There has been a lot of speculation recently about the health of Steve Nash. Although he has never been injury prone throughout his career, he missed 32 games last season and has been bothered throughout the preseason with lingering injuries.
After playing 29 minutes in the Lakers preseason finale against the Utah Jazz, Nash spoke to the media after the game and spoke about what has been bothering him:
My game feels ok. My neck’s bothering me, but I needed to get the minutes you know. It’s the last preseason game. If we had more than I probably wouldn’t have played as much but I needed to get a little more game preparedness and I got through it.
The next question now becomes Nash’s status for the season opener against the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday. Nash wants to be on the floor without a doubt, but also says he has to be smart about going forward with his neck bothering him:
You gotta go on how it responds everyday, but it’s nice to have a day off tomorrow and hopefully I’ll feel great Sunday. If not, I’ll nurse my way through it and try to make the smartest decision to be able to play on Tuesday but also to be healthy.
One of the biggest keys to the Lakers season will be health, especially amongst their three main veterans. While Kobe is looking unlikely to play the season opener, it will be a huge loss if Nash is also unable to go at the beginning of the season.
The Lakers have improved their depth behind Nash with both Steve Blake and Jordan Farmar playing well in the preseason, but if Nash isn’t playing at a high level, the Lakers won’t be at their best. Hopefully Nash plays this smart and is able to give the Lakers his best.
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