The last thing any NBA team wants during the Summer League exhibition slate is for one of its prized young pieces to suffer an injury that could sideline him and hamper his development. The Los Angeles Lakers saw that fear realized on Thursday, when rising sophomore power forward Larry Nance came up clutching his right hand after a hard fall in the final minute of a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers’ summer squad in Las Vegas:
With the Lakers trailing 87-80 and just under one minute left in the game, Nance stepped up to help on a pick-and-roll, strung out Cavs guard Kay Felder, and helped create a turnover that gave L.A. a chance to get within two possessions. Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell pushed the ball and found a streaking Nance with a pass at the left elbow. The 6-foot-9 high-flyer took one step and took off toward the rim, but was met by veteran swingman DeAndre Liggins, who stood pat and took a blow from the rising Nance, resulting in an offensive foul call.
Nance landed hard on his right hand — also his shooting hand — and instantly reached for it, rolling around on the deck in evident pain. He stayed down on the baseline for a few moments before rising with the help of trainers and walking back to the locker room, his right arm bent at his waist; shortly thereafter, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak followed him back to the dressing room to check on his young forward.
Rookie center Ivica Zubac said after the game that Nance told him that he’d broken his wrist, but the Lakers’ official announcement said that X-rays showed “a probable fracture” to Nance’s right hand, and said he would return to Los Angeles to be examined by a hand specialist on Friday. Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times reported that the preliminary exam “showed a fracture to the third metacarpal of his right hand.” That’s the same bone that Chris Paul fractured during Game 4 of the Los Angeles Clippers’ first-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers back in April.
The Lakers haven’t yet put a timetable on Nance’s shelving. According to orthopedic surgeon Dr. Robert Klapper, an awful lot will depend on what follow-up testing reveals about the location of the fracture:
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#LAKERS. Key to Fractured Wrist is location. We operate if break enters the end of the Bone into a joint. Most can be treated with a CAST!
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If Nance’s fracture can be treated through simple immobilization, he might not miss very much time. If he needs surgery, though, it’s possible that he could be sidelined into the start of Lakers training camp, and perhaps beyond.
“If it’s not great news, he’s a great kid and a hard worker,” Lakers Summer League head coach Jesse Mermuys said, according to Lakers.com. “He’ll be back sooner than whatever they say.”
The injury brought a disappointing end to what had been a pretty strong summer stint for the 23-year-old Nance, who showed flashes as as athletic finisher during his rookie season after the Lakers plucked him out of Wyoming with the 27th pick in the 2015 NBA draft. The son of longtime pro, three-time All-Star and Slam Dunk champion Larry Nance averaged 5.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in 20.1 minutes per game for Los Angeles last season, joining fellow youngsters Russell, Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle to form the start of an intriguing core of young talent — one augmented this summer by No. 2 overall draft pick Brandon Ingram and highly touted 7-foot-1 Croatian center Zubac — that Lakers fans hope can help lift the club out of a three-year period that has been the worst in the history of one of the NBA’s most storied franchises.
Nance stuffed the stat sheet during his four games in Vegas, averaging 9.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.8 steals, 1.8 blocks and 1.5 assists in 29.2 minutes per game. Moreover, he showed the capacity to be a disruptive force on the defensive end at power forward and even potentially as a small-ball five, which could come in handy if and when new head coach Luke Walton wants to downshift his personnel, as he and Steve Kerr did with great success with the Golden State Warriors during Walton’s years in the Bay.
“He’s been great, really on the defensive end he’s made it easier on a lot of players,” Russell said, according to Harrison Faigen of Silver Screen and Roll. “He’s everywhere covering up, blocking everything, he’s rebounding, getting his hands on everything, deflections. He’s a valuable piece, as I said before, he’s a valuable asset to a winning team.”
Now, the Lakers and their fans await the results of Friday’s exam to find out how long that asset will be frozen, and hope that the time away won’t cause it to depreciate in value.
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