Kobe Bryant-Steve Nash Pairing Still Has Plenty to Offer in Third Year Together
This will be the third season for Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash as teammates. The pairing has never really produced an impact for the Los Angeles Lakers, but the third time's a charm, as the saying goes.
The two backcourt players have been on the same side since 2012 but went nearly 18 months without playing together. March 30, 2013 marked the last time they made a joint regular-season appearance, with Nash playing a grand total of two minutes. The Lakers' preseason win against the Denver Nuggets on October 6 marked their return to action.
Why such a lengthy mutual absence for our star-crossed guards?
Blame an unfathomable slew of injuries, including Bryant's blown Achilles tendon and fractured knee, and Nash's broken leg and a meltdown of back and sciatic nerves.
Now they're back and finally healthy. And while slower than their halcyon days of old, they're hoping to put one good season together. It will be their last chance, collectively.
Nash, who will turn 41 in February, said this summer in an interview with Sport TV, per Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, "I think this is my last season. But I still love to play, practice and work on my game. I'm going to spend hopefully many, many years living this life without basketball. It'll be nice to play one more year."
Even now, there are still some kinks to work out. As Nash recently said, per Mike Bresnahan for the Los Angeles Times:
"In some ways, there are some moments where it's seamless. And in other ways, we're still figuring our way together because we haven't played that many games together and we've played together in three different offenses now. So it's always kind of been in flux and adjustments.
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It wasn't particularly surprising when Bryant, 36, gave a more blithe response: "It's never been something that's been difficult. It's extremely, extremely easy. We see a lot of the same things, as far as getting to the right spots. It's effortless."
During the prime of their respective careers, the idea of a pairing seemed an interesting but potentially unsettling proposition. Perhaps it was the vast differences between their respective regimes—Phil Jackson's triangular half-court philosophy versus Mike D'Antoni's creed of getting an open look in seven seconds or less.
Or maybe it was the prickly nature of Nash and Bryant's many years as adversaries. The Lakers and Phoenix Suns clashed frequently during the regular season, setting up a number of playoff showdowns.
L.A. beat the Suns in the 2010 Western Conference Finals, with Phoenix emerging the victor in the 2006 and 2007 Western Conference first rounds.
But more than anything, it was the tendency of each to dominate and dictate the flow of their respective on-court fiefdoms.
Nash was the ultimate kinetic point guard with the Suns, penetrating and evading defenses while dribbling in dizzying patterns before whipping away no-look passes that invariably found their target. Or, leaving opponents so thoroughly confused and flat-footed that he could take and make a shot on his own.
And then there was the fierce and unrelenting Bryant—an explosive hero-baller whose flawless array of moves and footwork, backed by an insatiable demand to win, propelled him to the very apex of his sport.
How could these two future Hall of Famers ever function together effectively?
During the summer of 2012, the basketball world watched and waited as Nash and Dwight Howard joined forces with Bryant and Pau Gasol, for what was assumed would be a superteam waltz to a Larry O'Brien Trophy presentation.
But that plan never came to fruition. A frustrating first season capped off by injuries sputtered to an end with Howard disembarking during free agency to join the Houston Rockets. And then the horrific 27-55 season saw Bryant and Nash together in uniform but separated by injuries.
Entering the final leg of the journey, two guards with 24 All-Star appearances between them may finally be on the right path together. During their preseason appearance against Denver, the not-quite-geriatric cases started together and looked effective, smooth and oh-so-deliberate.
Bryant's fadeaway jumpers and pump fakes were tai chi compared to his blinding flurries of old. And Nash crept stealthily through the lane for layups or spotted up craftily from outside.
There's an old saying in NBA basketball about letting the game come to you. The old guard has no problem with that.
Bryant and Nash's appearances will include time restrictions, and there will be nights when one sits and rests as the other does yeoman’s work. They'll play within Byron Scott's hybrid Princeton offense, which emphasizes off-ball movement and the mid-range game, but there will be moments when the coach allows his veteran stars their moments of improvisation.
The young guns of the league will fly around the court this season while Nash and Bryant take the opportunities that are handed to them and steal plenty more as well.
Like con men in a buddy road movie, the duo will use years of experience, fountains of knowledge and tricks of the trade learned during 36 collective seasons of basketball to put on a show—at least some nights.
Nash sat out the Lakers' second preseason game but was back in the starting lineup for Sunday's debacle against the Golden State Warriors. It wasn't the best of outings, however—he shot 0-of-5 in 12 minutes before asking out of the game.
Per Arash Markazi for ESPN Los Angeles, Scott said Nash wasn't feeling great pregame and relayed what happened during the contest: "After the first quarter he said, 'Coach, you know what, I'm done.' I don't know what’s really going on with him, but he said he didn't feel quite right."
Meanwhile, Bryant jacked up 13 attempts in 24 minutes, making only three of them. He did, however, have five assists, four steals, a rebound and a blocked shot.
It will be an up-and-down season for the Lakers, and nobody knows which direction their win-loss record will trend. But when these roundball legends are healthy and on the court together—and who knows how often that might be?—there is the real potential for good things to happen.
Will they gum their opponents to death or lull them to sleep with rocking chair moves? Not exactly. Bryant and Nash may be lions in winter, but they're big cats nonetheless—dancing down the hardwood court together, one last time.
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