Lonzo Ball is looking good to start his Cavaliers run

The Cleveland Cavaliers took a gamble by trading for oft-injured guard Lonzo Ball in the offseason. The move, assuming Ball can capture some of his old magic, would give the Cavaliers another ball-dominant facilitator with good court vision and strong defensive skill sets.

Ball isn't going to score much in the NBA. It has never been his forte, shooting just 39.7% for his career, a mark that many see as being a below-average shooter in the NBA. Where he excels, though, is in his defense and passing.

He was a strong passer during previous stints with the Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans, but injuries caught up to him with the Chicago Bulls, limiting him to just 70 games in four seasons. Now, all healed up, Ball is looking to regain his old form and become a factor with the Cavs. So far, that's looking good.

While shooting-wise, his first two games looked bad (1-11), his third game saw a glimpse of what he could be for Cleveland coming off the bench. He put up 11 points, six rebounds and five assists, with a steal to cap off 23 minutes of intense and physical play. The Cavs were able to ride his stellar outing to a much-needed win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

With Darius Garland currently out, the Cavs need some consistent help on both ends of the court, and Ball may just be able to provide it. The only issue hindering him is a very intense load management that the team is implementing.

The Cavs don't want to rush Ball back to full-time action this season, if ever. If Ball can consistently impact the game on a positive level like he's done recently (averaging 6.3 assists per game so far), then his absences will hurt all the more. That said, once Garland gets back, the Cavs may be able to be without Ball for several games without being in too much trouble.

Garland is almost as good a natural passer as Ball and a better scorer, so Garland will be able to help offset anything the team is lacking without Ball. Except, that is, for defense. Garland is one of the worst defenders among the guards, and the hope is that Ball can help shore up the defense with and without Garland on the court.

In time, the hope is that Garland, Ball and the rest of the Cavaliers' core players can play together at the same time. When that happens, we'll hopefully see Ball reach his true potential with this team.