Los Angeles Lakers head coach hoping that Nash’s return to the court can be the start of something sensational…..
"Whatever day he returns will be Christmas, so I guess there's that,"
That was what Mike D'Antoni, the Los Angeles Lakers head coach whose appointment over the legendary Phil Jackson had a lot to do with the presence of Steve Nash in the roster, said when asked for comments after the point guard
successfully carried out his first full-contact practice on Thursday.
"He looked good today. Real good. You never know how he wakes up. But the first step was positive. He looks good on the floor. He said he felt good. We'll see if he can do it again tomorrow and keep building from there."
The Lakers have had it hard at the start of the season. Before the three game winning streak this week, the Lakers were 9-14 and were 1-11 in the games Kobe Bryant scored 30 or more points. The adjustment process with a new fast
paced offensive system of D’Antoni had a lot to do with those struggles. It seems that the Lakers are slowly getting the hang of things, but their recent performances have not been convincing by any stretch of imagination.
They still need a player, who knows how to run things on the court and when talking about that, there are no one as good as Steve Nash, especially when we talk about D’Antoni’s system.
Nash know the philosophy better than anybody, perhaps more than even D’Antoni. The coach is hoping that this turns out to be the case and Nash’s return injects new life into a lackluster Lakers’ campaign, which has them sitting
at the 12th spot in the Western Conference;
"I hope it's a turning point because we're not very good right now. Something better turn," D'Antoni said when asked about the effect of Nash’s return to the Hollywood side. "He's the best at it. Not taking anything away from anyone
else, but when you're the best at something, it's going to run smoothly. Confidence builds up and you realize, 'Oh, that's why he wants me in that position' and then it works and it becomes a lot easier.' "
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