The Los Angeles Lakers had high hopes coming into the 2012-13 season, and a lot of that was due to the acquisition of Steve Nash. For the first time in Kobe Bryant’s career with the Lakers, he had an elite point guard to share the backcourt with.
However, Nash’s season with the Lakers did not got as planned as he dealt with injuries from the start. Just two games into his tenure with the Lakers, Nash suffered a fracture in his fibula and was sidelined until Dec. 22. Still, Nash dealt with other setbacks as the season progressed and ended up playing 50 games in total.
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Lakers longtime trainer Gary Vitti spoke to Lakers.com, and he talked about the injury plagued season and what needs to be done in order to keep Nash healthy.
But I think he’s going to come back in great shape, and then it’s all about how he’s used. You don’t want to beat him up in practice. Save it for the game, figure out the appropriate minutes that put him in a successful situation. The example I use is Robert Horry, where we played him a lot of minutes, and it was difficult for him to recover and be productive at his age. But he goes to San Antonio, plays 18 minutes a game, and the guy was an unbelievable force off the bench for them. I think if we figure out how best to use Steve, he can be the same way.
Nash is now 39 years old, and in a league filled with explosive guards, the future Hall of Fame point guard has to save his energy for the postseason. The Lakers coaching staff frankly did not do a good job preserving its stars’ energy, and some pointed to that as a reason for Kobe Bryant’s devastating Achilles tear.
The Lakers are hoping Nash can fully recover from his injuries and become the point guard that marveled fans in his final season with the Phoenix Suns.
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