The refrain played in the Lakers’ head after nearly every loss and every botched pass.
“If only Steve Nash were healthy.”
The Lakers thought this plenty of times considering Nash sat out a combined 32 games, first because of a fractured left leg followed by hamstring and back issues. Without him, the Lakers’ offense hardly resembled the Mike D’Antoni system that Nash ran with perfection through four seasons with Phoenix.
The Lakers no longer are worried about Nash’s health. Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak described Nash as “100 percent” and has participated in the Lakers’ informal practices and scrimmages for the past four to six weeks. That’s good news for a team that became so saddled with injuries that Lakers trainer Gary Vitti described last season as “the toughest year for me” in his 30 years with the organization. But now that Nash has overcome his injuries, can he become the elite point guard that earned him two league MVPS and brought D’Antoni’s offense to life?
“I do,” Kupchak said. “We’re not expecting 35 minutes a game for Steve. But he is completely healthy right now.”
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