" Hope vs. Skepticism for Steve Nash by Mike Trudell Lakers Reporter Posted: Sep 30, 2014 What if Steve Nash can become Steve Nash again? How much fun would it be to watch the NBA's oldest player, newly-freed from crippling nerve pain for the first time in two years, do the things that made him so great for one final basketball ride en route to his inevitable spot in the Hall of Fame? Two seasons ago in Phoenix, the two-time MVP was still "himself," which on the court translated into 10.7 assists per game and 53.2 percent shooting, not to mention teammates exceeding their own expectations thanks to an excitement to be on the court next to the then 38-year-old Canadian. Fast forward to Oct. 31, 2012, Nash's second game as a Laker, when he broke his leg in Portland. That crack set off a series of painful nerve issues that limited the so-crucial-to-his-game free movement and plagued his two seasons in Los Angeles to the point of limiting him to just 10 starts in 2013-14. Sure, flashes of his younger self returned in spots -- like on his 40th birthday at Philadelphia when he went for 19 points and five dimes amidst a bit of magic -- but the sparkle was fleeting. So … how could it return? He certainly isn't getting any younger. Well, the first time one's head might have turned towards the hopeful nature of "What if" was after an interview with Gary Vitti on Aug. 1, when the longtime Lakers trainer shared this: When nerves are involved, they either get better really quickly, or they take a long, long period of time. There’s usually nothing in between. We're in that really long period now. He'll be coming back to Los Angeles this week, and all my conversations with him are that he has absolutely no neural issue at this point. He's playing full-tilt, unrestricted soccer. He's doing all the corrective injury and performance exercises he's supposed to be doing, and right now he's 100 percent healthy. As August turned into September, you kept hearing how great Nash looked around the practice facility. From his teammates to the coaches and the support staff, a mention of Nash produced a raised eyebrow implying that, maybe, he was doing Nashy things? The first practice of new coach Byron Scott's training camp came on Tuesday morning, which Kobe Bryant described as "The most running I've ever done in an NBA practice." Apparently, that didn't trouble Nash. "It was great," he said afterwards. "For me, I’m trying to enjoy this as much as I can. And to feel good out there today and be a part of this team in what’s probably my last training camp was a lot of fun for me." What did Kobe think Nash looked like? "He looked like Steve Nash." The two 19-year veterans are being monitored closely by Vitti and Scott, and yes, the fact that both came into camp in such great shape makes it easier to give them some time off. “They’ll do the morning practice, and I still don’t think I’ll have them do the whole (Wednesday) morning practice, but I want them to get the scrimmage in," Scott explained. "I think that’s important for both of them because they haven’t played a lot of basketball over the last year, and I think both of them want to get that scrimmage in. They want to play, which is a great thing.” The bigger question is how long Nash can keep it up. Nobody understands better than Nash why there's a round of skepticism every time his health is discussed. Rightfully so, and one successful practice is nothing close to a guarantee that his body will hold up in actual, live NBA games. But most didn't see how desperately he tried to get his body right last season, how many times he pushed through pain to try and offer a team long out of the playoff hunt everything he had. "To have the hopes to light the city up and to bring joy to people, to express yourself on the court in the team context where you pick the team up a little bit, that was always what was so exciting about coming here," Nash said on ESPN Radio's "Max and Marcellus" on Monday. "And for that not to happen was devastating for me." That devastation was a big part of what drove Nash through his offseason workouts, as he aimed to give himself one last chance at a healthy season, one last attempt to find the joy on the court that he's delivered to NBA fans since 1996. "Feeling like I have a shot at this," offered Nash. "With a bit of luck you might see a whole bunch of glimpses of the old Steve Nash." We can only hope. "
Now that he's making his money, I will root for him to stay healthy all season. I really wish he had retired, and that's after being very happy when he came to LA.
It would be the ultimate feel good story if Nash & Kobe became the best backcourt in the NBA this season.
Nash gives us another angle. That can't be overlooked. But we're RIGHT to be skeptical. The chances of his nerves giving him a full 82 seasons are very small. Heck the chances of his nerves giving him 41 games are slim. I'd LOVE for him to make it through the year and play well and have a great season, but I just don't see it happening.
I'd be happy if we get 60 games from him. To get the most out of him, and especially in the crunch, I might want to play Nash as more of a spot up shooter with the ball in Lin or Kobe's hands to create.
I hate to be negative regarding Steve, but I'm very skeptical. I don't think he'll give us anything to much at all this season...the biggest thing he can give us is mentoring these young players such as Lin, Clarkson, Randle, etc...if he just does that, I'm good.
Nerve issues are very tricky as they tend to flare up at random times. I don't blame Nash for taking the $10 million, I probably would have done the same thing, but I'm not expecting him to contribute any more than he did last season. If however he does remain relatively healthy (60 games) then that really changes the dynamic of this team.
Steve is going to have some issues but I fully expect much more than we got last year. I'm approaching with guarded optimism because as you say a relatively healthy Nash does change the dynamic and expectations of the team. Having coached high school basketball as long as I have I know that only a few things going for or against you can make all the difference in a season. I am really liking what I'm seeing so far. Also I wanted to say good job on the website.
Any news on wether or not he does practice today? He said he will but I don't believe that until he's actually on the court.
I've been rooting for Nash hard, ever since he became a Lakers. I was really looking forward to seeing him get a ring along with everyone else in 12-13 but we know how that all turned out.
Nash is done...please don't expect him to do much if anything this year. Makes Luke look like an iron man.
I've taken the "I'll believe it when I see it" stance when it comes to anything related to Steve Nash.
If he plays 20 games I'll be pleasantly surprised. Scott should try to give him 10 minutes per half and hope he can set a tone out there.
I'm hoping he looks great this year, but that they don't give him too many minutes. It's hard to justify building for the future with young guys if you play your 40 yr old player too much. This isn't a championship team by all accounts, so at what point is too many minutes detrimental to the future?
Quite frankly I'm very skeptical and I think it's warranted. It was definitely hard having him on the team last year, although I probably would have done the same thing with the contract situation. If he can mentor and maybe give us 10-15 mins a game as a spot-up shooter, I'd be happy. Knowing how the nature of nerve injuries, playing anywhere near 70-82 games is a stretch.
20 minutes, sitting on back to backs, and log around 60 games...if he can manage that I will be thrilled.
I'm really torn with the Nash Situation. During the summer i almost forgot he even was on our team, but now after the first days of camp I really hope he will stay healthy and somehow give us that veteran leadership from the PG position for 20 minutes a game and hoppefuly for 60+ games. On the other hand i try to stay reallistic and expect a situation simmilar to last season and i'm starting to think it would be better for the overall performance of the team if he wouldn't play at all opposed to maybe 2 games a month and throwing off the rotation everytime.
I don't care how much or how little he plays, so long as he can share/pass down his extensive b-ball knowledge to all our other PGs. If Jeremy can come close to playing the way Steve did in his prime, we're going to win a whole lot more than people say we are.
I'd rather see Jeremy Lin out there more than Nash. We're not contending this season, so it doesn't make much sense for him to start. 20 min a game max.
