Steve Nash is not young and Mike D'Antoni is well-aware. The Los Angeles Lakers point guard is 39-years old and will turn 40 mid-way through the upcoming season. He is officially the oldest player in the league this season and injuries have begun to take their toll on the All-Star. With that, D'Antoni is prepared for Nash to miss game-time during stretches of the season.
"I'm not concerned," D'Antoni said (via ESPN.com) when asked about Nash playing just nine minutes against the Kings before sitting out with a sore left ankle. "I think this will happen off and on all year, but he's going to give you a good season and good stuff. We have to take care of him."
Nash noted that his ankle has improved during the offseason. He admitted that the injury was bothering at the start of training camp, but has loosened up over time. While he understands this could linger throughout the season, the point guard does not expect to miss a lot of time because of it.
At the start of camp, it wasn't very good at all, and through camp it did improve. I think [Thursday] was more of an unfortunate day than a real problem," Nash said. "It could linger, but I don't expect that to be the case. I'm hoping that through this month we can try to put it behind me. It's kind of a little bit of a dance because I need this time to prepare, but at the same time, you obviously don't want to pound the ankle to where I'm not able to function."
Last season, injuries ended the Lakers season early and they are hoping to avoid the same fate this year. Nash missed 32 games because of a broken leg and a hip injury. Pau Gasol missed time for a heel injury. Dwight Howard had shoulder issues. Kobe Bryant tore his Achilles tendon. Nash and D'Antoni have discussed the possibility of sitting out back-to-back games or limiting minutes, but the point guard is not committing to anything just yet.
"We got to maximize each player on the team and so, will maximizing me be to play every single game or will it be to pull me out once in awhile?" Nash said. "I think Steve [Blake]and Jordan [Farmar] are really good point guards, so it gives us a luxury there."
So far through training camp, Nash has been limited. The point guard has played just 52 minutes through four games. He is shooting just 25 percent from the field, averaging 17.3 minutes per game. The Lakers will need a lot more from him during the year.
