Larry Nance Jr. posted 13 points on 5-for-5 shooting, including going 3-for-3 from beyond the arc, with 2 assists and 1 rebound, helping the Atlanta Hawks claw back into an eventual 122-121 loss to the Detroit Pistons.
It has been an inconsistent start for Nance in terms of playing time.
He was a DNP-CD for the Hawks’ first two games, played their next four straight, missed another two, and then returned to the rotation versus Detroit.
Nance is a capable contributor; one who has drawn trade interest before stepping on the floor this season. But his father, former NBA high-flyer Larry Nance Sr. said he liked the trade to Atlanta and that his son’s role with the Hawks will play out just fine.
“He’s moved closer to Ohio which means I can see my grandkids more often so that’s a good thing,” the elder Nance said in an interview with Betway Insider published on November 6. “Larry had a great time and great success down at the New Orleans Pelicans and they decided to move on, but the Hawks wanted him and their team right now has a real nice core.
“Larry has been welcomed here and I think he’s going to be really successful because they have some nice young pieces that made him excited about the possibility of playing here.”
Nance Jr. spoke about the Hawks’ belief that they could compete in the East this season.
“If you look at the East, we got a number amount of teams that aren't looking to make the playoffs or care more about their draft stock than wins, and we're not one of those teams,” Nance said on “The Hoop Collective” podcast in September. “So, hopefully, if we do what we're supposed to do, we'll snag an 8-seed, snag a 7-seed, surprise some people.”
Larry Nance Jr.'s professionalism helped Hawks avoid potentially volatile situation
That level of buy-in is also key because Nance acknowledged that the Hawks were the one team he had no prior connections to. The situation could have become volatile with the previous trade interest and his lack of playing time.
It has not though, and the Hawks could make it work with a player who provides two-way production and positional versatility.
As his father says, every team “loves” players like that.
“Larry is the type of player that is going to do a lot of the dirty work. He’s going to play defense, he’s going to block shots, rebound and make passes,” Nance Sr. said. “I think there’s some excitement in Atlanta. I talk about health all the time and they’ve got a couple of injuries right now, but they just had a game against New Orleans in which they played really hard and won.
“This is another group of players who seem like they like each other and they’re nice and young. With youth, there’s some small mistakes that happen but they make up for it because they do like each other, and they play hard for each other. The Hawks are going to be just fine.”
The biggest part of the Hawks’ youth movement is rookie No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher.
He is experiencing the typical ups and downs of a rookie. But his feel for the game is unquestionable and even his decision-making has looked beyond his years.
“He’s young but man does he have potential. He does some nice things and I’ve seen some of his shots where he’s just made nice moves and shot it off the glass. He’s going to be very good,” Nance Sr. said. “He’s going to mature and grow into that body, but he’ll be good this year which will help the team quite a bit because he has a lot of talent and they have a nice young core.”