CLEVELAND, Ohio — The buzz around Lonzo Ball at Cavs training camp has been impossible to ignore, with his skills on full display and his potential impact on the team becoming increasingly evident.
But beneath the excitement lies the organization’s most delicate challenge: how to manage a player with game-changing talent and a troubling injury history.
In the latest episode of the Wine and Gold Talk podcast, cleveland.com Cavs beat reporter Chris Fedor shared insights directly from Florida’s IMG Academy, where Ball’s performance has been turning heads.
“From what I continue to hear, Lonzo Ball is somebody who continues to turn heads. He continues to show how he can be an effective fit for this team,” Fedor revealed.
“Obviously there are questions about how much is he going to play in the regular season, is he going to play back-to-backs? Can he make it through a regular season fully healthy, but he’s showing glimpses of why, number one, he’s a better, more impactful player than Isaac Okoro.”
This optimism comes with significant caveats. Ball himself has acknowledged that while theoretically he could play back-to-backs, it’s unlikely he’ll do so early in the season. The team appears to be taking a conservative approach, prioritizing his long-term availability over short-term gains.
Cleveland.com columnist Jimmy Watkins made perhaps the strongest case for extreme caution with Ball’s minutes: “I honestly can’t think of a reason why you would play him in any back-to-backs the entire regular season.
Like we all understand that it’s suboptimal on your body to play a back-to-back and we know that Lonzo Ball has an extensive injury history … What are you preparing him for? Maybe if you get deep in the playoffs, you start pushing him to 30, 35, I’d be interested.”
Watkins’ perspective highlights the fundamental trade-off facing the Cavaliers: the minutes Ball plays in the regular season could directly impact his availability when it matters most.
Would you rather have Lonzo for 60 regular season games and the playoffs, or risk pushing for more regular season appearances and potentially losing him when the games truly count?
