Larry Nance Jr.'s Postseason Blog
Wine & Gold's High-Energy Big Man Dishes on His First Round Experience
by Larry Nance Jr. (@Larrydn22)
4/21/18 | Cavs.com
It’s been a wild second half of the season for Larry Nance Jr. and that journey has just gotten more intense as the third-year pro from Wyoming enters the Playoffs for the first time in his career.
In his third year out of Wyoming, Nance averaged career-bests in scoring (8.7ppg), field goal percentage (.581) and rebounding (6.8 rpg). In 24 regular games (including nine starts) with the Wine & Gold, the 6-9 forward/center notched double-figure scoring in 11 contests, doubling-up in five of those.
Through the first three contests of the First Round, Nance has been solid on both ends. Offensively, he’s shooting 75 percent – hitting nine of his 12 shot attempts – averaging five boards per to go with three steals and a pair of blocks on the defensive end.
As the high-flying scion of the Cavaliers legend prepares for Game 4 on Sunday night, he sat down with Cavs.com after Saturday’s practice to share his thoughts on the Wine & Gold’s journey to the promised land …
Despite being down in the series, the postseason has been fun so far – a lot of energy and intensity in the building. So I'm certainly enjoying it.
I haven’t been surprised by anything so far. I knew it was going to be a bunch of guys flying around, playing hard – and it’s been exactly that. It's just, a couple of shots here and a couple there fall differently and it's a completely different series. But that's Playoff basketball.
Personally, I’ve been pretty happy with what I’ve done so far.
I mean, I know my role, and my role is the same as it's always been -- play good defense, switch on these guards, contain them and just kind of clean up our defensive end. So I'm pretty pleased overall with myself on that – and hopefully now I can start expanding and doing some more.
The Pacers have been impressive, but we knew they were going to be tough. What’s most impressive about them, I think, is their energy.
They just have so many guys flying around at you. They come at you in waves.
Larry Nance Jr. squares off against Myles Turner during Game 2 at The Q.
Photo by Jason Miller/NBAE via Getty Images
It starts with Vic and then you've got Lance, then Bogdanovich and then Turner. They just have a bunch of different guys they can throw at you and they're so young and energetic.
I know there was a lot of talk about us coming into the arena in matching suits on Friday night. And I also know that I took some grief on Twitter from former teammates about ditching my sweats for that nice three-piece.
But literally my favorite part -- or one of my favorite parts – of my job is being able to wear sweat suits and get away with it at all times. So it was definitely a step outside my comfort zone, for sure.
But, you know, it was fun. I actually kind of look forward to doing some more.
"The formula is simple: energy, aggression – hit them from the start."
Nance Jr. On the Mindset Heading into Game 4
What really matters now, though, is getting this series back in our favor – and I think we’re capable of getting it done.
The formula is simple: energy, aggression – hit them from the start.
If we do that, we’ll bring this thing back to Cleveland tied at 2-2.