The Miami Heat are down 3-1, but Kevin Love still got a win this weekend.
Love and his wife, Kate Bock, welcomed their first child on Saturday. The five-time All-Star was there for the birth, then flew to Denver in time for a film session. Love told reporters that everyone was happy and healthy, and added “Definitely need to get some rest now, get some sleep.”
If recent playoff history is an indication, becoming a father could give the sleep-deprived Love a big boost. During the 2019 playoffs, Raptors guard Fred VanVleet was mired in a shooting slump before his wife unexpectedly went into labor a few weeks early. While VanVleet was traveling back and forth between Toronto, Milwaukee and his home in Rockford, Illinois, he also started shooting the lights out.
Despite barely sleeping, VanVleet made all three of his three-point attempts in Game 4 – he’d been 3-of-25 from deep before that – and then made a career-high seven triples in Game 5. He was 4-of-5 from deep as Toronto closed out the Bucks in Game 6, and then continued his hot streak in the Finals. VanVleet made 16-of-40 threes against the Warriors while also guarding Steph Curry, averaging 14 points off the bench.
During the Finals, VanVleet joked to reporters that Fred Jr. should get “no credit” for his improvement.
“I wish I could go back in time and not tell anyone that I had a kid so I could get all the glory for turning around my performance.”
Love has shot well after being benched for Game 1, delivering 7-of-16 shooting from behind the arc. But perhaps the pride of fatherhood and the freeing power of sleep deprivation and jet lag will turn Love into a defensive force for the Heat as well. It’s happened to him before while trying to come back from a 3-1 deficit.
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