Lakers News: Latest Buzz on Larry Nance's Return, Lonzo Ball and More

An 8-11 start still leaves much to be desired for the young Los Angeles Lakers, but help is on the way as the team returns from a short Thanksgiving break.

Larry Nance Jr. highlights the latest team news, as the Lakers announced Sunday that the third-year forward is expected to return Monday against the Los Angeles Clippers. Nance broke his hand on Nov. 2 with a recovery timetable of four to six weeks, but he will be back in just under four weeks.

Nance provides excellent versatility for head coach Luke Walton, who prefers to spread the floor with a smaller lineup to create favorable matchups in space. Despite only playing in eight games, he still leads the team with 7.5 rebounds per game, and it appears Walton has no problem shaking up his current rotation with Nance's return, per Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times:

Rookie Kyle Kuzma had been starting in Nance's spot and is the team's leading scorer at 16.8 points per game. Kuzma provides much more offense at the stretch 4 position, as he is averaging 13.1 shot attempts this season to Nance's 7.1 and is shooting 36.6 percent from three-point land while Nance has yet to connect from beyond the arc.

Still, Walton seems to value Nance's rebounding and defensive acumen, which makes sense for a team that already features high-end offensive talent with Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Brook Lopez. Walton said on Sunday, per Ganguli:

"I think our rebounding's gone down. Just the versatility at that four spot, the way we like to play, him being able to defend multiple positions. Obviously he's got some years in the league. For a young team that's pretty valuable. Larry's great at doing all the little things that help teams win that don't get a lot of credit. And he's got the ability and the skill to do the fancy things too."

Regardless of whether Kuzma is removed from the starting lineup or if the team moves Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to the bench, Nance's return is sure to cut even more into Julius Randle's minutes.

The No. 7 overall pick in the 2014 draft is averaging 21.6 minutes per night with zero starts this season. He has been productive in that time, scoring 12.2 points per game while snagging 6.9 rebounds a night. However, he is second on the team with 2.3 turnovers a game and has failed to find a consistent role as a starter under Walton. 

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported earlier this month (via Jack Maloney of CBSSports.com) that Randle is "very unlikely to continue with the Lakers," and Nance's return could springboard that process. Still having upside as a skilled and powerful forward, Randle could be swapped for a solid draft pick while clearing room in L.A.'s rotation at power forward.

Ball's Role Not Changing

Speaking of Ball, the hyped rookie has been successful as a floor general, averaging 7.1 assists per night to help increase the scoring averages of teammates Jordan Clarkson and Brandon Ingram from a year ago.

Ball is also grabbing 7.4 rebounds a night, which allows him to quickly push the pace himself and utilize his elite passing ability while the defense is still getting back and trying to set up. He has started all 19 games for the Lakers at the game's most important position, but Ball has seen struggles as well.

He is shooting a 31.5 percent from the floor, including 25 percent from three. He is still creating offense with two triple-doubles this season, but teams are not respecting his jump shot, which is taking away from his great ability to drive and make plays. 

Still, Walton has been adamant that Ball will remain the team's starting point guard for the foreseeable future, as he feels the talented rookie is gaining valuable experience in his current role.

"The benefit is he gets the game experience," Walton said last week, per Ganguli. "Whether it's close games, it's blowouts, it's playing against top elite point guards that do different things. John Wall, as good as it gets at getting to the rim, a [Russell] Westbrook, a Steph Curry. So he gets all that in-game experience on the go and gets to learn from it all."

Walton also added that Ball is not getting the usual rookie treatment of coming along slowly, especially with the Lakers being such a young team. Yet, it will benefit Ball in the long run.

"He's handling it well so I think this way is working for him because I think it's going to accelerate his timetable as far as taking steps in his own personal game, but it's got its give and take," Walton said.

Even though Ball is being maligned for his shooting struggles, he is still generating a ton of production for the Lakers and the entire offense runs through him. He still comes with off-court baggage thanks to his boisterous father LaVar, who told Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus last week that the Lakers coaches were "soft" and "don't know how to coach" his son.

If Ball can block out that noise and avoid any conflicts with the Lakers, he should continue to develop as a shooter and become a star. Right now, he is more like Rajon Rondo as a limited shooter and great playmaker. He has a ceiling as a Jason Kidd-type player, and the current experience he is getting as a 20-year-old should help him get close to that goal.

Winslow Townson/Associated Press

Lakers Feel Strong From Break

Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, Los Angeles was able to get a rare midseason rest in the form of four days off before Monday's tilt (the Clippers are technically the home team). Walton is hoping the work the team put in during that time shores up some of the Lakers' biggest issues.

Walton pointed to the team's recent defense and turnovers as major hinderances.

The team is 11th in the NBA in opponents' field-goal percentage by holding opponents to 44.8, and it is even better at shutting down three-point shots, sitting in second in the category at 32.4 percent. However, Los Angeles has allowed 110.6 points per night in its last five games, including a dreadful 122 to the lowly Phoenix Suns.

Walton was certainly not happy about this, and he emphasized it over the last few days, per SB Nation's Drew Garrison.

"I wanted to use this break, the two days off, to mentally get away and get back to doing what we were doing well to have success with," Walton said on Sunday. "For us that's our defensive intensity. That's how we compete on that end; it's our transition defense, our individual defense, and getting out and running.”

The Lakers play two high-flying units in the Clippers and Golden State Warriors (home Wednesday) in the next three days, so defensive improvement is a must. Having Nance back should also help.

As for turnovers, there are far too many this season for the Lakers despite this being expected of a young team. Los Angeles' 16.8 turnovers per game are second-worst in the NBA, which takes away scoring chances from a potent offense. Walton said, per Garrison: 

"We keep pointing [transition turnovers] out. We're aware of it. We show it in video so the guys can see the points that we're leaving out here, then we come out here and we drill. We do fast break drills, which is a lot easier when you got four days without a game. When you play every other night it's tough to justify doing that."

The Lakers are already averaging 105.3 points per night (15th), and that number could steadily rise if they can shave off a couple of turnovers per game.

The mental fatigue of playing every other night can wear on a young team that lacks much experience going through the grind of an NBA season. That is why this short rest should greatly help the Lakers, who are refreshed and re-energized with the return of Nance. Expect a strong effort Monday to propel the team to a win over the Clippers.

Statistics are courtesy of ESPN.com.