His return was triumphant in that the Lakers were able to beat a tough team on the road thanks to a few big buckets from everybody involved.
Nash came in and got the ball moving (literally), and even though the Lakers watched in horror as Kobe Bryant took 41 shots, settling for jumpers over and over again, the team was able to come together and pull it out in the end.
What he brought with him was incredible ball movement. Even though Bryant took those 41 shots, mostly in isolation plays, the Lakers still found time to plug in 33 assists, 13 more than their season average.
The final stretch of the game really paints an odd picture, making it seem as if Kobe actually slowed the progress of the team in this one.
What was really strange about the game against the Warriors, however, is that the Lakers were able to erase a good chunk of the deficit with Nash on the bench, and almost all of it with Kobe on the bench.
Coming into the fourth quarter, the Lakers were down by 13 points. They started the quarter out with a lineup of Chris Duhon, Jodie Meeks, Metta World Peace, Jordan Hill and Dwight Howard.
That quintet was able to cut the lead down to eight points before Nash came in. With the return of Nash, the Lakers cut it down to four points before Kobe came back into the game.
Over the course of the final seven minutes, Kobe would take six of the Lakers' final 13 shots. All but one were from at least 15 feet away and in isolation plays.
It wasn't that he was going into full-on ball hog mode, just that he was completely intent on playing hero ball, wanting to win the game for his team rather than trust somebody else to make shots.
Offensively, that's going to remain the problem f...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
