Cavs praise Lonca Ball’s professionalism after not playing: ‘He’s all about winning’

The The Cleveland Cavaliers needed Lonzo Ball to step up with Sam Merrill and Dean Wade was off on Friday night, and it didn’t disappoint. Despite missing back-to-back games due to losing a spot in the regular-season rotation, Ball has provided energy on both ends of the floor and shown he can help when called upon.

Although knocking down a pair of three-pointers from the corner stands out on the scoreboard, his offensive flow and defensive prowess led to a plus-11 in the Cavs’ 113-108 victory over the pesky, lowly Denver Nuggets.

“Unbelievable,” Jarrett Allen said after the game. “He was shooting open shots. He was finding the open guy. He was hitting me in transition to miss a layup, but he was just finding everything. And making defensive stops.”

“Zo’s been out for two games, and now to come in and have an immediate impact, not just the 3-pointer, but coming in, the game he had on the defensive edge, the steals, the stops, leading us, huge,” Donovan Mitchell added.

Lonzo Ball was the catalyst for the Cavaliers on Friday night

Ball came up with some key plays throughout the night, including two blocks on a a red-hot Jamal Murray and assists Mitchell and Allen. Cleveland’s head coach Kenny Atkinson envisions what the “Playoff Zo” could look like and admires Ball’s professionalism over the past week.

“Just in my conversations with him over the past few days, he says, ‘I like that we’re winning,'” Atkinson said. “He says, ‘Whatever you need from me. You want a DNP? You want me to play? Whatever you need.’ Listen, it’s a professional sport. He has a reputation in this league. It could have a different slant, right?

“He just wants to win. He wants to win with his team. He’ll do whatever it takes and he’s been open with me about it. So just respect. That’s why I’m glad. It’s almost like you’re rewarded for your spirit and your attitude, team attitude.”

Cavs forward De’Andre Hunter, a former starter who also had to make sacrifices for the collective betterment, can tell.

“I don’t think you see that on every team,” Hunter said. “It’s just about not having an ego and just being involved in the team goal. We’re trying to win. We’re not trying to focus on personal goals or personal accomplishments. They come along the way, but we keep doing what we’re doing, I think just staying together would be huge for us.”

Mitchell is Ball’s teammate in the 2017 NBA Draft, so he knows both have seen it during their time in the league.

“To see him not only respond offensively, but continue to be who he was and not sulk, not be in a bad mood, that’s the sign of a professional, right,” Mitchell said. “He comes in, does his job, and then for him to come in here and impact the game the way he knows we need him to was huge.”

“It was great,” Hunter added. “He’s playing like Lonzo. The Lonzo we know. He’s hitting open shots. He’s getting guys involved. He’s making passes that we don’t even see. That’s just the way it’s done. He’s disruptive on the defensive end.”

On Friday morning, Mitchell praised Ball’s involvement both off the court and on the sideline, despite the change.

“You can’t even tell. You can’t tell at all,” Mitchell said. “He’s still the same guy. He’s still joking, he’s still smiling, he’s still friendly, he still likes to teach and he’s still having a good time on the bench and cheering, right? I think that makes him special, right? As special a man as he is a player. He’s a guy who says, ‘Hey, I’m here to help.’ When the number is called, it will be ready.

“And to have a young guy like Craig Porter come in and continue to play well and be right in his ear, giving him advice to succeed, that’s the sign of a selfless player, but also a selfless man.”

Atkinson stated that the goal is moving forward with Ball is to “physically reset” and ensure he is healthy.

“We want him to set his records for games played, right? That’s kind of one of my goals for him,” Atkinson said. “So I knew I was going to try to get him here. Then we go to San Antonio, put that lineup in (with Craig Porter Jr.) and it works great. And it’s like, ‘Well, I’m going to stick with it.’ And he says, ‘Yeah, keep going.’

“So we’ll see what it looks like going forward. I think it’s going to be a mix and match and it feels like that. But we know we’ve got a guy who’s all about the team. He’ll do whatever we ask, whatever we need.”