Trail Blazers' Caleb Love: Inactive for Monday's win
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Love was a healthy inactive Monday in the Trail Blazers' 135-118 win over the 76ers.
After churning out 17 points and eight assists in 27 minutes off the bench in Portland's 122-115 win over Memphis on Saturday, Love returned to the inactive list for the second time in three contests with the Trail Blazers getting Deni Avdija (back) and Scoot Henderson (hamstring) back in action Monday. The recent returns of Henderson and Blake Wesley from extended absences, as well as the arrival of trade-deadline pickup Vit Krejci looks like it could result in Love being outside of the rotation more often than not moving forward. A two-way player, Love has been active for 44 games this season, so he can suit up for just six more contests before Portland would need to convert him to a standard contract in order for him to be eligible to play thereafter.
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Trail Blazers' Caleb Love: Exits rotation Friday
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Love (coach's decision) was a healthy inactive Friday in the Trail Blazers' 135-115 win over the Grizzlies.
Though Love has exceeded expectations as a two-way player, efficiency has been an issue for the rookie guard, who has converted on just 39.1 percent of his field-goal attempts and 32.1 percent of his three-point tries this season. With Portland getting healthier in the backcourt following the recent returns of Blake Wesley and Scoot Henderson from long-term injuries, Love looks like he could find himself outside of the rotation more often than not. Since Love has already been active for 43 of his allotted 50 games as a two-way player, Portland likely elected to keep him inactive Friday to preserve his eligibility. However, Love should have a good chance at suiting up in the second leg of the back-to-back set Saturday versus the Grizzlies, as Shaedon Sharpe (calf) is unlikely to play after exiting Friday's game early, and Wesley and Henderson are both candidates to sit out for maintenance purposes.
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Trail Blazers' Caleb Love: Adds 12 points Friday
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Love closed Friday's 127-97 loss to the Knicks with 12 points (5-15 FG, 2-10 3Pt), three rebounds, four assists and two steals across 27 minutes.
Love had 12 points off the bench, scoring in double digits for the fourth time in the past five games. Although Love has been somewhat of a surprise thus far, his overall appeal remains limited. In his last 16 appearances, he's averaged 14.3 points and 2.6 three-pointers in 27.5 minutes per game. However, with very little to speak of in the way of peripherals, his rank during that time is outside the top 200, making him nothing more than a streaming consideration for anyone needing threes.
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Trail Blazers' Caleb Love: Strong effort off bench
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Love finished Thursday's 127-110 victory over the Heat with 20 points (8-19 FG, 4-12 3Pt), four rebounds and four assists across 33 minutes.
Love struggled at times to find the bottom of the net, but his shot volume helped him secure a 20-point night. He's been a valuable scoring asset off the bench in January, as he's reached the 20-point threshold four times in 11 games while averaging 16.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 28.5 minutes per game during this span.
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Trail Blazers' Caleb Love: Coming off bench Thursday
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Love is not in the Trail Blazers' starting lineup against the Hawks on Thursday.
Love made his first NBA start Tuesday against the Warriors, finishing with 17 points, seven assists, three rebounds, two steals and one block over 34 minutes, though he connected on just five of 16 field-goal attempts. The undrafted rookie will revert to a bench role Thursday while veteran Jrue Holiday enters the starting five for Portland.
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Trail Blazers' Caleb Love: Another double-digit scoring effort
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Love amassed 10 points (4-12 FG, 2-6 3Pt), seven rebounds and four assists over 29 minutes during Wednesday's 103-102 win over the Rockets.
With Jrue Holiday (calf) and Scoot Henderson (hamstring) out, Love is carving out a solid role for himself in the Portland backcourt. He's scored in double figures in nine consecutive outings, during which Love has averaged 16.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 3.4 three-pointers in 29.3 minutes per game.
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Trail Blazers' Caleb Love: Drills six threes off the bench
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Love had 24 points (8-15 FG, 6-10 3Pt, 2-2 FT), three rebounds and two assists across 34 minutes during Monday's 125-122 win over the Mavericks.
Love is making the most of his opportunities in Portland. Monday night, he went off for six threes and 24 points against the Mavericks. Acting head coach Tiago Splitter gave the undrafted rookie 34 minutes of action, which included some in crunch time where Love delivered big shots for his team. Over his last five games, he's averaged 18.3 points and north of 30 minutes per game.
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Trail Blazers' Caleb Love: Chips in 14 points in loss
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Love closed with 14 points (5-10 FG, 3-7 3Pt, 1-2 FT) and two assists in 25 minutes during Friday's 119-103 loss to the Clippers.
Love provided a spark off the bench Friday, albeit in a losing effort. The undrafted rookie led Portland's second unit in points en route to his second straight game scoring in double figures. While he is likely to fall out of the rotation when Jrue Holiday (calf) and Scoot Henderson (hamstring) return, Love has some short-term value on a banged-up Trail Blazers squad.
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Trail Blazers' Caleb Love: Scores nine points in loss
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Love registered nine points (4-9 FG, 0-5 3Pt, 1-1 FT), one rebound and four assists over 22 minutes during Thursday's 143-120 loss to the Pelicans.
The Trail Blazers have had several injuries to deal with, allowing Love to step into a larger role. Over the past six games, Love has seen 18.8 minutes per contest with 8.3 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.5 steals and 1.2 three-pointers.
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Trail Blazers' Caleb Love: Explodes for career-high 26 points
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Love recorded 26 points (9-20 FG, 6-14 3Pt, 2-2 FT), seven rebounds, five assists and one steal in 38 minutes during Friday's 127-123 win over Golden State.
Love torched the Warriors, going off to the tune of 26 points, marking a career high. With Shaedon Sharpe and Jrue Holiday sidelined due to calf injuries, it was all hands on deck for the Trail Blazers. While this was a great performance, Love is nothing more than a situational streamer, given that he was basically out of the rotation earlier in the season. However, he could see increased usage until Sharpe or Holiday returns to action, which won't be for at least another week.
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Trail Blazers' Caleb Love: Sees 11 minutes
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Love logged five points (2-10 FG, 1-5 3Pt), four rebounds and one assist over 11 minutes during Monday's 122-108 win over the Lakers.
With Matisse Thybulle (hip) sidelined, Love made his NBA debut Monday and certainly wasn't shy. Love is on a two-way contract with Portland, and most of his reps are likely to come with the Rip City Remix in the G League early on.
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Trail Blazers' Caleb Love: Scores 17 points in loss
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Love logged 17 points (6-16 FG, 3-9 3Pt, 2-2 FT), two rebounds, one assist and one block in 21 minutes of Wednesday's 118-111 preseason loss to the Warriors.
Love went undrafted after a five-year college career at North Carolina and Arizona. He's on a two-way contract with the Trail Blazers, and the expectation is that he'll spend the bulk of his time in the G League. After strong showings at the Summer League and training camp, he figures to be a prominent player for the Remix.
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Trail Blazers' Caleb Love: Nabs double-double in SL win
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Love accumulated 17 points (5-16 FG, 3-8 3Pt, 4-6 FT), 12 rebounds, five assists and two steals across 33 minutes in Tuesday's 93-87 Summer League win over the Pelicans.
Love struggled from the field but still finished as Portland's third-leading scorer. He also recorded a game-high mark in rebounds and tied the team lead in assists. The 23-year-old guard has now racked up at least 17 points in all three of his Summer League appearances.
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Trail Blazers' Caleb Love: Drops 18 points in loss
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Love finished with 18 points (7-21 FG, 3-9 3Pt, 1-2 FT), one rebound, one assist and one block across 29 minutes during Saturday's 96-86 Summer League loss against the Grizzlies.
Love excelled offensively once again Saturday, scoring 18 or more points for the second straight Summer League game. The Arizona product continues to demonstrate his ability to be a dependable scorer while also posing a threat from beyond the arc.
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Trail Blazers' Caleb Love: Logs 18 points in SL debut
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Love generated 18 points (7-16 FG, 4-7 3Pt), six rebounds, two assists and one steal over 23 minutes of Friday's 106-73 win over the Warriors.
Love had a reputation for being a streaky scorer during his five-year college career, but his shot was falling Thursday during Portland's rout of Golden State. He finished second on the team in points and posted a team-high positive 24 plus-minus. Love will need to be more consistent if he wants to stick in the NBA. However, he'll have the opportunity to prove himself while on a two-way contract this season.
