Cleveland Cavaliers: What caught our eye in win over Indiana Pacers

Kids from Akron keep beating the Pacers.

The most famous Akron export has more than had his way with the Pacers over the years. LeBron and his teams have knocked the Pacers out of the playoffs five times in the last seven seasons with the most recent exit coming last April thanks to another heroic series from James. Nobody (except the Toronto Raptors, really) was happier to see LeBron go West than Indiana. Unfortunately for them the Cleveland Cavaliers still have an Akron native on their team who was just as willing to rip out their hearts again.

Nance was brilliant on both ends of the floor once again. His skills as a versatile defender in the paint and ability to run the offense have gone a long way in getting the Cavs through Thompson’s injury.

This was the best offensive game we’ve seen from Nance. He showed the ability to repeatedly initiate the offense and find the open man. Nance has become increasingly more comfortable operating on the elbow with his back to the basket just like we’ve seen James do in the past.

https://twitter.com/FOXSportsOH/status/1075229037528641536

Nance has also shown that his continued work on the three ball is a legitimate skill. He has now made six of his last 13 attempts from behind the arc (per NBA.com) and is looking more and more comfortable from that range.

Nance will have to keep playing like this if the Cavs want to stay competitive throughout all the injuries. Cleveland has another tough road game Wednesday night as they travel to Charlotte to take on the Hornets.