Steve Nash and The L.A. Lakers

So many people believed that Steve Nash would be a good fit with the Lakers.  I can honestly say I was skeptical from the beginning.  I noticed that what happened with the addition of Steve Nash is that the Lakers went from old with Derrick Fisher, to older with Steve Nash.  They went from a defensive minded, albeit washed-up Fisher, to an offensive minded, terrible defenseive player in Nash.  The point guard position in the NBA is arguably the most talented position.  That said, each elite team needs to have a point guard who can defend other elite point guards.  Think about the talented collection of point guards in the Western Conference.  Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Ty Lawson, Tony Parker, and many others.  Steve Nash could not guard those guys when he was in his prime.  Now, that he is well past his prime, he does not have a snowball's chance in hell of being able to do so.  The Lakers hurt themselves from a defensive position with the move.

It was no secret that Steve Nash is not a good, or even decent defensive player.  But, I thought that he would at least hold his own ground on the offensive end of the court.  Thus far, that has not happened.  Nash is used to being in control of the offense, and I believe he has always worked with a pick-and-roll type of offense.  The Princeton style offense the Lakers are running essentially removes the skills that make Nash an outstanding point guard.  He is great at finding diving forwards and centers from the pick-and-roll set.  He is also equally adept at finding and making his own shot when defensive players go underneath screens.  He is accustomed to running the fast break and the secondary break.  In the few games I have watched this season, he has been unable to do any of those things.  Consequently, his team is struggling and Kobe is resulting to "hero" ball to try to salvage the season.  And, to make matters worse, Nash is now injured.  I think the Lakers are in trouble becuase at the moment they seem to be a bunch of pieces that just dont fit together.

Peace