Good news for the Lakers: Larry Nance Jr.’s wrist is sprained, not broken
Larry Nance Jr. and the Lakers received some good news Friday after an examination revealed that he suffered only a sprained right wrist and not something more serious as the team originally thought.
When Nance was injured Thursday night in the Lakers’ 88-80 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the summer league in Las Vegas, an early diagnosis suggested it was “probable” he had a broken hand or ligament damage.
But after Nance got an MRI exam in Los Angeles on Friday by team physician Steve Lombardo and hand specialist Dr. Steve Shin of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic, the results allowed the first-year forward and to breathe a sigh of relief.
The Lakers said Nance would not play in the team’s final summer league game Friday night against the Utah Jazz.
Nance was injured with 36 seconds left in the game when he was airborne on a drive, but crashed to the court hard on his wrist after a Cleveland player tried to take a charge on the play.
Nance stayed on the court wallowing in pain before he was taken to the locker room.
He put in a strong performance in the summer league.
In the four games he played, Nance averaged 9.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.8 blocks, 2.8 steals and 1.5 assists in 29.3 minutes per game.
He shot 48.1% from the field and 33.3% from three-point range, but just 57.1% from the free-throw line.
broderick.turner@latimes.com
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