Los Angeles Lakers: 2 things to watch upon Larry Nance Jr.’s return

The return of Larry Nance Jr. to the Los Angeles Lakers rotation after recovering from a hand injury impacts the team in several positive ways.

After a broken hand on Nov. 2 against the Portland Trail Blazers forced him to miss 11 games, Larry Nance Jr. recently returned to practice with confidence of returning to the Los Angeles Lakers rotation in the coming days. His scheduled recovery was 4-6 weeks, but Nance has recovered well before the four-week timetable and has been eased back into practice and games with no rush in risking re-injury.

Before his injury, Nance started the first eight games for the Lakers, and was one of the early bright spots for the team. He was averaging career-highs in minutes per game (23.1), points (10.6), field goal attempts (7.1), field goal percentage (61.4 percent) and rebounds (7.5) in his short cameo as a regular starter.

The Lakers went 3-5 in those 8 games, including wins over the Washington Wizards on Oct. 25 and the surprising 2-seed in the East, the Detroit Pistons, who they beat by 20 points on Oct. 31. Nance played well in both of those games, logging a double-double in each of them, including a season-high 12 rebounds in these wins.

In his absence, the Lakers have gone 5-6 with Nance out of the lineup, but they will welcome his return to the lineup. His insertion into the rotation provides depth across the frontcourt, and gives head coach Luke Walton flexibility with his lineups, beginning with Nance reclaiming his place in the starting lineup.