The Los Angeles Lakers received more bad news on the injury front recently with backup point guard Steve Blake forced to undergo surgery in order to repair a torn abdominal muscle.
As a result of the surgery, Blake’s recovery time will be a minimum of six to eight weeks and leaving the Lakers’ backcourt shorthanded with only Chris Duhon and Darius Morris to shoulder the load.
Apparently, Blake’s surgery was successful with the veteran guard thanking everyone that has shown support via Twitter:
Surgery went well. Thanks for all the prayers & well wishes. #roadtorecovery starts NOW instagr.am/p/S3qaCUHnfX/
— Steve Blake (@SteveBlake5) December 5, 2012
With Blake on the shelf for two months or more, Steve Nash’s return to the floor becomes that much more important for head coach Mike D’Antoni and company. Although Chris Duhon and Darius Morris haven’t done an awful job thus far as starter and backup thus far, the new style of offense won’t kick into high gear with Nash as the floor general.
D’Antoni has emphasized over the past few weeks that Nash’s return to the floor is crucial for the team to reach its true potential. The Lakers have been extremely streaky over the first 18 games of the regular season and continue to struggle to play consistently well.
It’ll be interesting to see the impact of Nash’s return in the coming weeks and whether the two-time NBA MVP can turn things around for this supposed title contender under D’Antoni.
