Lonzo Ball saved his best performance for the finale of the Cleveland Cavaliers' preseason. The Cavaliers beat the Detroit Pistons by a comfortable margin of 118-100 on Tuesday night, with Ball playing a pivotal role for his team off the bench.
Kenny Atkinson told reporters the goal of the fourth and final tune-up game of the preseason was to 'simulate a regular game as much as possible.' If this is close to what the Cavaliers can expect when the games start to count, they are in good shape.
#Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said the approach tonight in the preseason finale is to "try to simulate a regular game as much as possible." I've heard the plan is to play some, if not all, the starters more than 20 minutes.
— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) October 14, 2025
Granted, neither team really fully showcased their unit to its fullest abilities here. There was no Cade Cunningham or Jaden Ivey for the Pistons. Apart from the usual suspects of Darius Garland and Max Strus being out, rising star De'Andre Hunter took a hit early and Atkinson refused the needless risk of playing him further.
Kenny Atkinson said that De'Andre Hunter bumped knees and they didn't want to risk it in the second half. Said it stiffened up.
— Danny Cunningham (@RealDCunningham) October 15, 2025
"There's no need to risk it."
Amid an imperfect night to create the feeling of a regular season game, Ball certainly played the like result matter. The Cavaliers guard finished the win with nine points, nine assists, four rebounds, three blocks, and a box plus/minus of +12. That is the kind of impact Cleveland will be looking for from their new point guard throughout 2025-26.
Cavaliers’ preseason ended with clear message — Lonzo Ball is officially back
The plan with Ball was always to have him play around 20 minutes a night once the regular season started. Cleveland wanted to ease their oft-injured new addition back to a good spot regarding his health.
His performance against the Pistons helped set a precedent for what a good night off the bench will look like from Ball. This came after a couple of lackluster games in his first two preseason outings with the Cavaliers.
Ball scored zero points and chipped in one assist during his largely forgettable preseason debut. The former top-five pick went 0-of-4 from the field and 0-of-3 from beyond the arc.
The second matchup against the Bulls was an improvement. The Cavaliers bench guard registered three points, three rebounds, and three assists at the United Center against his former team.
Ball always needed some patience for him to get up to speed. That much is now abundantly clear after turning things around in the his third preseason matchup.
With every additional game, the two-way point guard displayed more and more signs of the difference-maker that Cleveland desires from their second unit. The first real test for Ball to prove how much that shows up when it matters is coming on Oct. 22 against the New York Knicks.