CLEVELAND: No last-second drama played out regarding whether Cavaliers forward Kevin Love would play in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
The Cavs announced Wednesday afternoon that Love — who was put in the league’s concussion protocol after being elbowed in the back of the head during Game 2 — was not medically cleared to play.
The earliest he can return is for Game 4 on Friday.
Trailing the Golden State Warriors 2-0 in the series, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue gave the starting nod in Game 3 to forward Richard Jefferson, who started in LeBron James’ spot while James slid to power forward.
“[I] just like his physicality, able to catch the ball, straight-line drive, moves well without the basketball when we get stagnant,” said Lue of Jefferson. “Just going off his last game in Game 2, I thought he really played well, and that’s who we decided to go with.”
Jefferson is averaging 5.6 points and 2.8 rebounds per game in the series.
Frye ’em up
It was safe to assume forward Channing Frye, who the Cavs acquired in a midseason trade and was instrumental to their playoff success getting to the Finals, was going to see more action in the series.
Until Wednesday night, though, Frye had played a grand total of 11 minutes in the first two games.
That hasn’t discouraged him.
“When I came here I understood we’re a very deep team,” Frye said. “Different matchups work — sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t. Coach is trying to figure out the lineup that’s going to work the best. I think that honestly [the Warriors] play small, they really aren’t playing their centers, then the next guy that comes in is about 6-6.”
That puts Frye in a less-than-ideal scenario as the Cavs continue through the series.
“For me it’s a good and bad situation, but I’m always going to stay ready,” he said. “I’m never one to complain about minutes or question coach Lue. I’m here to help the team win. If that’s getting five minutes, I’m going to have to bust my ass for five minutes.”
The 6-foot-10 forward came off an Eastern Conference finals in which he averaged nine points while playing about 16 minutes per game and shooting nearly 63 percent from the floor.
“If you watch the film you see when I step past half court, those guys are always an arm reach away from me,” Frye said. “Sometimes it’s not about the stats. I think a lot of people kind of dwell on that.
“The minutes I get in there I try to do the best I can with what I’ve got. I’ve got to just worry about that and not look at … it’s not a pity party, I’m not like, ‘Oh, why am I not playing?’ I’ve got to say, ‘When I do get my minutes I’ve got to go out there and do better and see if I can’t get things rolling faster.’ ”
Lue said it was a matchup issue getting Frye into the first two games of the Finals, given the Warriors often play a small lineup.
“We’ve got to do a better job getting him on the floor,” Lue said. “We know how lethal he is when he’s making shots. When we put him in the game, they immediately go small. But we need to find ways to keep him on the floor.”
Working it out
The Cavs went into Game 3 looking for answers to the difficult questions that had them in an 0-2 hole. None were easy. Do they have problems on offense or defense?
“It’s a combination of both,” James said. “Defense dictates your offense, but sometimes offense dictates your defense as well. We haven’t been as fluent as we would like to be offensively, so we definitely got to do a better job of that.”
Frye agreed.
“I mean, it’s like what came first, the chicken or the egg,” he said. “For us, it’s just a type of mentality we need to have — be more physical, get out in pace, and that’s both offensively and defensively, making them uncomfortable. I think they’ve been pretty comfortable running their sets. I think we need to make them play a little more one on one and less passing.”
Other struggles
Frye isn’t the only Cav who is struggling. J.R. Smith is conspicuous in his on-court production issues. He’s scored eight points in the first two Finals games and is averaging 11.0 points in the playoffs, slightly below his 12.4 season average.
“It’s tough because they’re doing a great job trying to take him out of the game, knowing how important he is to our offense,” James said of Smith. “But we’ll run some things for him, keep him engaged offensively because he has been doing a great job defensively. So we’ve got to do a better job. He’s a hot hand for us. We’ve got to understand that.”
Letting it fly
Warriors forward Draymond Green had the green light in Game 2 of the series. Green, who scored 28 points and hit 5-of-8 3-point attempts, said he took some advice from assistant coach —and soon to be Los Angeles Lakers head coach — Luke Walton.
“He told me, ‘If you’ve got those rhythm shots we want you taking those shots,’ ” Green said of Walton, a former Cavs player. “He says that all the time. It’s great. Any time you get confidence from the sideline it always helps.
“The other night I didn’t hesitate at all. I think I hesitated on the very first shot and Luke told me right after that, ‘Don’t hesitate again.’ After that I probably wasn’t hesitant enough, but it worked out.”
Awards call
The NBA presented the Memphis Grizzlies’ Vince Carter with the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award. ... The NBA Coaches Association honored legendary coaches K.C. Jones of the Boston Celtics and Jerry Sloan of the Utah Jazz with the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award.
Browns about town
Browns cornerback Joe Haden made his usual appearance during a Cavs game at Quicken Loans Arena. THE Cleveland Brown, Jim Brown, also attended. Topping it off, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam took in the game.
George M. Thomas can be reached at gmthomas@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GeorgeThomasABJ.