We all saw how the NBA went ablaze over Kevin Love and there are numerous critics who are questioning whether he was worth all the hype. But the argument is that he was not even given enough credit.

Bill Simmons of Grantland had an extensive column trying to assess whether Love is overrated, underrated or properly rated. He actually believes that Love was underrated.

One of his main arguments was how the Golden State Warriors hesitated to include Klay Thompson in a trade package that could have got them Kevin Love. They were not really sure whether Love was worth the risk of losing their backcourt chemistry and Thompson's above average perimeter defense.

The big knock on Love is that he has never been to the playoffs. Not even once in his six seasons. Simmons pointed out Kevin Love's monster stats. The critics point out that Love cannot be included in the pantheon of great forwards.

"Bird, Duncan and Malone never missed the playoffs - not once. Dirk missed the playoffs his first two years, then made it for the next 12. Barkley missed the playoffs just twice in his first 15 years (1988 and 1992). Durant is on a five-year playoff run. You know Love's record."

Granted, the team's failure is not supposed to be all of Kevin Love's fault. Simmons' compared his bad breaks to Charles Barkley's initial failures and how he picked up when he was traded to Phoenix. The list of the parallels:

"It's easier to compare Love and Barkley than I thought. Like Love, the 6-foot-4 Barkley was a spectacular scorer-rebounder, a surprisingly good passer, a favorite of the advanced-metrics dudes, and a super duper entertaining player who always came off more impressively when you watched him in person.

Like Love, Barkley battled weight issues early in his career that led to him dropping lower in the draft than he should have gone.

 Like Love, Barkley was a below-average defensive player who ideally needed to be flanked by a shot-blocker, although he protected the rim much better than Love does.

Like Love, Barkley's greatness bubbled to the surface at the Olympics when he was surrounded by better players."

Simmons predicts that Love's career will pick up now that he's playing with the best active player in the world. His final assessment:

"I see Love thriving on the pick-and-pop with LeBron or Kyrie to frighteningly efficient degrees.

I see anyone who said this week that (a) Cleveland gave up too much, and/or (b) Love isn't as good as people think, feeling stupid. Final verdict: underrated."