How will Cleveland Cavaliers adjust in Game 7 without Kevin Love?

* Tonight on ESPN: Game 7, Cavaliers vs. Celtics (8:30 ET)

BOSTON – No Love for LeBron in Boston.

So what else is new?

OK, so this time there is a difference. LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are back facing not merely an unwelcoming attitude but a personnel crisis.

Kevin Love, All-Star forward and the Cavs’ generally acceded second-best player since Kyrie Irving switched sides in this heated Eastern Conference rivalry, was placed in the NBA’s concussion protocol Saturday and has been ruled out of Game 7 of the East finals Sunday night at TD Garden (8:30 ET, ESPN).

On paper, stripping away Cleveland’s top rebounder (9.8 per game) and second-leading scorer (12.5) from an elimination game would seem to deal a severe blow to his team’s shot at winning and reaching a fourth consecutive NBA Finals.

On parquet, maybe not so much.

Love shot 37.5 percent overall and made only seven of his 26 3-point attempts in the series’ first six games. Per NBA.com/stats, he had a net rating of minus-7.4, the amount by which Cleveland has been outscored by Boston per 100 possessions.

From the timeout that followed Love’s head-to-head collision with Boston forward Jayson Tatum to the game’s end three-and-a-half quarters later, the Cavaliers outscored the Celtics 103-89.

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