Is Kevin Love OK?
Love, who has been open about his mental-health issues, did not appear to be in a good state of mind last night.
After the Cavaliers forward got beat defensively then bumped as he was taking the ball out of the basket, a referee tossed the ball to Love to inbound. Love batted the ball into play and meandered toward the sideline as the Raptors picked it up and scored.
Love gestured toward the referee afterward. But if he didn’t like how the ref threw him the ball, Love didn’t show much competitive fire in his argument. He just looked sullen.
On a massive contract extension, Love has missed 43 games this season. Cleveland’s 112-96 loss to Toronto was the Cavs’ third straight defeat, dropping them to 21-40.
Maybe Love deserves empathy. Maybe he deserves a rebuke. Maybe both.
Last year, Love expressed regret for childish outbursts during games.