How impressive is Kevin Love's streak?

Have you ever just not bought into something? Say back when Titanic took over the top spot for all time ticket sales at the box office. Did you really buy into it? Did you really believe that many people would pay to watch that flick knowing good and well the boat was going down?

Well if not then you know how I felt this week watching the of coverage surrounding the Minnesota Timberwolves' Kevin Love securing his 52-straight and record-setting double-double.
That's not to say I don't like Love. I think he is a very good player, but I still couldn't talk myself into being amazed by this record. So I decided to figure out why.

In pondering the reasons I doubt the majesty of this record the first reason that popped up was it's impact on the team's success. Shouldn't great individual success lead to at least decent team success?

Wayne had the streak, plus that amazing feathered hair!

It did for Orel Hershiser, who pitched 59.1 scoreless innings in 1988. His Dodgers went on to a 5-0 record in the month of September, along with winning the '88 World Series.

The same was true of Wayne Gretzky's 51-straight games of scoring a point, as the 1984 Edmonton Oilers took home the Stanley Cup.

And what about Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hit streak? Well 1941 Yankees went 101-54 and won the '41 World Series.

So what about Mr. Love? Since beginning his streak on November 22 Minnesota has gone 11-41 and will be watching the NBA playoffs from the same spot as I will be. The couch.

But let's take the impact of the team's success out. How exactly was K-Love able to accomplish these stats on a nightly basis? Since there are more than a few players able to get double-digit points on a regular basis let's focus on the harder stat of the two, rebounds.

As a team the Timberwolves are pulling down 45.6 rebounds per game.

 

Love is averaging 10 rebounds more per contest than his nearest teammate, Michael Beasley. So what you say. How can they get rebounds if Kevin is sucking them all up?

Actually Kevin's teammates are producing at nearly the same rate, if not better, than they have over the course of their careers.
                                        10-11              Career 
Michael Beasley               5.8                    5.8
Darko Milicic                   5.3                    4.3
Anthony Tolliver              4.2                    5.0

It turns out Love seems to be benefiting from playing with a group a little lacking when it comes to cleaning the glass. Think of this like fishing. There are tons of fish in the lake and apparently Kevin is the only with with a fishing rod, while Michael Beasley and company are struggling to rig up a shoelace and safety pin lure.

Since Love is afforded the opportunity to grab a ton of rebounds thanks to his lack luster teammates, would it help if his team produced more potential rebounds than most? Why yes. Yes it would.

According to Basketball-Reference.com the Timberwolves play at a pace of 96.5 possessions per game. Combine this with the fact that as a team Minnesota's field goal percentage ranks as the 28th best in the league, 43 percent, and it's easy to see the opportunities for rebounds increasing. More possessions + a poor shooting team = more rebounding opportunities on the offensive end.

So what about the defensive end? Considering the Timberwolves on average score 5.33 fewer points than their opponents, it's fair to assume there have been more than a few occasions in which the opposing team hasn't stressed taking a few chances. It's doubtful shot selection is at a premium during these times and likely the bench is seeing a little more action than normal.

Simply put, when you're feeling comfortable, you don't play as hard. You take more careless shots and you let players who aren't as good play more minutes. Put all this together and you have another pretty good recipe for loose balls. 


Since we have already established Love as the Wolves only real glass-cleaning threat, it's pretty simple to see how his statistics would benefit from such a pace of play. 

What about the record itself, is it historically legit?

Considering the "record" K-Love holds completely ignores ABA records prior to the NBA-ABA merger in 1976, not so much. Love's record is merely breaking Moses Malone's 1978-79 record of 51 games.

Of course the guy who jumps off the page at you is Wilt Chamberlain.  Not only did Wilt outdo Love's record three times, his career averages at 30.1 ppg and 22.9 rpg. Are we really serious about putting K-Love even in the same sentence as Wilt?

Gold I tell you, gold!

Maybe you are. Maybe you are the guy who is ok with Sherk 2 ranking up there with Star Wars and E.T. when it comes to all-time movie greats. Maybe you are the guy who thinks because American Idol scored 25 million viewers that makes it a better show than 30 Rock. That's fine. But I'm not that guy. I'll take Vader over Donkey everyday and think Tracy Jordan is television gold.

Kevin Love is a good player and one of the best young stars of the league. Don't get me wrong, this is not a K-Love bash-fest. But him being a great rebounder and impressive player is just a part of the equation that has stirred up this perfect storm.

His streak of double-double is impressive and the longer it continues, the more impressive it will become. But as for it being worthy of the hype it has received, I'm just not buying it.