Cleveland Cavaliers: Larry Nance Jr. initiating offense more is a big plus

The Cleveland Cavaliers are going to be hurting without Tristan Thompson for a few weeks, but with Thompson out, Larry Nance Jr. has been having a bigger role. Him initiating offense more is a crucial sign for what’s to come in the near future.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are going to be without Tristan Thompson for the next two to four weeks due to a sprained foot, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Thompson has had a tremendous season for Cleveland, as he’s averaging career-highs in points, rebounds, assists and steals per game. Him being sidelined has put Larry Nance Jr. on the floor more, and when he’s been on the floor, Nance has had a bigger role as an initiator offensively. For what’s to come in the next few years, that’s huge.

In the last two games (of which Thompson has been out), Nance has led the Cleveland Cavaliers in assists. Against the New York Knicks, he had seven and against the Milwaukee Bucks, he had six, per ESPN. Per 36 minutes, Nance is averaging a career-best 4.2 assists per game (per Basketball Reference), which is good for a big; most of the time he makes quality decisions both in the open floor and in the halfcourt, and that’s helped his teammates get open looks.

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Nance has been able to execute Cleveland’s initial game plan (when they still were preaching pushing pace) of grabbing and going after defensive rebounds, and that’s something that Thompson, even with all he can do on the glass, can’t do in terms of pushing the ball in transition.

That type of thing enables players such as Collin Sexton, Cedi Osman, Rodney Hood and Jordan Clarkson to get easy baskets with their speed and athleticism.

For a Cleveland Cavaliers team that struggles to score in settled situations without Kevin Love (who’s still sidelined with a reported toe injury), that grab-and-go skill set of Nance is a welcome addition.

In the coming weeks with Thompson still out, I would expect Nance to keep pushing it after rebounds, and start the halfcourt offense by making quality dribble hand-offs to Sexton, Hood, and occasionally Matthew Dellavedova.

In addition to that passing from Nance, he’s continued to show he can be a shooting threat. As Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor noted, the Kyle Korver shooting influence has tangibly aided Nance’s effectiveness from the perimeter.

With Nance’s ability and vision as a passer, combined with his hustle on the offensive glass and above-the-rim finishing, he brings value offensively already. That being said, him shooting three-of-five over the last two games from three-point land is huge.

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He’s currently shooting 44.4 percent from three on the season, on a much higher 16.7 percent three-point shooting rate (per Basketball Reference). As many have hit on, if he can develop some consistency and volume from deep in the coming years, that will be a big bonus for the Cavs’ offense.

Though Nance is not nearly the offensive rebounder Thompson is (as TT is second in the NBA in offensive rebounds per game, per NBA.com), he’s a player that has much more potential as an offensive initiator, occasional perimeter shooter and finisher at the rim. In TT’s absence, we’re seeing more of that skill set from Nance, and that’s really encouraging.