The Los Angeles Lakers may have lost one of their best all-around players to injury on Tuesday night in the disappointing loss to the Charlotte Hornets. Larry Nance Jr. went down with an apparent non-contact knee injury that sent him straight to the locker room after going after a loose ball.
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Although the x-rays on his left knee came back negative, the consensus seems to be that the second-year forward will miss some time. Head coach Luke Walton was asked about Nance’s injury after the game against the Hornets on Spectrum SportsNet and had this to say about potentially losing one of his most versatile players, via Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:
Luke said however long Larry’s out is going to a be “a huge loss for us,” called him probably their most intelligent player (on @SpectrumSN)
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) December 21, 2016
Before leaving the game in the third quarter, Nance had his usual impact on the game by filling up the stat sheet in numerous areas. Nance finished with 10 points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals while shooting 4-for-5 from the floor.
Unfortunately, Nance’s absence was felt as the team ultimately fell to the Hornets, 117-113.
On Wednesday, Larry Nance Jr. will have an MRI on his injured left knee to determine the severity of the damage sustained in Tuesday’s loss in Charlotte. Nance’s status for the back-to-back games in Florida against the Miami Heat on Thursday and Orlando Magic on Friday is very much up in the air with the Wyoming product likely expected to miss the rest of the road trip if not Christmas Day against the Los Angeles Clippers as well.
