The Los Angeles Lakers met for practice on Wednesday, and as usual, there was more bad injury news.
Xavier Henry was due to having fluid drained from his right knee, and the 22-year-old guard was set to miss at least another four weeks due to his right knee. Before the New Year, Henry injured his knee and suffered what was described as a bone bruise and abnormality of the lateral meniscus. His original timeline for recovery was described as 7 to 10 days, but a month and a half later, Henry is now four weeks away from a return.
“I hate it for him because he’s trying to establish himself and he was having a good year,” Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni said about Henry’s latest setback. “Hopefully, there will be enough games for him when he gets back.”
Henry’s bad injury news came on the heels of a rather difficult couple games for 40-year-old Steve Nash. Nash had played well in his first two games back from a root nerve issue stemming from his broken leg in 2012, but Nash's last two appearances were cut short due to flare-ups.
Nash did not speak to the media after Tuesday’s loss, and he was home by the time the media asked for his time on Wednesday. Being the most down to earth superstar in the world, Nash turned around and drove back 10 minutes to the Lakers’ practice facility to be asked about his injury and his thoughts on retirement.
“I don’t really have much to say,” Nash humbly said after returning to face reporters.
“It was provoked by hitting that nerve where I broke my leg,” the Canadian explained that Tuesday’s flare-up was carried over from the collision he suffered in the Lakers’ loss to the Chicago Bulls.
“It was looking around and seeing without me there were only eight guys,” Nash explained why he decided to play on Tuesday. “I would have pulled myself if we had a full roster or even another guy or two, but we just don’t have that luxury. And I felt bad for the guys to bail on them when there’s such a short bench.”
On Wednesday, Nash said he did not expect to play on Thursday against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Nash’s inability to play means the Lakers will be without seven players: Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Jodie Meeks, Jordan Farmar, Nick Young, Henry and Nash.
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Steve Blake is expected to play, but he is essentially playing with one arm at the moment, and that good arm is not his dominant arm. Blake said he may have “hyper-extended” his already injured elbow during Tuesday’s loss, and admitted it hurt.
Seeing as Blake is considered one of the toughest guys in the league, he expected to play on Thursday.
“Could I be selfish and sit out because I don’t want to have a bad shooting percentage?” Blake asked out loud. “I guess I could do that, but that’s not the type of person I am.”
