Lakers guard Steve Nash suffered a fracture in his fibula during the second game of the season, that sidelined him until Dec. 22.
Nash missed 24 games during that stretch, and was never the same during the 2012-13 NBA season. Nash’s 6.7 assist per game were his lowest since 2,000.
Lakers trainer Gary Vitti now wants the team to limit his minutes, so that Nash can be healthier according to Lakers.com.
Yes, he’s working with his longtime therapist in Vancouver and is getting better every day. Steve did everything we asked him to do all season, but as I mentioned, the fibular fracture along with the neurological component just disrupted his kinetic chain and he started compensating, which creates dysfunction. Part of what has made him great is his ability to know his body and compensate for movements on the court. But getting hurt so early and being out so long kept him from getting to that point, as he was chasing young guys like Ty Lawson and Russell Westbrook around the court. Teams were running him around picks, smashing him into the floor — he really got beat up last year.
But I think he’s going to come back in great shape, and then it’s all about how he’s used. You don’t want to beat him up in practice. Save it for the game, figure out the appropriate minutes that put him in a successful situation. The example I use is Robert Horry, where we played him a lot of minutes, and it was difficult for him to recover and be productive at his age. But he goes to San Antonio, plays 18 minutes a game, and the guy was an unbelievable force off the bench for them. I think if we figure out how best to use Steve, he can be the same way.
If Nash can’t get back to being his normal self, the Lakers have no shot at overall team success.