Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Los Angeles Lakers guard Steve Nash just can’t catch a break. According to Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report, Nash was expected to practice on Monday as the Lakers returned from their Grammy trip, but tweaked his back while at home.
It is supposedly a minor setback but with Nash– nothing should be taken with a grain of salt at this point. The fact that you are capable of injuring your back at home, is a pretty good sign that it will not hold up in practice situations, let alone in games. It looks like he will try to start practicing on Thursday with the hopes of playing next week at some point.
I understand Nash has a lot of pride and does not want to end his career this way. Everyone is hoping things can turn around and he can play at a high level again. He has done everything in his power to try to help the Lakers out.
He gets full credit for that.
With that said, he is doing more harm than good trying to get back on the court. Not just to himself but the Lakers organization as well.
First, what kind of long term damage is he doing to his future livelihood by attempting grueling physical activity with a serious nerve root injury to his back? Second, he is not even close to the player he once was and is embarrassing himself each time he steps on the court. Nash was never a good defensive player, now it is magnified even more with him not being able to move with a serious back injury.
Offensively, the timing is off because he is still adjusting to his lack of mobility, and how much faster other guys on the court are compared to him. This is the cause of all the bizarre turnovers we have seen from Nash the past two seasons. Everything is a step too late for him.
Nash had been training in Vancouver during his latest trip to the injury list, and was feeling optimistic things had gotten better. It might be best to call it a day and take everyone out of their misery.
Scott Groff is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @ucla_unknown. Add him to your network on Google.
