Ante Zizic returned from reportedly being in concussion protocol Friday against the Miami Heat, and with Larry Nance Jr. reportedly sustaining a chest injury against Miami, Zizic being back is good timing for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Larry Nance Jr. and Kevin Love are a pair that was starting to find some nice on-floor chemistry together in the last few weeks for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Both are good passing bigs, and with Nance finding a better perimeter shooting stroke this season (a career-high 35.2 percent from three-point land, per Basketball Reference), it can really open up more options for Cleveland’s offense, as Love emphasized recently, per Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor.
Unfortunately, Nance (per Fedor), exited mid-game against Miami in Cleveland’s last game due to a reported chest injury, and didn’t return.
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According to The Akron Beacon Journal’s Marla Ridenour, Cavaliers head coach Larry Drew said that Nance, who reportedly suffered a chest contusion, tried to go in the second half, but was in “too much pain.”
Ridenour would also report that Drew said Nance did not practice today, so it would seem him missing tomorrow’s game against the Toronto Raptors is a good bet, and if the pain continues to be too much to bear, another missed game on Tuesday against the Philadelphia 76ers could be reasonable, too.
The plus side, though, is that Ante Zizic, who came back from him reportedly completely concussion protocol, should be able to keep building up his chemistry with Love, as has seemed to be the case recently, too, with Love coming back from his reported toe surgery.
Though the sample size isn’t massive (90 minutes), the Love-Zizic two-man combination has a post-All-Star break net rating of plus-14.5, per NBA.com. That included some less-than-stellar competition, too, such as against the Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies.
That being said, Memphis has quality interior defense, though, and you could see a glimpse of how Love being on the floor, coupled with Cedi Osman and Collin Sexton‘s drives, opens up room for Zizic for mid-range shots and postups on the low block.
As we’ve harped on a bunch lately, Love being back helps the Cleveland Cavaliers in a variety of ways, and especially the key younger pieces.
Zizic, when the Cavs have opportunities to play more traditional lineups, is no exception when it comes to benefiting from Love’s skill set.
In the 16 games Zizic has started this season, he’s averaged 11.3 points on 58.6 percent true shooting and 8.3 rebounds in 26.7 minutes per outing, per NBA.com.
Hopefully Nance is fine and recovers quickly, but in the mean time, getting more minutes-share with Love should help a bit more for Zizic’s (a 22-year-old) development.