots when and where they liked.
Now not so much.
Take this as just another sign that the Pacers have improved as opponents continue to complain about how they are getting beat by the Blue and Gold.
At least Love has the media in his corner because he's, you know, so cool. I wonder what the reaction would be if JaVale McGee complained in a similar fashion after a loss?
43 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Whatever...homeless Ben Affleck Beard can talk all the sh!t he wants
We have certainly arrived if we’re pissing off Olympians every game. Screw them. Keep winning.
"You're hitting the wrong person. Don't you know you're hitting Ron Artest?"
Come visit The Fantasy Ninjas. We'd love to hear from you.
I absolutely love this. Nothing pisses me off more than a team that plays soft. Finally we’re being rewarded for remaining loyal during murphlevy era. This team is not only living up to expectations but taking names while they’re doing it. Keep up the tough play boys.
by hilliard on Feb 2, 2012 9:40 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
we MIGHT be the leader for Chris Kaman
http://www.nola.com/hornets/index.ssf/2012/02/teams_starting_to_show_interes.html
A league source said Wednesday night that the Indiana Pacers, one of several other teams reportedly in the mix for Kaman, could, in fact, be the leading candidate for a swap.
The Pacers apparently are looking for a backup to Roy Hibbert.
I’m all for it, but not if they’re sticking with the money + pick + prospect demand.
"He's like Darth Vader." - Frank Vogel on Larry Bird
There isn't anyone on this roster I would trade for Chris Kaman
EXCEPT maybe Lou. But I’m really starting to like the way Lou is playing. And Pendergraph I guess… but I don’t know anything about him. The rest of the pieces don’t fit, with Hill being out we can’t part with a guard.
Maybe I’m just falling in love with the players we have here.
money + pick (2nd rounder)
is the way to go considering he is a Unrestricted FA at yrs end.
I’ll even let N.O. choose the year they want their 2nd rounder.
This is what the person who runs Canis Hoopus had to say:
bq.Remember that game against the Heat last year where Miami just toyed with the Wolves and we all got to see what it would look like if a Flyweight went up against a Heavyweight?
The Wolves have stepped up a few weight classes since that tilt and last night’s beat down at the hands of the Indiana Pacers showed all of us what it is like to see a cutesy Middleweight get beat the you-know-what-down by a grown ass man Middleweight.
well the quote was supposed to be in blue, but anyway
I don’t really like them putting us in the same ‘weight’ category as the Wolves. I’ve boxed and played basketball competitively and I follow both (although more devoted to basketball) and if the Wolves are a middleweight and Miami is/was a heavyweight than we are a light heavyweight or at least a super middleweight.
Speaking of boxing, godspeed to Angelo Dundee.
Perhaps that's the distinction he was trying to go for with the
“cutesy Middleweight…grown-ass man Middleweight” line.
WRITTEN IN THE STAAAAARS, A MILLION MILES AWAAAAAAY
I write about the Arsenal for The Short Fuse.
by Thomas Wachtel on Feb 2, 2012 11:20 AM EST up reply actions
unfortunately it's going to be Cotto - Mayweather and likely Manny - Bradley
Of those two I’ll take Mayweather and Manny; both fairly easily, and Mayweather over Manny
Unfortunate,
for Cotto and his fans.
AGREED – Mayweather allday evryday!
The other thing I wanted to write
While we are still 5th place in the eastern conference, we’ve played the fewest home games in the league at 7. Some teams have played only 8, but they are bottom feeders — Sacramento, Cleveland, and Toronto appear to be the only ones. Certainly that bodes well for us going forward.
Good catch Pend
I too, noticed that last night.
***Forever Grunge...Man!***
*Hill with the steal, he drives the lane and finger rolls. COUNT IT aaaand put'em on the line...A magnificant display of defense from George Hill*
by rockguyinindy on Feb 2, 2012 10:33 AM EST up reply actions
y'know, I just realized
aaronb hasn’t been around in quite awhile. hope all is well with him.
"He's like Darth Vader." - Frank Vogel on Larry Bird
I remember
I can remember a young harrington, Davis, Davis, and artest…….and thought no one is going to look forward to playing these guys…..these guys are in your face ….only we all know how that imploded, first by trading A davis, and then the brawl So lets not trade the wrong guy in a hasty move, and enjoy the other guys complaining——-if they are complaining, we must be getting to them! We are not that little kid on the block anymore, and if they want to play on our corner, they had better be ready to fight for it.
Fortunately for us
Larry doesn’t “trrade the wrong guy” or “make hasty moves”
Surprised
I am slightly stunned at Love’s post-game comments. What did he mean by the “pills” the Pacer’s take? In addition, he was inviting future skirmishes between the teams by saying he knew the Pacers would not do anything.
These comments smell sour to me. They seem especially sour given what I think I saw last night. Bear with me. After the dust-up between Granger and Love, the teams eventually separated and the refs went to the scorer’s table to review tape and make a final decision regarding the foul/technical situation. Granger gets the T, Love is called for a foul. No problem. Love sinks the tech and the teams return to the other end for Granger’s free throws. As Granger stood at the charity stripe waiting for the ball to shoot the first free throw, Kevin Love walks within a few inches of Granger and clearly makes a non-confrontational comment to Granger. Granger nods his head as if to say “we’re good.” I would bet dollars to pesos (or Euros to pesos – whichever is more extreme at the moment) that Love did a mea culpa as he walked past Granger. Otherwise the body language does not make sense.
Now, obviously, I have no proof – just an observation from an attorney with years of experience “reading” witnesses/deponents. Love did not want a problem to escalate beyond the moment. Yet, after the game he says this garbage? That tells me he was scared at the moment and much “braver” in the confines of the Minnesota locker room long after the tilt was decided.
I don’t think Love was wise nor professional in his after-game comments and I would not be surprised to see a couple flagrant fouls in the next contest between the teams as a result of Love’s post-game rhetoric.
You're probably correct
If you noticed during the game, when Granger wanted to throw down, Love backed away and only Martel Webster and Michael Beasley appeared to want to mix it up.
I love Danny, but c'mon
he wasn’t about to throw down with anyone.
"He's like Darth Vader." - Frank Vogel on Larry Bird
I think love is exposing himself with what he says here.
What he is talking about here is all the things he should have done in the game when it was happening. We all know that situation in school when some kid makes a smart ass remark in your direction and you end up not knowing what to say back. You keep thinking about this incident the rest of the day cause you are upset and in the end you know what you should have said or done. Well thanks but its too late now.
Danny's comments after the game
mentioned Love as a friend from their days on the U.S. World Championships squad and said that there wasn’t any ill will. This, of course, stands in contrast to what Love said. So I think Ejay is right about how it was during the game. Maybe Love got pissed after the Wolves lost, and that added heat to his comments. Either way, stupid statemens on Love’s part
I really couldn't care less about Love's, Rose's, or whoever's comments about the team
Speak softly and carry a big stick.
"He's like Darth Vader." - Frank Vogel on Larry Bird
Can't we talk crap and carry a big stick, though?
Where’s the fun in subtlety and discipline? =)
Oh Kevin
My favorite part of Love’s comments was the “I guarantee the next time we play them, it will be just as physical.” That says a lot about Love and maybe the entire T-Wolves team. What, Kevin, you couldn’t make it ‘just as physical’ within the game? You have to mentally prep yourself for the next matchup before you can match physicality?
The T’Wolves are an up-and-coming bunch, but Love’s reaction to last night’s physicality indicates they’ve still got some winning maturity to do. If he can’t handle the physicality of a middle-of-the-week, regular-season game, then I can’t even imagine how he’d handle a playoff game against a Western Conference foe.
apparently in Love's eyes, physical play is a threat
for the Pacers it’s the norm
Kevin Love is a...
I didn’t realize Kevin Love was such a crybaby bitch. I’m not even mad about the hard foul, but why talk all that shit after the game? Grow up.
Wolves fan here
I don’t think Love was complaining about the Granger “incident” so much as how physical you guys were the whole game. There were a couple of times I was worried that “psycho-t” was going to actually injure somebody he was so physically out of control.
That being said. We got straight up rolled by you guys and nobody did anything about it. It was very frustrating.
Also, Granger was not going to “throw down” he waited until Beasley and Martell Webster came in between them before he started acting tough. As a fan of Granger in general I gotta say he’s pretty lucky that Pekovic had already feasted on the souls of small children before the game otherwise Danny might not have walked out of Target Center.
Pekovich
Is one ugly, mean looking dude. He looks like he belongs in Hells Angels. Like the way he plays ball though.
LET THE HATERS HATE.
by INdymayneNVegas on Feb 2, 2012 5:22 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Almost lost in all the tough talk shuffle
Collission’s 20pt, 9asst, 6rbs, 2stls schooling of pheno Rubio.
I would have to think he was schooling Ridnour.
"A champion is someone who gets up when he can't."
- Jack Dempsey
by infinityzero.systemerror on Feb 3, 2012 3:58 AM EST up reply actions
It rhymed with pheno
I guess i could have said Ridno.
Truth is, the stats remain the same.
Game Comment....
K-Love is an alright dude for being ONLY 23yrs old. He knows they GOT out-physical-ed and out-played for most of the game despite their loaded roster and two HUGE guys at the Center position. Heck, if we pickup the nasty Chris Kaman as Hibbert’s backup (with Jeff Foster mending up), we’ll be even MORE physical than we are already. Also, with George Hill out for awhile, Lance Stephenson ain’t NO pushover at backup PG or SG. It ONLY gets WORST for our opponents as Lance gets MORE burn-time and experience. Most of the Eastern Conference is HOPING that we’re TOO DUMB to give Lance more playing time because once Lance is up-to-speed, look out Eastern Conference. You think we play physical now…..wait until you SEE Lance Stephenson at backup PG with Chris Kaman and Jeff Foster at backup Center. We’re going to be freaking RELENTLESS for 48 minutes…..VOGEL for Coach of the Year and Larry as GM of the Year…..LOL!!!!
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
NBA Playoffs Content Module
Related FanPosts on Indy Cornrows
Related FanShots on Indy Cornrows
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Ball Don't Lie - NBA - Yahoo! Sport
- David West hilariously denies each and every one of his young fans a high-five (VIDEO)
- Behind the Box Score, where the Miami Heat are moving on to the conference finals
- Kevin Durant is tired of hearing about the Spurs
- The 10-man rotation, starring your Indiana Pacers
- Blake Griffin highlights, ‘NBA Jam’-style (VIDEO)
