INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- Kevin Love is averaging more rebounds, playing more minutes, and shooting at a higher percentage than he ever has in his playoff career.

Granted, his resume isn't extensive, spanning one run to the Finals last year, three-plus games in 2015, and the eight the Cavs have played so far in 2017.

But the 13.8 points and 9.9 shots per game in this postseason are career lows for Love, and coach Tyronn Lue says that's his fault. He wants Love's role to grow significantly on offense when the playoffs resume next week.

"Some of it's my fault because we haven't really featured him a lot because of the matchups we had on other teams," Lue said after practice Thursday. "(Love has) been great. His whole mindset is winning and that's what it's all about in the playoffs. In this next series, we have some matchups he can definitely take advantage of and it's on me to make sure we do that."

Cleveland Cavaliers practice at Cleveland Clinic Courts, May 11, 2017 28 Gallery: Cleveland Cavaliers practice at Cleveland Clinic Courts, May 11, 2017

Cleveland is awaiting either Boston or Washington in the Eastern Conference finals. The Celtics lead the Wizards 3-2, with Game 6 set for Friday.

There's a deeper explanation to all of this, to the lack of scoring from Love as compared with this point in the playoffs last year. But before we go any further, understand that Love is more than OK with how he's being used in Lue's offense.

"I told him, 'We're 8-0. I don't mind it,'" Love said. "If I get five or six shots, if I get 15 shots, it don't matter to me, as long as we win. I've been in this position before, we're having success so I'm happy. Feel good."

Right now, LeBron James leads the Cavs in scoring this postseason with 34.4 points per game, followed by Kyrie Irving's 23.8, and then Love. No one else is averaging in double figures.

Through eight playoff games last season (like this year, all wins), Love was averaging 18.9 points, while Irving led the Cavs at 24.4 and James was averaging 23.5. Also, J.R. Smith was contributing 12.5 points.

Lue said he hasn't called Love's number as much so far in part because of matchups -- the Raptors had Serge Ibaka, who was supposed to make life more difficult for Love. Either because of Ibaka, or because of Lue's playcalling, or because James owned the series (36.0 ppg), Love averaged just 12 points against the Raptors, and contributed just five points on 2-of-7 shooting in Game 4.

Overall, Love is averaging 9.1 rebounds and shooting .430 in 31.3 minutes per game.

"Just because (he's) not scoring the basketball or whatever, defensively and rebounding the basketball he's been great," Lue said. "That's why they went out and got Ibaka and those guys, to try and slow Kevin down. Maybe we didn't feature Kevin enough against Toronto, maybe we showed 'em too much respect and that's on me. But next round I've got to do a better job of really getting Kevin involved and really establishing Kevin."

Love being lost in the shuffle offensively was something that happened often in his first 11/2 seasons in Cleveland, or basically until Lue took over in late January of 2016. Love had difficulty being such a distant third option behind James and Irving, but all of that went away during the 2016 playoffs and throughout this season.

Now that it's happened in the first two rounds of the playoffs, Love is talking glowingly about his role in helping to trap Raptors guards Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, and about being a steady force on the defensive glass.

"Our game plan has been great," Love said. "I've just been trying to be my best in that role. Sometimes it's going to be like that."

"That's just the maturity of Kevin over these last couple years," Lue said. "Winning's first. And that's the most important. He understand when we get to the playoffs it's all about winning."