Howlin' T-Wolf

The long, treacherous trek that has been Kevin Love’s career continues to be as confusing as a Rubik’s Cube:

ISTANBUL, Turkey — One of the big mysteries surrounding Team USA at the World Championship is why Kevin Love’s playing time has been so limited.

He has been, by far, the most productive and aggressive player for the Americans when it comes to producing points and rebounds off the bench, but he is playing behind Andre Iguodala at the 4 spot and behind Lamar Odom (and sometimes Tyson Chandler) at center.

In yesterday’s victory over Iran, which I dissected in my postgame column with a critical eye regarding the Americans’ offense, Love led the team in scoring with 13 points despite playing the fewest minutes (just under 11) of anyone on the roster.

“I just go out there and try to be productive. Coach said today everybody’s in their roles. I think for me, I know Lamar is going to be the starting center, and he’s going to play a lot of minutes. So when I get the chance to come in, whether I’m playing 5 minutes or 25 minutes, I have to get the job done. And I feel I’ve done a good job contributing thus far,” Love told ESPN.com.

Love played only 5:20 in Team USA’s 2-point victory over Brazil, 13:24 in the 22-point victory over Slovenia and 13:14 in Team’s USA’s tournament-opening 28-point victory over Croatia.