{"id":700126,"date":"2026-06-12T17:33:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T17:33:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/700126\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T17:33:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T17:33:08","slug":"cavs-final-report-card-larry-nance-jr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/700126\/","title":{"rendered":"Cavs final report card: Larry Nance Jr."},"content":{"rendered":"

Larry Nance Jr. might have been a great fit with this version of the Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> in previous years. But last season, nearly all of his value came in the form of locker room leadership. That\u2019s somewhat underwhelming.<\/p>\n

All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.<\/p>\n

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Regular Season Stats<\/p>\n

The Cavs have sorely needed a player like Nance to reinforce the frontcourt behind Evan Mobley<\/a> and Jarrett Allen<\/a>. Athletic, 6\u20199\u201d forwards with plus wingspans haven\u2019t fallen their way very often this decade. Add a touch of playmaking and three-point shooting, and Nance should have fit like a glove.<\/p>\n

Sadly, injuries and Father Time have caught up to Nance. He\u2019s not the same athlete he was in previous years, no longer providing a vertical threat around the basket and having trouble moving his feet defensively. Those are two skills he couldn\u2019t afford to lose.<\/p>\n

Cleveland couldn\u2019t find any use for Nance. He wasn\u2019t an effective pick-and-roll partner or defender, and he even regressed as a three-point shooter. Nance shot just 33% from deep after consecutive seasons shooting above 40%. At no point in the season did it feel like Nance\u2019s jumper was going to return. That, again, is a skill he couldn\u2019t afford to lose.<\/p>\n

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Nance appeared in just 35 games, racking up DNP\u2019s as the on-court results spoke for themselves. Cleveland was 9.5 points worse per 100 possessions when Nance was on the floor. That ranked in the 11th percentile<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now let\u2019s be fair and offer the positive spin.<\/p>\n

Nance hasn\u2019t been fully healthy recently. He only played 24 games in the \u201824-25 season due to hand and knee injuries. He then tweaked his knee again at the start of the \u201825-26 season, only to then strain his calf a few weeks later. You can argue he never got his feet under him in Cleveland \u2014 and that a full summer of recovery could offer rejuvenation.<\/p>\n

A healthier version of Nance might be on the table. The Cavs could talk themselves into that possibility as a low-risk, moderate-reward gamble. Of course, this most recent season wouldn\u2019t leave anyone feeling great about a winning outcome.<\/p>\n

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Nance deserves credit for taking his lumps in stride. This wasn\u2019t an easy season for him if he expected to play real minutes. Still, he never complained about DNP\u2019s and remained a positive influence in the locker room. It\u2019s easier than you think to grow resentful. Nance avoided that and brought nothing but good vibes off the floor.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s possible my expectations were too high for Nance. After all, he was a late addition on a veteran minimum contract. Maybe it\u2019s unfair to grade him as if he were going to play meaningful minutes this season.<\/p>\n

Still, it\u2019s impossible to deny that I was disappointed.<\/p>\n

Grade: D<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Larry Nance Jr. might have been a great fit with this version of the Cleveland Cavaliers in previous…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":700127,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[852,8174,51299,27495,51300,355,6454,99,52467,11948],"class_list":["post-700126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-cleveland","tag-cleveland-cavaliers","tag-evan-mobley","tag-jarrett-allen","tag-larry-nance-jr","tag-nba","tag-ohio","tag-sports","tag-the-cavaliers","tag-washington-wizards"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=700126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700126\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/700127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=700126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=700126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=700126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}