Cleveland Cavaliers: 3 ways Larry Nance Jr. is impacting the team

1. Rebounding

The Cleveland Cavaliers are not a very good rebounding team. They currently rank 21st in the league at rebounding with 44.1 total rebounds a game. The Cavs are 26th at defensive rebounding and give up 12.8 second chance points a night.

For a little while, Tristan Thompson was carrying the rebounding load for the Cavaliers. Thompson had a 17-game stretch in which he hauled in 5.6 offensive rebounds a game and 13.5 in total. After he suffered a foot injury, it seemed like the Cavaliers would be doomed in the rebounding department.

Luckily, Larry Nance Jr. has saved the day. Nance is averaging 12.7 rebounds over the last five games. He has racked up four double-doubles and is 13th in the league for rebounding during this stretch.

When matched up against the Indiana Pacers, Nance put up a career-high 16 rebounds. This game included a last-second tip-in by Nance to put the Cavaliers up 92-91 and give them the win. He finished with 16 rebounds, 15 points, six assists and three steals.

The contributions from Nance have been huge in helping the team during this tough time. The Cavaliers are severely missing Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson, but he’s done great at filling in the void. Hopefully, he will continue to improve as a player as the season progresses.