Once upon a time, the Los Angeles Lakers had a healthy, starting-caliber point guard. Don't bother asking his name; I don't know it. It's been that long. Just know they don't have one now.
But they will.
In due time, the Black Mamba will return from his Achilles injury, looking dapper in his game-day bib and tucker, sporting a smile and clutching the rock, with the sole intention of doing what Steve Nash and Jordan Farmar can't—running the Lakers offense.
If Not Kobe, Then Who?
Durability.
It's a word that doesn't come to mind when thinking about the Lakers. Injuries frequent their roster like missed free throws at an Andre Drummond charity-stripe party. Cruel combinations of age, hard cheese and rotten luck have pillaged through their personnel, showing no mercy.
Healthy point guards have been especially scarce. Persisting nerve pains in Nash's back have limited him to just six games this season, setting the stage for premature retirement talk.
The Los Angeles Daily News' Mark Medina says that the 39-year-old has returned to practice, but the extent of good news ends there, according to ESPN Los Angeles' Dave McMenamin:
Alrighty then. Nash is in good enough shape to practice, but playing puts his career in jeopardy. Double-edged swords never cut so deep.
Moments like these, that make you want to cry, drink or listen to emo ballads on repeat, are why the Lakers have more than one floor general.
Pushing 40 and having missed a career-high 32 games in 2012-13, Nash was never going to be the solution at point guard this season. Part of it maybe, but they needed reinforcements just in case the bad-tempered Father Time was feeling particularly churlish. This is what Farmar and Steve Blake are in Los Angeles for.
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Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
