Lonzo Ball is taking a lot of heat from fans this season. Lonzo hasn’t been the player the Cleveland Cavaliers were hoping for when they traded Isaac Okoro for him in July.
Ball’s shooting has been dreadful. Entering Tuesday’s game in Indiana, Lonzo was shooting 30.4 percent from the field and 26.4 percent from 3 this season (27 games played). There’s no sugarcoating that.
Even so, some of the Lonzo hate is getting out of hand. Take Jeff Teague, for example, who recently said during the Club 520 podcast that Lonzo is “cooked.” This was both an unfair and false statement from Teague.
Lonzo Ball haters are completely out of touch
Teague was making fun of Lonzo for his recent performance against the Detroit Pistons on Jan. 4, in which Lonzo finished with a minimal stat line of zero points, two rebounds, and two assists. Teague suggested that this is sad production for a guy averaging 22 minutes per game on the season.
What Teague failed to acknowledge was that Lonzo only played 10 minutes against the Pistons, and he only took one shot. In that vein, Lonzo’s game has never been about scoring or stats.
He’s an unselfish, pass-first point guard whose value often lies in hockey assists, pushing the ball ahead better than most point guards in the league, and making his teammates better.
Lonzo’s value to winning can’t always be measured by a box score, and to criticize Ball on account of stats represents everything that’s wrong with modern basketball discourse. Teague should know better, having been a really good guard in the NBA himself.
The Lonzo hate is completely off-base. For a guy who had a meniscus transplant less than two years ago, the fact that he’s even on an NBA court right now is the stuff of history.
Not only that, but Lonzo has shown flashes of quality if you’re actually paying attention and not predisposed to hating on him. Take the Denver Nuggets game on January 2 as a prime example. In 15 minutes of action, Lonzo affected winning with six points on 2-of-3 shooting from 3 to go along with three rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.
What more do you want from Lonzo as he works his way back into NBA rhythm?
The guy missed both of the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons in their entirety, and he played only 35 games for the Chicago Bulls last season. Give him some time. The fact that he’s showing flashes of production like he did against a tough Denver team should tell you all you need to know.
Lonzo’s shooting numbers will start to rise. These are rust and rhythm issues. Cavs fans pushing for Lonzo to stop getting playing time needn’t worry — Craig Porter Jr. has emerged as the team’s backup point guard (and he’s one of the best in the league right now).
Can we give Lonzo at least a full season to get his legs back before saying he’s “cooked?” With Porter in the fray, it’s not going to come at an expense for the Cavs. Lonzo’s story is an awesome one, even if people like Teague are choosing to look at the glass as half-empty.