Nance and other bench players have key role

Lue counting on Nance, Clarkson, plus others

Question: When are the Cavaliers acquired at the trading deadline no longer “the new guys?”

Answer: When the NBA playoffs begin.

Center Larry Nance Jr. and guard Jordan Clarkson from the Los Angeles Lakers, plus guard George Hill from the Sacramento Kings and guard Rodney Hood from the Utah Jazz, were all acquired at the Feb. 8 trading deadline.

Injuries have slowed their integration into Coach Tyronn Lue’s grand plan, but the time for basic teaching has passed. The playoffs with the Indiana Pacers start at 3:30 p.m. April 15 at Quicken Loans Arena, and from there it’s a two-month grind if the Cavaliers make it through the Finals again.

Lue said he plans to rotate 10 players throughout the first round, which means Nance, Clarkson and others off the bench will play key roles. Hill will likely start at point guard with Jose Calderon subbing for him. Kyle Korver, J.R. Smith and Hood will have roles at guard with LeBron James and Jeff Green starting at forward and Kevin Love starting at center.

“I’ve talked to the guys that aren’t going to play,” Lue said after practice on April 12 in Independence. “Everyone is healthy now. They weren’t halfway through the season. The biggest challenge is trying to find the right combinations, but I feel good about what we have.

“I think we’ve been nine in the past but I think it’s going to be important to go 10 for us because I like Clarkson being on the floor with a point guard, so that makes us play 10. So, Jose is going to play so we just want to make sure that we have a point guard on the floor with him knowing that Cory Joseph picks up full court and tries to disrupt the point guard on the opposing team. So, it’s very important that we try to keep a point guard on the floor with him at all times.

Tristan Thompson has been to the Finals three straight times, but Nance seems to have passed him at center on Lue’s depth chart. Nance started against the Knicks in the final game of the season. When the starters were resting Thompson, not Nance, was soaking up the minutes. Lue wouldn’t say whether that is a clue Nance will get more playing time than Thompson against the Pacers.

“That playoff atmosphere is a totally different animal,” Cavaliers assistant coach Larry Drew said. “Those guys who’ve never experienced it aren’t going to get the full brunt of it until they’re thrown in the fire and they really get the full feel of what that playoff intensity is like.

“I’m excited for our new guys to really get a piece of it. I’m sure it’s something they won’t forget because the energy level and intensity level is much different than a regular season game.”

In two seasons with the Lakers, Nance was already enjoying the offseason by the time 16 other teams in the NBA were getting ready for the postseason. Call it naïve or whatever term you choose, but he plans to treat each playoff game as just another night in the NBA.

“I always try to play with a high intensity,” said the son of former Cavaliers star Larry Nance. “Every possession matters. That’s always been my attitude.

“It’s kind of you don’t know what you don’t know. I don’t know what it’s going to be like, but I think it will be a smooth transition. It’s just basketball at the end of the day. There’s no need to do anything different than we were doing in the last stretch of games.”

One obvious difference between the regular season and the playoffs, aside from more being at stake, is facing the same opponent for as many as seven straight games. The approach Indiana takes facing the Cavaliers in the second game of the series could be different than the one taken in the first game. The Cavs and Pacers played each other four times in the regular season. The Pacers won the series, 3-1.

“I imagine a lot of adjustments will be made, a lot of going back to the drawing board if something doesn’t work,” Larry Nance Jr. said. “By the end of the series, I imagine you know their personnel pretty well.”

Of all the players acquired at the deadline, Nance arguably had to make the biggest adjustment. He went from being one of the leaders of the Lakers to playing on the team for which his father starred. He was happy to return home, but instead of leading he had to adjust to being led by the likes of James and Love.

“One of the biggest differences was responding to leadership and having a willingness to learn,” Nance said. “On the Lakers, I was one of the older more experienced guys on the team. Now here I’m one of the younger, less experienced guys. I’m learning from some of the best players in the league, so it’s definitely made me a better player.”

Nance, 25, has played 24 games with 10 starts for the Cavaliers. He is averaging 8.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 0.8 blocked shots in 20.8 minutes a game.

Thompson is averaging 5.8 points, 6.6 and 0.3 blocked shots.