The Los Angeles Lakers are anxiously awaiting the return of two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash in order to see the true potential of this team that was built to win a championship this season. Along with head coach Mike D’Antoni looking forward to finally being reunited with Nash, Kobe Bryant is also waiting for the opportunity to play with his backcourt partner once again.
Once Nash gets back on the floor, Kobe believes his game will change from facilitator/scorer to strictly scoring via Kevin Ding of the OC Register:
Bryant is looking forward to Nash’s return, for sure. Nash will be re-evaluated next week.
“I’ll be scoring a lot more when Nash gets back,” Bryant said. “I won’t have to facilitate as much, and it will allow me to do what I do best — and that’s put the ball in the hole.”
Kobe currently leads the team in the assist department with 5.1 per game. Along with currently dishing out the most assists on the team, Kobe also leads the league in scoring once again with 26.9 points per game.
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It remains to be seen whether or not Kobe can continue to the lead the league in scoring with James Harden (25.2), LeBron James (25.2), Carmelo Anthony (25.6) and Kevin Durant (26.5) nipping at his heels, but the five-time NBA champion continues to show no signs of slowing down as he’s been as advertised once again this season.
As for Nash’s return, there remains no timetable as he continues to recover from the leg fracture suffered in a collision with rookie Damian Lillard back on Halloween. The most recent update for Nash was that he’s still unable to job and that can’t be a good sign for the 38-year-old point guard.
Steve Blake on the other hand might be back as early as Tuesday’s game against the Indiana Pacers at Staples Center. If Blake is good to go for Tuesday, it’ll be interesting to see how D’Antoni intends to use him as he had nothing but praise for the veteran point guard once officially being hired by the Lakers.