Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Steve Nash has guaranteed he’ll be in uniform Christmas morning for the Lakers holiday date with the Knicks. As for suiting up tonight against the Golden State Warriors…well…don’t hold your breath.
Once Nash was healthy enough to be a full participant in practice this week speculation soon followed that he’d be good to go ahead of schedule. While there is still a chance Nash could make his return in time for the SoCal-NorCal rivalry it isn’t much of a chance. In fact Nash went as far as to tell the L.A. Times that the “odds are low”.
That seems about right. Earlier this week Nash mentioned that his conditioning is not where it needs to be and he’s still learning to play with pain. So giving him another few days to get up to speed makes sense.
It also makes sense not to rush him back. While the Lake Show is in desperate need of the services Nash provides it does them no good to force him back. We’re not exactly sure how he’ll look in his first action since his D’Antoni reunion but we do know losing for Nash another prolonged period will officially end all hope.
After all, D’Anonti has made no secrets that he’s putting plenty of eggs in the Nash basket.
Can one aging point guard salvage this mess of a season? That seems a lot to ask but at this point what else is there to look forward to?
So set your Nash alarm to Christmas Day. If by chance it goes off tonight instead that will just be a pleasant surprise though unexpected. By the way Nash is talking it looks a safe bet to put money on his holiday return.
"“We’ll see. On Christmas for sure.”"