Pelicans’ Larry Nance Jr. out four to six weeks with rib fracture

Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr. is expected to miss four to six weeks after re-aggravating his right rib fracture, according to a release from the team.

Nance’s time in New Orleans has been riddled with injury since he arrived at the trade deadline in 2022. He was dealing with an injury when he first was traded to the Pels, being limited to just nine games with the team that year. In 2022-23, Nance was healthier but still missed 17 games. This year, he’s played in 14 games, having missed four games in a row from Nov. 14-20 due to the rib injury he has now re-aggravated.

It’s a tough blow for both Nance and the Pelicans. When fully healthy, Nance can be an impact player at the forward position for a team continually dealing with injuries across the rotation. As pointed out by ESPN’s Andrew Lopez, the Pelicans are tied for the fourth-most missed games this season due to injury. Thankfully for New Orleans, CJ McCollum just returned to the rotation and Trey Murphy is also set to come back after both missed time to injury.

Nance is averaging 6.3 points and 5.1 rebounds in 88 games since joining the Pelicans. In his 14 appearances this year, he’s averaging 3.5 points in 15.1 minutes.

Naji Marshall is the most obvious choice to take over some of the minutes left by Nance. New Orleans could also look to turn to two-way forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl if needed.