The Los Angeles Lakers have a pretty good problem to have as the team has two young power forwards with plenty of potential in Larry Nance Jr. and Julius Randle. Head coach Byron Scott has the difficult task of balancing minutes between the two.
Nance has been the starter for a while now, but Randle has continued to produce coming off the bench, though he has had some ups and downs.
With Nance Jr. nursing an injury, Randle has moved back in the starting lineup and Scott had some kind words for the second-year forward according to Bill Oram of the Orange County Register:
Julius Randle is "a walking double-double" as long as he's playing 20-25 minutes, Byron Scott said. Nance injury muddles PF spot. But…
— Bill Oram (@billoram) January 19, 2016
Scott, however, stopped short of naming either Nance Jr. or Randle the starter moving forward once the former returns from injury via Oram:
… Scott wouldn't say who will start at 4 when Nance returns from the sore knee. Scott said Jr is almost certainly out tomorrow and Friday
— Bill Oram (@billoram) January 19, 2016
Deciding between Nance and Randle is a difficult choice. Randle seems to have a higher ceiling, but Nance is a little more polished at this stage, especially on the defensive end where Randle still struggles.
The idea of playing Randle and Nance together has been discussed as well and could ultimately be the best solution for all parties. The two have been on the court together in recent games before Nance’s injury and the returns were pretty good. Once Nance returns, that could be where the Lakers turn.