Cavs: Larry Nance, his do it all style and 3 other things from the season debut

Larry Nance had a stellar game for Cleveland that saw him do everything possible as the Cavs defeated the Hornets in the season opener.

The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Charlotte Hornets 121-114 in the first game of the year. The Cavs had a great outing on paper, putting up 34 assists with Collin Sexton and Darius Garland putting up 27 and 22 points respectively for the game. While the two young guards led the way offensively, it was Larry Nance Jr. that seemingly propelled the team going forward. Nance had 13 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists, along with three steals and two blocks. His efforts clearly made him the player of the game to many and was the reason why this team was able to defeat the Hornets.

Andre Drummond had a double-double himself, going 14 points and 14 rebounds, while rookie Isaac Okoro went 4-of-5 from the floor, 1-of-2 from three-point, and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line to finish with 11 points. Cedi Osman and Javale McGee dropped 11 and 13 points respectively for the Cavs off the bench.

Star player Kevin Love was not available for tonight’s game, having been ruled out due to an injury.

Let’s take a look at some notable storylines from this game.

Larry Nance is a Swiss Army knife of basketball fun

If Larry Nance continues this type of production from all facets of the court, the team is going to be very hard to stop. He may not be a great pull-up shooter, but this is how he can help the Cavs’ offense. Be the pacesetter in the transition.

Darius Garland’s defense is bad

Some fans who only look at one stat will assume Darius Garland had a good game tonight, he didn’t. Terry Rozier dropped 43 on the Cavs tonight and was Garland’s primary matchup for most of the game. Seeing as Cody Zeller went down with an injury and the only other scoring option was Gordon Hayward, had a third player really have stepped up, the Cavs would’ve lost this game.

Javale McGee was a great addition

McGee won’t drop 13 points and seven rebounds every game off the bench for the Cavs but his attitude and preaching of good, solid defense is exactly what this team needs.

Collin Sexton is very good in transition

He’s really good in transition.