Cleveland Cavaliers: Two bold predictions for Larry Nance Jr. for 2020-21
By Dan Gilinsky
Larry Nance Jr. will again be a key contributor for the Cleveland Cavaliers next season.
It’s been a pleasure to see the continued growth of Larry Nance Jr. on the offensive end in the past two seasons for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
What first comes to mind in that realm is Nance’s three-point shooting. The past two seasons for the Wine and Gold, Nance has worked himself into being a viable catch-and-shoot three-point shooter.
This now-past season for the Cavs, Nance hit 35.2 percent from beyond the arc, and hit what was also on a career-best 2.8 attempts per outing. His handle improving in 2019-20 was particularly nice to see, too, and that should only help him more going forward, both in the straight-line drive/occasional post up game.
On the year, Nance had a career-best 10.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.0 steals per game as well.
His offensive improvement, coupled with his defensive on-ball ability, especially in regards to being able to switch out against perimeter players, has solidified Nance as Cleveland’s best all-around big. His defensive feel as a rotator has always been a positive, too.
In addition, Nance showing post-All-Star break leading into the league’s novel coronavirus-induced hiatus that he can fill in as a legitimate 3 man option was quite the bright spot for Cleveland, as KJG’s Amadou Sow mentioned.
In 2020-21, we could see that again on some occasions throughout games for Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who experimented with lineups some after he took over in that role post-All-Star. For context, that proved to work, as the Cavs were a more respectable 5-6.
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With the Wine and Gold not participating in Orlando, though, the key focus for Cavs fans is the upcoming season, and the 2020 NBA Draft.
So thinking of next season for the Cleveland Cavaliers, and how Nance could have a constant impact, what might be two bold predictions for him?
The first bold prediction I have for Nance for 2020-21 has to do with him taking another step forward in relation to his three-point shot.