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Injury Update: Larry Nance Jr.

For a few minutes after Thursday’s practice it seemed like Larry Nance Jr. might return on Friday, as head coach Luke Walton considered him questionable for the Lakers’ upcoming game against Indiana.

However, his return will be delayed a bit more, as it was soon announced that he will not play in that contest.

“I kinda hoped they’d let me play four weeks ago,” Nance joked. “If it was up to me I wouldn’t have missed any time. I’m just happy to be nearing getting back on the court.”

On Thursday Nance participated in the entirety of practice for the first time since a bone bruise on his left knee sidelined him almost exactly a month ago.

Nance said that he had “no issues” in practice and that he is dunking like his usual, high-flying self after barely being able to make it above the rim just a week and a half earlier.

The Lakers could certainly use Nance back in their second unit, as they team has gone 4-11 since his injury.

Nance has averaged 7.0 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 58.4 percent from the field this season. He is known for his under-the-radar contributions like setting screens and playing engaged defense.

However, Walton isn’t sure how quickly he’ll be back to contributing once he is back on the floor.

“It’s different with everybody, honestly,” Walton said. “There are some guys that have the ability to come right back like they never sat out at all. There are other guys that take a week to get timing back and conditioning back.”

In the meantime, Nance has been thrilled with the play of rookie Ivica Zubac, who had 11 points and 13 rebounds in his first game of extended minutes on Tuesday.

According to Zubac, Nance was “almost jumping around when I got to the locker room” after the game.

“He’s been through the ringer,” Nance said. “This hasn’t been an easy first year for him, from spending time in the D-League to (being) back with us to doing it the same day.”

Nance has also had fun with bestowing nickname after nickname upon Zubac, including “Zu Alcindor,” “Zuol Deng” and “ZuPac.”

Relating to that last name, Nance said that Zubac is fond of inserting himself into 2Pac songs, including “2 of Zumerikaz Most Wanted.”