Kevin Kuo, USA TODAY Sports
A Los Angeles Lakers season that started off bad got worse on Monday.
The team announced that Steve Nash will miss at least two weeks as he deals with nagging back problems. His health was one of many issues for the Lakers last season, and this latest setback is another piece of bad news for a team that already had just an outside chance of making a playoff run.
The Lakers’ issues don’t end with Nash either. There are a litany of problems facing Los Angeles as they prepare to face the New Orleans Pelicans tonight.
Shawne Williams is the starting power forward, Steve Blake is arguably the most consistent scoring threat on the team, and the defense is so bad it allowed the Minnesota Timberwolves to score 47 points in the first quarter on Sunday.
And, of course, nobody knows when we’ll see Kobe Bryant play. He’s still recovering from the torn Achilles tendon that sidelined him in April. He absolutely should take his time coming back, something the rest of the Lakers’ season has only reinforced. But the “ahead of schedule” talk from the summer is beginning to fall flat.
Even a healthy Kobe isn’t going to make this a playoff team. The Timberwolves, Portland Trail Blazers and Dallas Mavericks are too good. Even tonight’s opponent, the Pelicans, are ahead of them in that race.
It’s going to be a long rest of the season for the purple and gold.
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Here’s what else to watch for tonight:
• The Miami Heat have started slowly, and face the Milwaukee Bucks (sans Larry Sanders) at home.
• Two of the most entertaining backcourts in the league face off in Dallas, as the Mavericks’ Jose Calderon and Monta Ellis match up with the Washington Wizards’ John Wall and Bradley Beal.
• The most intriguing game of the night is the Detroit Pistons’ matchup with the Golden State Warriors in Oakland — a team that’s looking like a title contender hosting a talented but uneven bunch still discovering its identity.
COMPLETE SCHEDULE (TIMES P.M. EASTERN):
• Milwaukee Bucks at Miami Heat (7:30)
• Washington Wizards at Dallas Mavericks (8:30)
• Detroit Pistons at Golden State Warriors (10:30, NBA TV)
• New Orleans Pelicans at Los Angeles Lakers (10:30)