The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Nance Jr. doing Dad’s legacy proud
The main takeaway from the Cavaliers’ 112-90 victory over the Detroit Pistons on March 5 is how history is repeating itself for the Cavaliers and Larry Nance.
Make that, the two Larry Nances.
Larry Nance Jr., son of former Cavs forward Larry Nance, joined the Cavs on Feb. 8 in the roster-remaking trade deadline deals engineered by general manager Koby Altman.
The other three players obtained that day — guards Jordan Clarkson and George Hill, and swing forward Rodney Hood — all have had their good moments in the nine games since joining the Cavs.
But it’s been Nance, who grew up in the suburbs of Akron and spent 2 ½ seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers after playing his college basketball at Wyoming, who is making the biggest splash in the Cavs’ rotation.
Since the first time he stepped on the court wearing a Cleveland uniform, Nance has given the Cavs the brand of rugged, determined interior play they used to get from Tristan Thompson before injuries began to erode his effectiveness late last season.
To a team that was floundering on defense and playing without much verve before Altman made the bold moves, the 6-foot-9, 230-pound Nance upped the ante on defense with speed and youth sorely lacking in the older players who were sent packing.
With yet another injury sending Thompson to the bench for who knows how long, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue moved Nance to the starting five for the game against the Pistons.
Now wearing his father’s retired uniform number, 22, he scored exactly that many points and grabbed 15 rebounds. Both were careerhigh totals for Nance, who spent most of his 31 minutes of court time knocking heads with 6-11, 280-pound Andre Drummond, Detroit’s two-time All-Star center.
The auspicious first start the younger Nance summoned memories of the elder Nance’s debut with the Cavs slightly more than 30 years ago.
On Feb. 25, 1988, in a blockbuster, trade-deadline deal engineered by then Cavs GM Wayne Embry, Nance was sent to Cleveland along with Mike Sanders and a first-round pick in the 1988 draft in exchange for Trone Corbin, Kevin Johnson, Mark West, the Cavs’ firstround pick in the 1988 draft and second-round picks in 1988 and 1989.
The Cavs were 28-28 on the day that deal was made and floundering. In his Cavs’ debut one day after the trade was finalized, the elder Nance scored 17 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked four shots in a 10794 loss at Portland.
Even with Nance making an immediate impact at forward, the Cavs scuffled for another month until they won nine of their last 11 games in the regular-season and make the playoffs with a 42-40 record. They were beaten by Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the first-round, 3-2.
The elder Nance finished his career in Cleveland, averaging 16.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots in six-plus seasons. He was a quiet, efficient and extremely popular player for the Cavs.
Now, still living in the Akron suburbs, he gets to watch his son and namesake play in the same building where the banner bearing his name and uniform number hangs in the rafters.
It’s a feel-good story worth following as the young man follow’s in dad’s considerable footsteps.
Reach Glasier at DGlasier@News-Herald. com. On Twitter: @NHGlasier