This trend continued until the All-Star break, where the Lakers went 8-4 and Bryant averaged 8.5 assists over the 12 game stretch.
With Kobe facilitating the offense, Steve Nash’s assists average dipped to just 5.5, but his offensive potency was put on display.
Since the All-Star break, things have leveled off a bit as Kobe’s scoring a lot and doing so with an extremely high rate of efficiency, and Steve Nash is running more successful pick-and-rolls.
However, although Kobe has looked for his shot more and has averaged 32.2 points since the break, he hasn’t done away with passing altogether, either, as he’s averaging 7.1 assists in the ten games since the All-Star break.
Nash’s assists average has dipped even more, all the way down to just 5.0 per game, but he’s been aggressive on the offensive end.
Essentially, Bryant and Nash have found a way to successfully coexist and play off of each other.
Kobe often isolates or breaks down the first line of defense, and then passes to an open Nash to either pop a three-pointer, or drive into the lane and get a better shot or make a second pass.
On other occasions, Nash runs pick-and-rolls with Dwight Howard with a much better result than before the All Star break.
One thing which has been constant ever since that Utah game has been Nash’s hot shooting and overall offensive production.
In those 22 games, Nash is averaging 13.6 points per game on 50.7 percent shooting from the field and 46.2 percent from behind the three-point line.
For a guy who’s averaged 14.4 points on 49.1 percent shooting from the field and 42.8 percent shooting from three over his whole career, this may not appear as much of a big deal.
Perhaps it’s not, but what is evident is that Nash’s shooting is being featured more than his passing–which is perfectly fine for now.
Now, since the ten games following the All-Star break, Nash has averaged 14.2 points on 50.0 percent field goal shooting and an incredible 53.3 clip from behind the three-point arc!
Nash is still dropping dimes, but perhaps his greater–or at least equal–value to this team is his ability to knock down the long ball and/or create his own shot. Both are elements Kobe Bryant couldn’t count on from teammates in the past.
Where Kobe Bryant is leading the team in scoring in those ten games (32.2), Dwight Howard (15.5) and Steve Nash (14.2) have complemented him well. More importantly, the trifecta is averaging over 50 percent from the field.
However, it has been Nash’s red-hot shooting from long range which has allowed Kobe more space to operate, and in turn opened things up for Dwight Howard a bit more as well.
Next Page: Is Nash Being Used Properly, Though?
Similarly, Nash, 39, is much older than he was back in the Phoenix days, and perhaps one reason he came to the Lakers was to take the burden off himself to constantly make plays for everyone else.
There’s no doubt he still loves passing the ball, but maybe an “overlooked” aspect of his greatness has been his ability to shoot the ball.
Don’t get me wrong; Nash has always been known as an exceptional shooter, but he won two MVPs as a direct result of elevating his teammates’ level of play exponentially.
However, another testament to his greatness now is that despite him having to adjust his game and play off-ball, he’s still able to make a profound impact on the game with his deadly shooting.
Think of Dwyane Wade when LeBron James first got to Miami; Wade had to sacrifice his individual stats and take a backseat so James’ greatness.
Essentially, this is what’s happening with Nash and Kobe.
Kobe’s certainly not a pass-first type of player, and when Nash was brought in, the thinking was that Nash would take over the ball-handling responsibilities while Kobe put up the points.
It worked out for a while as Kobe shot a high percentage and Nash dished out assists, but it simply didn’t result in wins.
Now, with Bryant averaging north of 7.1 assists and 6.3 rebounds per game along with those 32.2 points on 53.1 percent shooting in the last ten games, “Vino” is having an unbelievable offensive stretch that rivals–or perhaps even beats, with some of the clutch shooting he’s put on display–James’ style of basketball.
Nobody expected that at all, but right now when you have a player like that performing at the level he is, the rest of the team has to take a backseat–especially since it’s resulting in wins (the team is 8-2 since the break).
Although Dwight Howard has slowly come on while battling through back surgery recovery and dealing with a shoulder injury, Steve Nash has been the one constant alongside Kobe Bryant on the offensive end of the floor
Essentially, with Kobe’s unbelievable play, the rest of the team has to simply play to their roles: Kobe has to dominate the ball on the offensive end, Dwight has to grab rebounds and control the defensive end, and Steve Nash has the green light to let fly whenever he touches the ball.
In time, as Howard gets into better condition and Pau Gasol returns to the lineup, the style of play may turn a little bit more balanced in terms of scoring and play-making–as it did on Sunday against the Chicago Bulls–but for now, the team has to follow Kobe’s direction.
Thus far, Steve Nash has done just that and the Lakers simply wouldn’t be where they are right now (finally in eighth place and poised to make the playoffs) without Nash’s potent offense.
Always a “team first” type of player, Nash has once again proved that he will truly do whatever it takes to win and make the team better.
In this instance, he’s been asked to forgo something he’s one of the greatest of all time at doing–passing–in favor of putting the ball in the basket. Fortunately for the Lakers, he’s not only one of the greatest passers of all time, but also one of the greatest shooters the NBA has ever seen.
Who would’ve thought at the beginning of the season that Kobe Bryant would be passing more and Steve Nash would be shooting as a first option?
It’s certainly not what was envisioned, but hey, at least for now, it’s working.