Larry Nance Jr. out vs. Lakers due to sprained wrist

According to a statement from the Cleveland Cavaliers, forward Larry Nance Jr. will miss tonight’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers due to a wrist sprain. Nance, the NBA’s league-leader in steals and the current starting power forward with Kevin Love out, hurt the wrist in the first quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Boston Celtics.

Nance has, inarguably, been one of the Cavs’ best players this season, particularly on defense. In 16 games, he’s also averaging a career-high 10.5 points per game while averaging 3.5 assists, 2.3 assists and 6.3 rebounds. He’s also shooting a career-best 421.% from three on a career-high 3.6 attempts per game.

With Nance out, the Cavs have two options to adjust the starting lineup. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff could go with two bigs and play Andre Drummond and Jarrett Allen together (which could make sense if Anthony Davis plays for the Lakers and they go with a Davis-Marc Gasol frontcourt) or go small and start Taurean Prince. Both options have their merit, but the former might make more sense if Los Angeles does play big.

At this time, it’s not clear how long Nance will be out. After tonight, the Cavs play on Wednesday against the Detroit Pistons.