Lakers News: Buzz on Larry Nance Jr, Jordan Clarkson Comments and More
The Los Angeles Lakers have gotten off to a very encouraging start in their first season under head coach Luke Walton, relying on their core of young, talented players to usher in an exciting, egalitarian brand of basketball.
After going 1-3 to start the season, the Lakers put together a three-game winning streak that included a stunning upset victory over the Golden State Warriors, but now sit at 4-4 on the season after losing to the Dallas Mavericks 109-97 on Tuesday night.
One of the players who best exemplifies the young Lakers bounce and verve, Larry Nance Jr., was missing from that contest. According to the Los Angeles Times' Tania Ganguli, Nance suffered a concussion against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday and was placed in the NBA's concussion protocol.
Nance, who is averaging 7.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, played just three minutes against the Suns and none against the Mavericks. Per Ganguli, Nance said on Monday that he "expected to be ready for Thursday’s game in Sacramento."
The Orange County Register's Mark Medina shed more light on what the NBA's concussion protocol entails:
"Lakers forward Larry Nance Jr. said he has started the NBA’s concussion protocol, which requires a player to complete a series of drills symptom-free before returning to the court. Those tasks include riding a stationary bike, light jogging, running, jumping and agility drills, team drills with limited contact and returning to the court without limitations.
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While the words "concussion protocol" are something you are far more likely to hear in connection to the NFL, Nance's injury is a reminder that head injuries occur in basketball, even if jarring collisions aren't inherent to the way the game is played.
Nance's injury forced veteran forward Luol Deng to put in some extra time on the hardwood against the Mavericks. Deng played 30 minutes in all, his second-highest total of the season.
Walton has been practically allergic to giving any one player heavy minutes this season, instead rotating players constantly and getting them to share both the ball and time on the court. Nine Lakers players are averaging at least 20 minutes per game this season, and no player is averaging 30. It's led to some excellent team play in this young season.
So far, the Lakers have really taken to Walton's strategies and schemes and appear motivated to fight for their new head coach.
“Lou said that the other day, I’d run through a wall for coach right now,” Jordan Clarkson said, per Ganguli. “He’s doing such a good job. We want to get wins for him as well as ourselves.”
The Lakers are certainly growing up together, with the likes of Clarkson, Nance and Brandon Ingram making important contributions off the bench, and D'Angelo Russell and Julius Randle leading the charge from the starting lineup.
There is a palpable sense of togetherness watching the Lakers play this year. Clarkson has even said past issues like Russell's Snapchat incident involving fellow guard Nick Young have been turned into positives.
“It definitely brought us closer. Definitely—100 percent—like it definitely made us closer,” Clarkson said, per USA Today's Alysha Tsuji. “Some people had to talk to people, you know, figure out their problems. We did that, everything’s behind us now, and we know what to do.”
The minutes, ball movement, scoring distribution and strong early results all underscore the positive messages and statements emanating from this team.
While the Lakers are still only 4-4 and unlikely to really make waves in a stacked Western Conference this year, the future is certainly brighter than it has been in quite some time in Los Angeles.
