Is Larry Nance Jr. healthy?

Is the Cleveland Cavaliers electrifying center healthy? Larry Nance Jr. hasn’t been dunking like he used to.

Cleveland Cavaliers big man Larry Nance Jr. has been anything but himself since returning from a hamstring injury.

He’s seemingly lost his ability to finish above-the-rim.

A player who just competed in the NBA Dunk Contest should not look like he struggles to dunk in games, as Nance Jr. looked Friday night against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Nance, who takes all but a select few of his shots directly by the rim, has been shooting 49.3 percent from the field in his last eight games. For a perimeter player, that would be a fine level of efficiency.

For a big man though? Unless they’re shooting a fair amount of their shots from the perimeter, shooting below 55.0 percent from the field is questionable. Shooting below 50.0 percent?

Houston, we have a problem.

Nance’s problem is liftoff.

Nance’s last eight games don’t nearly match the efficiency he’s shown since being traded to the Cavs (55.0 percent shooting from the field) nor does he come close to the 58.2 percent he’s shooting from the field on the season.

Furthermore, while Nance had an offensive rating of 135 in his first 13 games with the Cavs, he’s had an offensive rating of 113 in his last eight games.

Even at Nance’s worst, his career-low shooting percentage is 52.6 percent shooting from the field, Nance was making 70.0 percent of his shots around the rim. So while Nance’s past eight games are a cause for concern because he’s been inefficient in general, he’s been particularly inefficient around the rim lately and that’s the true concern.

He’s shot 40.0 percent or below in five of his last eight games and, out of his 41 shot attempts, just four have come from outside. Curiously, he finished 6-11 from the field in a game in which he went 0-3 from long-distance and he finished 1-4 from the field in a game in which he went 1-1 from three-point range.

Look at those numbers and it’s hard to say that the missed looks from outside are the problem.

Look at a game and, while he’s had a few good games and finishes, Nance’s leaping ability looks to be affected by the hamstring injury he recently returned from. Surefire dunks and poster finishes have turned into tip-in attempts or push shots around the rim.

The Cavaliers, who masterfully utilize players’ gravity, were using the attention Nance draws as a finisher (especially in the pick-and-roll) to create space for others to shoot. That’s the biggest drawback of Nance’s recent struggles around the rim.

Hopefully, Nance Jr. can get healthier as the postseason progresses and the week off between the end of the regular season (April 11th) and the start of the postseason (April 17th) should help. Should the Cavs get-in and get-out of their playoff series up to the Eastern Conference Finals with four or five game series’, they’d also have a better chance of playing in Finals series’ fully healthy or close to it.

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*All stats gathered from www.basketball-reference.com