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LaVar Ball offers Lonzo Ball theory on why Cavaliers got swept by Knicks in ECF originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Cleveland Cavaliers weren’t much of a match for the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals.
To Cleveland’s credit, they competed well against New York for the first 40 minutes of Game 1, even possessing a monstrous 22-point lead with 7:52 remaining in the fourth quarter.
As we all know, though, the Cavaliers collapsed in epic fashion and went on to get swept by a Knicks squad that’s four wins away from ending a 53-year championship drought.
After Cleveland’s season-ending 130-93 loss to the New York on Monday night, LaVar Ball, the father of former Cavaliers guard Lonzo Ball, provided the public with a theory on why the Donovan-Mitchell-led franchise came up short. To no one’s surprise, the theory was centered on LaVar’s 28-year-old son.
"Just finished watching the Knicks and Cleveland game,” Ball said. “Man, nothing more satisfying. They got my son Lonzo for this exact moment. Y'all didn't get him for the season, you got him for this right here, and look how you get blown out because you don't have any easy transitional buckets.”
“That's what Lonzo do--fast-break points and defense. And what did y'all lose on? Fast-break points and defense, and no intensity because there’s no leadership. That's what Lonzo does."
For clarity, the Cavaliers, who acquired Ball from the Chicago Bulls last July, decided to part ways with the former Los Angeles Lakers lottery pick midway through the 2025-26 season. Specifically, Cleveland traded Ball to the Utah Jazz on Feb. 5.
While LaVar was spot on while describing his son’s well-known skill set, there’s no question that the UCLA product’s half-court/perimeter shooting doomed him during his short stint with the Cavaliers. Ball contributed 4.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.3 steals per game in 35 contests, shooting 30.1% from the field and 27.2% from three-point land.
It’s challenging to justify retaining a limited offensive weapon who doesn’t serve as a serviceable floor spacer or slasher in today’s NBA.
Needless to say, the Knicks likely would have made quick work of the Cavaliers even if Ball had still been in the fold.
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