On November 9, Steve Nash hobbled off the court against the Minnesota Timberwolves and was later diagnosed with nerve root irritation in his back. While he has been working with his Canadian trainer, the former two-time Most Valuable Player has been out for the past month.
While he participated in a light practice before the Los Angeles Lakers went on their four-game road trip, it was revealed on Thursday that he would miss an additional four weeks. Although most thought Nash suffered another setback, the point guard said that he doesn’t want to rush back and not be able to sustain it via ESPN LA’s Ramona Shelburne:
Nash said the extended time frame was not due to a setback. He simply doesn’t want to rush back and not be able to sustain it.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) December 19, 2013
While most believe it’s time for Nash to retire, Nash says he is fighting every day to get that joy from playing basketball:
Sad Steve Nash quote from today (1/2) "I'm just fighting everyday to get that little bit of joy from basketball…"
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) December 20, 2013
Steve Nash (2/2):"…being one of the guys..running up & down the court & trying to beat somebody."
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) December 20, 2013
Although Nash worked the entire off-season to get himself healthy after sustaining a broken leg, he dealt with numerous injuries during the course of training camp. Despite the coaching staff’s efforts to keep him out of back-to-back games, Nash still struggled when he was on the court.
With Nash out for another four weeks and Kobe Bryant out for six weeks, it will be a difficult road ahead. However, this team showed that they were able to compete at a high-level en route to a .500 record before Bryant’s return.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
ICYMI: Kobe Bryant OUT 6 Weeks, Steve Nash OUT Another Four Weeks