‘hunter Versus The Hunted,’ Heat’s Kevin Love Finds Tables Turned As Playoff Underdog

MIAMI — Life on the other side, Kevin Love said, has its advantages, even with the odds longer, the challenges greater. Before joining the Miami Heat last season, every career trip to the playoffs for Love came as a favorite to advance to the NBA Finals. It either was ultimate success — or ultimate failure. Then, after leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers a year ago to sign with the Heat on the buyout market, the playoff equation changed. Unlike those previous 13 postseason series alongside LeBron James, Love found himself as a playoff underdog, four times last year and now in this first-round series against the Boston Celtics. “It’s like the hunter versus the hunted,” Love, 35, told the Sun Sentinel.