Steve Nash’s two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers have been unceremonious to say the least and saddled by one injury after another. To his credit, Nash has attempted to battle his way back from the various injuries that have sidelined him, but he seemingly has been unable to string along a stretch of games without suffering another injury.
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Nash logged 15 minutes, scoring four points and handing out six assists in a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday and then sat out Sunday’s home win over the Phoenix Suns. The 40-year-old point guard was back on the court Tuesday, managing to play 22 minutes in the loss to the Portland Trail Blazers despite spraining his left ankle.
While Nash managed to play through the sprain, he doesn’t believe he will be able to suit up on Wednesday, according to Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:
Steve Nash says he does NOT think that he will play tomorrow.
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) April 2, 2014
Should Nash not play on Wednesday, it wouldn’t come as much of a surprise given his injury history and Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni mentioning that Nash may be held out of back-to-back situations when the season was in its infancy. Nash’s inability to play night in and night out has been a major point of contention as the veteran guard is still set to receive $9.7 million in the final season of his three-year contract.
Some felt the Lakers would be best suited using the stretch provision on Nash, which would allow them to pay the remainder of his salary over three years. However, Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times reported on Sunday that the Lakers were planning on keeping Nash next season so as not to cut into their financial flexibility in the summers of 2015 and 2016. While that is a possibility, Nash also conceded next season isn’t guaranteed, mentioning his back as something that could prevent him from being able to play.
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