Head coach Mike Brown said Blake had been playing great basketball during informal workouts before a foot injury forced him to miss the beginning of training camp.
Using Blake to spell Nash seems like a sound decision when you consider that Blake is a 40 percent career three-point shooter compared to Duhon's 36 percent, and the Lakers should expect a fair amount of open perimeter shots due to the attention that Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol will command in the paint.
Beyond Nash and Jodie Meeks, the Lakers don't have anyone else on the roster who can be considered as a reliable, consistent three-point threat which makes Blake's touch from long distance crucial, but this theory ignores his liabilities on the defensive end.
Blake is a streaky shooter and when he's hot he can definitely help the Lakers, but it's a safe bet that whoever Blake is defending when he's in the game will be helping his own team as well by punishing Blake off the dribble.
One of the Lakers' main flaws the past two seasons has been their inability to prevent penetration from opposing point guards, and they may have taken a step back in that regard by acquiring Nash.
I'm not sure if Nash can be much worse defensively than the departed Ramon Sessions and Blake were during the 2012 NBA Playoffs, but Nash's worth is measured in the stability and vision he brings to the Lakers' offense, not his defense.
But that doesn't mean the Lakers should abandon the concept of defense from the point guard position, and I would feel better about Brown's assessment of Blake if it included any tales about a commitment to defense.
Since it didn't, maybe Brown should consider taking a long look at...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
