Although Darius Morris was impressive in a few of his starts recently, the team is eagerly awaiting the return of two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash. With Nash continuing to recovery from his leg injury that has kept him out since Halloween, Kobe Bryant has also been sharing time at the point guard position taking the ball up the court at times.
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While Kobe talked about embracing his new role of being a combo guard for the Lakers, the five-time NBA champion gave his new teammate a nickname via Mike Bresnahan of the L.A. Times:
“I’m not working too hard, to be honest with you. The shots that I made were all jumpers. It doesn’t take much energy to knock those jumpers down,” he said. “Bringing the ball up and having me kind of initiate the offense and score and stuff like that, it’s making me work a little more than I will when Gatsby gets back.
“When Gatsby gets back, I don’t have to do that. The game’s going to become even more easy for me.”
Why does Kobe refer to Nash as Gatsby? Who knows. It’s probably got something to do with Nash’s hairstyle and dapper look while on the bench.
It still remains uncertain when Nash will be able to get back on the floor for the Lakers with no timetable set for his return. Backup point guard Steve Blake is also out nursing a strained abdomen, but will likely return before Nash gets back on the floor.