The Cleveland Cavaliers managed to secure their second straight win on Sunday, thanks to a strong effort from forward Larry Nance Jr. against the San Antonio Spurs. It was the type of outing that Cavs center Andre Drummond has been asking for.
Nance went 3-for-5 from deep in the clutch 132-129 victory in overtime. According to Cameron Fields of cleveland.com, Drummond said he has been pleading Nance to let it fly since his arrival.
“He can shoot,” Andre Drummond said of Larry Nance Jr.. “I’ve been begging him to shoot since I got here. But he’s in his own head sometimes, though. He’s only gotten better with it, and he’s getting more comfortable shooting his shots, too. We need him to shoot those shots as well too when he’s open because he can shoot the ball very well.”
Although Nance is largely known for his superb dunking ability, he has always shown to have a nice touch on his jump shot. It seems Drummond is now doing all he can to ensure that his Cavs front court mate takes advantage of it.
Nance is shooting at a 34.4 percent clip from the 3-point line in the 2019-20 NBA season. Although there is still plenty of room for improvement, his modest efficiency could be attributed to his hesitance to shoot from deep on a consistent basis.
Fortunately, Drummond’s comments indicate that Nance may very well have the green light from fellow teammates to shoot more 3-pointers. While there is no question that adding this element to his game would pay huge dividends for the Cavs, it remains to be seen just how often head coach J.B. Bickerstaff is willing to let it happen.
