With the Atlanta Hawks entering the season with a few different players on their roster, it’s important to see how these pieces will fit into the team and help them succeed.
Larry Nance Jr. was part of the trade that sent Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans, and he was the first player rumored to be moving to Atlanta before all the details were known. Nance has had a solid career in the league and has developed his game into a big man who can score from the inside out.
The Hawks and Quin Snyder have placed an emphasis on putting centers in situations that can open up the court, and that was even more evident last year when centers played more up the court than in the paint for an entire possession. Nance won’t have that problem because he has experience with dribbling handoffs, something he did a lot of during his time with the Pelicans.
In this video, Nance does not dribble but passes the ball to Trey Murphy III. Nance holds the screen for a minute and rolls while Murphy passes it back to him at the free throw line. He is then able to dribble and drive into the lane for an easy layup.
Nance shows more in this clip. He runs a DHO with Jose Alvarado and sets two screens for him. Alvarado passes to Nance and he elbows Jaylin Williams to take away his verticality. Nance then goes up and hits a hook shot over Williams. The Hawks will need that type of versatility at center and DHOs can help players like Trae Young and Bogdan Bogdanovic get easy looks.
In this clip, Nance runs a DHO with Brandon Ingram, and he creates enough space to position himself for the mid-range shot. This is the type of play that will do wonders for the Hawks on offense. It helps that players like Young and Bogdanovic can also pass well, and they can trust Nance to make a play if needed.
Nance can also step out and shoot three-pointers, but only if he needs to. He shot about one three-pointer per game last year and made 41 percent of his shots.
In this clip, Nance moves to the three as CJ McCollum advances into the lane. Chet Holmgren prioritizes stopping McCollum over an exit to the perimeter, and Nance recovers the ball and knocks down the corner.
On defense, Nance isn’t known for blocking shots, but he does get his hands on balls for steals. Last season, he averaged one steal per game and has averaged 1.2 steals per game over his career.
In this video, Josh Giddey attempts to get to Nance and uses his quick hands to slide down and steal the ball from the point guard. For a player like Nance, his quick instincts to get the ball are solid, and if he can create turnovers consistently, he will see the field, even if it’s just for a few minutes.
The Hawks got a good player in Lance, and it will be interesting to see what his role looks like on the team when the season begins.
