Cavaliers' Larry Nance Jr. to miss 4-6 weeks with fractured finger, per report

Nance's injury will likely require surgery

The Cleveland Cavaliers got off to a much better start than anyone was expecting this season, but things have started to go south for the team in the last week or so. They've lost three games in a row, and five of their last six to drop to 10-14. If that wasn't bad enough, they'll also be without one of their best players for over a month.

Power forward Larry Nance Jr. is expected to miss 4-6 weeks due to a fractured finger, according to a report from Adrian Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst of ESPN. Nance injured the finger during the Cavaliers' loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night, and will likely need surgery. 

Though he has been putting up a solid 9.3 points and shooting a career-high 38.1 percent from 3-point land this season, Nance isn't much of an offensive threat. He makes his money on the defensive end of the floor, where his size and athleticism makes him extremely versatile. 

His 1.9 steals per game are tied for second in the league, and he has been a big factor in the Cavs' incredible turnaround on defense. After finishing dead last in defensive rating last season, they have been a top-10 unit through the first month-plus of this campaign. The only other team that managed to jump from the bottom 10 in defense last season to the top 10 this season is the New York Knicks. 

When you really dig into the numbers, the splits with and without Nance are pretty stark. In his 635 minutes on the floor this season, they're allowing 106 points per 100 possessions. In the 537 minutes without him, they're giving up 112.3 points per 100 possessions. Obviously defense isn't a one-man operation, but it's clear they're going to have a hard time dealing with Nance's absence.