To start, let’s take a look at depth at the point guard position:
- Steve Nash
- Steve Blake
- Chris Duhon
- Darius Morris
Behind future Hall-of-Famer Steve Nash, there are three point guards in line to back him up. Steve Blake is the likely candidate to come off the bench and spell Nash, but Chris Duhon could potentially see some minutes too.
As Elizabeth Benson notes in the aforementioned article, Blake and Duhon possess a similar style of game, and also hold similar career averages (Blake averages 6.9 points, 3.9 assists, and 2.1 rebounds on 40.4 percent shooting from the field and 38.7 percent shooting from three-point land while Duhon averages 6.8 points, 4.6 assists, 2.3 rebounds on 39.4 percent shooting from the field and 36.3 shooting from three).
However, as Benson also explains, Duhon’s physicality on defense could earn him some minutes. Additionally, Blake has been inconsistent in his two seasons with the Lakers, which could leave his reserve status up to competition.
Duhon may have appeared to decline in his career, but he once averaged 11.0 points and 7.2 assists in 79 games with the New York Knicks (although he averaged 2.8 turnovers in the same season).
At the very least, he may find himself getting situational playing time, and should one of the point guards ahead of him get injured, the Lakers can find solace that they have a capable veteran on the roster to help out.
Darius Morris is coming off a quiet rookie season in which he only appeared on the court 19 times. He was unimpressive in his first season, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets sent down to the D-League for most of the season to gain experience.
Final Thought – Steve Nash averaged just over 30 minutes per game last season, and in order for him to remain fresh, he will have to keep that number in the same vicinity. Luckily, Nash will have two point guards behind him capable of playing anywhere from 18-25 solid minutes so if one of them goes down, the other can step right in and it wouldn’t weigh too heavily on the 38-year-old.
Next Page: Shooting Guard