Kendall Marshall More Important Than Ever to Los Angeles Lakers’ Future

The 2013-14 NBA season has been a roller coaster for Kendall Marshall, to say the least. The Phoenix Suns traded him to the Washington Wizards on Oct. 25, who promptly waived him three days later. After the D-League's Delaware 87ers picked him up in early December, the Los Angeles Lakers called him up on Dec. 20. He made his first start for the Purple and Gold on Jan. 3 amidst the carnage that became of their point guard rotation.

That carnage has yet to abate, which makes Marshall's role as a Laker all the more crucial for however long he stays in Los Angeles.

 

Perils at the Point



As was the case before Marshall came to town, the Lakers' point guards are once again dropping like Spinal Tap drummers. Steve Blake ruptured an eardrum in his first game back. Jordan Farmar re-aggravated his prior hamstring strain in his second. Steve Nash succumbed to shooting pain in his third.

In some ways, Nash is probably right to think that the latest flare-up of nerve root irritation in his left leg isn't and won't be "a long term thing at all," per ESPN Los Angeles' Dave McMenamin.

As Nash went on to explain to the attendant media after the Los Angeles Lakers' 92-86 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Sunday, his third-quarter collision with Kirk Hinrich didn't appear to do any more damage to the region in question:

It wasn't like I broke it again. I just kind of irritated the nerve and I'm hopeful that all the stuff that I've been doing will be able to overcome that little bit of irritation. It's kind of transient and hopefully I'll wake up tomorrow and feel better.

That sort of hope, that optimism, has likely kept Nash going through his trying season-and-a-half in LA. It might also serve as a coping mechanism of sorts, shading the more ominous truth of Nash's ability to play basketball without frequent incident by focusing more on the immediate term...

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