Ex-Cavs Star Claims He Was Unfairly Blamed as Team’s Early Season Falters—What Really Went Down?

Losing? Nobody’s fans want that on their plate. And being the guy everyone points a finger at? Talk about a raw deal. Lonzo Ball’s been riding the scapegoat train this season with the Cleveland Cavaliers stumbling along — and he’s finally breaking his silence. “I’m not as awful as the buzz makes me out to be,” Ball said on his podcast, cutting through the noise but not dodging accountability. Sure, he admits he hasn’t lit the court on fire, but the narrative painting him as a complete loss? That’s a stretch worth unpacking. Brought in as the defensive maestro with some playmaking flair — basically Cleveland’s hoped-for Jrue Holiday or Alex Caruso — Ball’s shot woes and underwhelming defense have cast long shadows. But blaming the Cavs’ downfall solely on him? That overlooks injuries, team-wide slumps, and more. It’s a hot mess, but Ball’s side of the story deserves a fair hearing. Ready to dive deeper? LEARN MORE

No one likes to lose. Even worse, no one likes to be blamed for losing. Lonzo Ball says he feels he became a scapegoat for fans this season when the Cleveland Cavaliers were struggling.

“I don’t feel like I’m playing as badly as people are saying,” Ball said on his podcast. “I know I’m the scapegoat right now, but look, that comes with the name, though, and that comes with what they brought me in for, so it’s granted, I’m not going to say I was playing great.”

The full quote is more reasonable than what has gone viral on Twitter. Ball recognizes he fell short of the expectations he brought to Cleveland. His only disagreement is that he doesn’t believe he was as bad as the discourse suggested. Now, that’s something we can argue on the merits. But I think it’s worth being fair to what Ball was actually saying.

“Can I play better? Yes. Have I been playing terrible? I don’t think I have,” Ball said.

Ball was brought to Cleveland with the hopes of being their version of Jrue Holiday or Alex Caruso. A defensive-minded guard who can playmake and potentially space the floor. At his best, Ball flashed the potential to be that in the past

That never materialized in Cleveland. Ball shot just 30.1% from the floor and was a non-threat to score. That drastically limited his ability to create for others — and his defense wasn’t as good as advertised. His poor three-point shooting was the nail in the coffin.

“To me, I’m just missing shots.” “People say, ‘Oh well, he’s shooting 25 percent.’ Well, let’s actually take the percentages and talk about what that is, I’m taking four shots a gameand making one of them, that’s sh****, but I promise we’re not winning or losing off of four shots.”

It would be silly to suggest that Ball was the primary reason for Cleveland’s struggles. The early portion of the season saw injuries, poor effort, and bad shooting across the board. Ball was only one part of the equation. Though he certainly wasn’t helping them when he was on the floor.

“I don’t feel like I’m the worst in the NBA,” Ball said.

Ball finished in the 0th percentile for points per shot attempt and the 1st percentile in turnover percentage. The Cavs were 5.5 points worse with him on the floor, placing him in the 25th percentile for on/off rating. As a reminder, you want to be in the higher percentiles.