Steve Nash will be in the Los Angeles Lakers' starting lineup in Game 1 of a series against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday, according to the Orange County Register's Kevin Ding. Nash missed the last eight games of the regular season with a back, hip and hamstring injury that is interconnected. He has dealt with the issue throughout his career, but the problem popped up again as the 39-year-old reached the end of the Lakers' regular season.
Steve Nash injury: Lakers point guard will start against Spurs
The Los Angeles Lakers will receive a boost as their point guard returns for the playoffs.
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Nash will start with Steve Blake, Metta World Peace, Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard.
The blueprint to success
How do the Lakers overcome the odds to beat San Antonio? After two epidural injections to ease the pain, Nash ran up and down the court for the first time on Saturday, according to ESPN LA’s Dave McMenamin. He said he expected to give it a go in San Antonio but added that it’s up to coach Mike D’Antoni to make sure giving him time helps the team.
Arguably, Los Angeles has been fine without Nash.
The Lakers went 7-1 without him down the stretch, and Steve Blake performed well in his place. The backup point guard scored 23 and 24 points in the last two regular season games, helping Los Angeles to two vital victories that secured them a playoff spot and the seventh seed. Blake should still play a prominent role in chasing around Spurs point guard Tony Parker.
Toward the end of the year, the losses of Nash and Kobe Bryant, who is done for the year with a torn Achilles, have led to the offense being run through Pau Gasol. He has averaged 6.6 assists over the last 10 games to go with 16.4 points and 10.8 rebounds.
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