Cavaliers: 3 positive trends for Larry Nance Jr. moving forward

Larry Nance Jr. continues to make strides and is a key piece for the Cleveland Cavaliers, and three positive trends jump out to me involving him moving forward.

As you are likely well-aware of now, the NBA suspended the 2019-20 season for the Cleveland Cavaliers and other teams due to precautions needing to be exercised in order to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus. This came in response to Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert testing positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, March 11.

Since, it’s been reported that Utah’s Donovan Mitchell tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday as well, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, and on Saturday, it was reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium that Detroit Pistons big man Christian Wood tested positive for COVID-19, too, and Charania said that Wood has “shown no symptoms and is doing well.”

Wojnarowski then reported on Tuesday that four players on the Brooklyn Nets have tested positive for the novel coronavirus and how the Nets are notifying those that have come in contact with them/told to self-isolate, and gave this update as well.

A further update on Tuesday from Charania was that Kevin Durant was one of the Nets players that tested positive, and per Charania, Durant has not had symptoms. Marc Stein of the New York Times also reported that, before Durant was mentioned as one of the four and before Woj’s above tweet, that one player was showing symptoms and the other three on Brooklyn were not. Gobert and Mitchell are reportedly getting better day-to-day, but of course, with the novel coronavirus having such a profound impact around the world, it’s seemingly uncertain as to when or if, really, we’ll see NBA games again this season.

On Thursday in an appearance on NBA on TNT, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said that the league’s hiatus would last “at least 30 days,” but since, h/t Wojnarowski, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently recommended on Sunday night that “no events or gatherings should include more than 50 people for the next eight weeks.”

Plus, on Monday, h/t CNN’s Ben Westcott, Helen Regan, Adam Renton, Meg Wagner and Veronica Rocha, to help limit the spread of the novel coronavirus, the White House “advised people not to gather in groups of more than 10.”

Also, per the aforementioned Wojnarowski on Sunday, “NBA owners and executives are bracing for the possibility of mid-to-late June as a best-case scenario for the league’s return,” and Woj also reported on Monday that the league will “hold a Board of Governors call on Tuesday,” and so we’ll see probably found out more following the results of that from Woj and others.

At this point, though, we still are not sure when and if, really, the 2019-20 season will resume for the Cavaliers and other teams, I would imagine.

Anyhow, factoring in a good stretch leading up to the league’s suspension, Larry Nance Jr. continued to show that he’s a key piece for the Cavaliers in coming years, and three positive trends for him moving forward have jumped out to me.

One of those relates to him showing more and more progression in one area, which bodes well for him and the squad in the near future.

Continuing to show improvement from three-point range

In the past two seasons, we’ve continued to see Nance improve in his ability to hit three-point shots, as evidenced by Jr. hitting 33.7 percent of his triples in 2018-19 and 35.2 percent from deep thus far in 2019-20, according to Basketball Reference.

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Jr. did have a pretty rough time shooting it from deep in December, as he hit just 23.3 percent of them, per NBA.com, but that was more so because of him not getting close to as many opportunities to have the ball in his hands and make plays for then-head coach John Beilein, who has since stepped down from that position and has been re-assigned to an unspecified role within the organization.

Beilein, who was last with Michigan before the Cavs as their head coach, was going to be covering the Big Ten Conference Tournament and March Madness for the Big Ten Network, for reference, but due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, the NCAA cancelled remaining winter and spring sports championships.

Nance had just 4.8 shot attempts per game and only 4.5 points per outing in that stretch in December, but really since then, he’s been much more involved in the offense, and the three-point looks have come after he’s been more much more in-rhythm, and has had seemingly much more confidence.

Again, on the season thus far leading into the league’s suspension, Nance has hit 35.2 percent of his three-point attempts, which would be a career-high.

Better yet, he has hit already a career-best 56 three-pointers, and his 159 three-point attempts this season are already over half of his 315 career attempts, as noted by Basketball Reference.

Moving forward, if Larry keeps shooting in-rhythm triples, his confidence will continue to grow under now-head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, and it will open up more cutting/lob opportunities for Jr. as a result after deliveries feasibly from the likes of Darius Garland, Collin Sexton, Kevin Porter Jr. and others. Post-All-Star break, Nance had been hitting a solid 36.7 percent of his triples, and though it was only five games, he hit 45.0 percent from deep in March, according to NBA.com.

While Nance is not a guy who will just be a catch-and-shoot player, he’s generally at his best when he gets the ball in his hands some, maybe gets an interior bucket or two and then doesn’t hesitate, which helps out Cleveland’s driving threats. Also, Andre Drummond (who would seemingly be wise to opt into his $28.8 million player option for next season) and Kevin Love (if he’s not traded, which could seemingly be a possibility down the road) benefit from Nance taking in-rhythm three-point looks.

Hopefully, we see more continued willingness as a deep shooter from Nance, who has worked tirelessly to become a viable three-point shooting threat.

The next key positive trend for Nance involves his play on both ends, and particularly under Bickerstaff.

Being able to play meaningful minutes at the 3

Though it’s not feasible in every matchup, Nance has shown the capability of playing meaningful minutes at the 3 in some instances for Bickerstaff, which I initially was not a fan of at all.

I was wrong for not entertaining that in some instances, though, and with Nance’s athleticism, great feel on both ends of the floor, especially off the ball, and his fluidity in getting through off-ball screens to contest opposing perimeter shooters, he could be a viable rotational 3 for Bickerstaff in coming years if two other bigs have it working.

Against the San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets, and in instances last Tuesday at the Chicago Bulls, Nance had success at the 3 on both ends, and his 6-foot-7, 245-pound presence on the offensive glass and as a cutter is difficult in some matchups for less physical 3’s.

While the sample size was only 17 minutes over a two-game span, a five-man lineup of Matthew Dellavedova-Sexton-Nance-Love-Drummond had a net rating of 27.8 post-All-Star, according to NBA.com. Additionally, while again, it was a sample size of 20 minutes, a five-man lineup of Garland-Porter-Nance-Love-Tristan Thompson was huge in a comeback victory over the Miami Heat on February 24, of which KJG’s Corey Casey hit on, and in a 20-minute stretch over two contests post-All-Star, that lineup had a net rating of 58.3.

That being said, Jimmy Butler wasn’t playing in that Miami game, and in some instances and against teams that are getting up and down more and have considerable talent depth at the 3, I’d rather see Nance more in his usual 4 spot, and in some stretches, at the 5 if he’s not having to go up against really physical 5’s much.

At any rate, with how active Nance is as a rotator/helper defensively, and with the way Nance’s handle has improved, along with his perimeter shooting, it’s been really encouraging to see him show the ability to play the small forward position for Cleveland in some instances leading up to the league’s suspension.

Even if Cleveland eventually chooses to trade Love at some point, who could help contenders as an inside-out scorer, secondary playmaker and elite defensive rebounder, and/or if Drummond opts out of his player option or is eventually dealt, Nance could still play the 3 in some instances, I’d imagine. That would be if Cleveland drafts a big in the 2020 NBA Draft and seemingly would add a big or two via potential trade if they chose to move Love.

So, looking at the other positive trend involving Nance, it relates to him being able to use his improved touch inside the arc, too.

An improved post game

At this juncture, it’s clear that Nance is always going to be an active roller/cutter and screener both on/off ball, and it was great to see him utilized by Bickerstaff more as a secondary playmaker post-All-Star break. Nance had 3.2 assists per game in that span, and on the season leading up to the NBA’s suspension, Nance was on track for a career-high with 10.1 points per game.

Part of the reason for Jr.’s scoring uptick was again, his improvement from deep, but what is perhaps the biggest positive trend for Nance moving forward for the Cleveland Cavaliers is his improved post game.

Throughout this season and in the past few months, in particular, Nance has shown more willingness to operate in the mid-post area, and he’s demonstrated some ability to hit occasional hooks/push shots after calculated moves to get to favorable position, which has opened up quick baseline drives initially out of post-ups from time to time.

Additionally, he’s also displayed the ability to hit post fadeaways in the lane, which he’s been able to get often clean looks at, as you can see here against the Chicago Bulls’ Wendell Carter Jr. near the 12-second mark of this clip.

Plus, when Nance is in at the 3 in some instances for the Cleveland Cavaliers, he typically has a less physical matchup on him on the offensive end, and Nance’s early low-post seals in transition and/or in settled offense have led to quality offense.

Overall, while I understand a frequency of 7.9 percent is fairly low, up until the league’s suspension, Nance had placed in the 92nd percentile as a post-up scorer, according to Synergy Sports. Previously, you wouldn’t see him have nearly as much patience as a post-up threat, and it’s been really good to see him continue to show willingness to go to that from time to time, and I’d hope we see more of it.

Along with that, with Nance’s vision and impressive passing feel for a big man, with his improved post feel as a scorer, that should open up some clear passing lanes for him, and if/when help does come, Nance is more than capable of hitting open cutters, such as Sexton or Cedi Osman.

Anyhow, moving forward, with the way Nance has continued to get better in a variety of ways for the Cleveland Cavaliers, whether or not the NBA season ends up finishing out in regards to concerns involving the novel coronavirus, it’s been fantastic to see Jr. progress more and more. The 27-year-old is trending up, and is an integral part of the Cavs’ future.

For more information about COVID-19, visit the CDC’s website or the website for your state’s Department of Health.