Lakers Larry Nance Jr. Still Adjusting to Potential Starting Role

"I wouldn't tell you guys anyways," Los Angeles Lakers coach Luke Walton smiled following his team's 111-104 win over the LA Clippers to wrap up the 2017 exhibition season.

Walton was answering a question inquiring if the coach had his starters crystalized in his mind, but the coach contended that the power forward position was still undecided, though he slyly and transparently shared that he had no intention of telling the media, even if he had already decided.

For now, Larry Nance Jr. looks to be in line to assume the starting power forward position in order to balance the front court alongside Brook Lopez. Friday featured Nance starting at power forward for the third straight game. Brandon Ingram at small forward, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope at shooting guard and Lonzo Ball at point guard are all slotted into their positions, as is Lopez at center, so the only question that remains is which player properly fits into the starting power forward role for the purple and gold.

Julius Randle, who left Friday's preseason finale with back spasms, is the other leading candidate to join the starting five, though the coach still placed standout rookie Kyle Kuzma's percentages of beating out his fellow power forwards at 10 percent on Friday morning. More than likely, though, Nance looks to be the coach's favored player for the role.

"It doesn't matter to me," Nance said about getting a starting spot. "I just want to be on the court. I've maintained that from my rookie year to last year and now this year is going to be the same thing. I just want to be on the court. I just want to make a difference in the game."

Nance, though, has not looked entirely smooth, especially offensively, in the starting unit during the preseason.

"I talked to Larry tonight," Walton said after Friday's win. "Larry is very hard on himself when things aren't going well. I don't think tonight was a good example of what it will look like when he plays with that group. He needs to get better at using his emotions, controlling his emotions to give us energy, and I think tonight he let the emotions get the better of him, so it wasn't a great example of what we'll see with that group."

Nance said that he had a couple bad plays in the third quarter, in particular, and dropped his head after turning the ball over three times in the period. The 24-year-old's interpretation of his coach's message was to focus that energy into making plays that erase those mistakes, rather than spiraling into a negative mindset.

"It's definitely something that I notice," Nance said about allowing the mistakes to affect him mentally. "I've got to pull myself out of those little funks that I get in. But at the same time, energy is always there. I put in a whole lot of work, and I am one heck of an offensive player. I just got to have the confidence to show it."

Nance explained that adjusting to the new group of players led to a great deal of jumbled basketball, especially accommodating what he referred to as a "superstar center" in Lopez.

"It's a whole new group of guys. I'm trying to find a rhythm," Nance explained.

The former University of Wyoming Cowboy provided an example of a play when he expected his center to be ready for a dump off for a dunk on the weak side of the basket, which would have been the case with Ivica Zubac or Timofey Mozgov, i.e. tradition centers. Instead, when Nance looked to pass the ball, Lopez was posted on the three-point line and the play broke down. In short, Nance still hasn't adjusted to playing with Lopez and the starting group.

But reading between the lines, Walton still seems like he prefers Nance over Randle alongside Lopez.

With notable frustration in his voice, Nance concluded, "Got a week!"

With preseason over, the Lakers host the Clippers in both teams' 2017-18 regular season opener on Oct. 19, 2017.