Round two of the Las Vegas Summer League kicked off Thursday evening with the Los Angeles Lakers taking on the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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Nance played Thursday in an 88-80 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Las Vegas during the NBA Summer League, getting injured with only seconds remaining.
Nance was averaged 8 points and 7 boards per game during summer league, as the 23-year-old averaged 5.5 points and 5 rebounds per game last season.
The Lakers said preliminary results from an X-ray Nance took after the game showed a fracture to the third metacarpal of his right hand. His right hand took the brunt of the blow, and he stayed down for several moments before being taken to the locker room. The Lakers said an update on Nance’s condition will be issued once he’s been examined. “He says it’s broken”.
Lakers summer league coach Jesse Mermuys also partly blamed himself for not calling more timeouts as the lead dwindled. He even started 22 contests and shot almost 53 percent from the field.
Thursday night’s game had another important takeaway as well. McRae proved too much for the Laker defense scoring and driving to the basket at will. The Cavs would also get great offensive production from Kay Felder as he and McRae would combined for 56 points to finish the game. Mermuys also indicated he needed to “rein” Russell in to ensure more team play. The Lakers ranked 30th out of 30 National Basketball Association teams in both points per game (97.3) and assists (18). Their young core struggled adjusting to Kobe Bryant’s ball-dominant presence.
“I don’t think we’re going to be able to apply that for a while”, Mermuys said.
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The Lakers learned that lesson during the regular season. “They kind of understand the vision”.
