The Lakers Point Guard Carousel
The injury problems that have plagued the Los Angeles Lakers last season seems still seems to be in the works this year as injuries just keep on piling on top of another. The somewhat interesting aspect about the multitude of injuries seems to be only hitting the point guard position. So far this season, the Lakers have had six players playing the role already. This has been a worrying trend for the team whose system hugely depends on the position.
Let's take a look at the players who have filled the position this year and their fates.
Steve Nash
Nash who spent almost the entire previous season being hobbled by injury worked hard and smart during the off-season to help his recovery and to help him stay healthy. Sadly, all the hard work he put seems to be for naught as he has never looked healthy in all the games he played in this season. He hasn't played for so many weeks now and his projected return is still about a month away.
Steve Blake
After starting the season well, Blake struggled at around the end of November due to an elbow injury. He last played on December 10 and was projected at that time to miss 6 weeks. That means there's only a couple of weeks to go, but it is doubtful that he'll be able to play as well prior to the injury bug.
Jordan Farmar
The returning guard was a great energizer for the team has he primarily played the role of the leader of the second unit. With the injury to the previous two, he was supposed to handle point guard duties for the team. However, he had a hamstring injury on December 1 that took him out for four weeks. He was able to return on December 25 but after just 4 games, he suffered the same injury to his other leg that will once again take him out for 4 weeks.
Kobe Bryant
With the Lakers out of healthy point guards after the first week of December, Kobe was expected to play the role just 3 games into his return from his Achilles injury. However, in his 6th game of the season, he suffered another injury and is likely.
Xavier Henry
Without a player to play the point, the Lakers had to resort to Henry who has primarily played wing. However, he got injured on December 29 and is going to be out for a week.
Kendall Marshall
After the injury to Kobe, the Lakers management got Marshall from the Development League and he was slowly integrated to the team. He played a limited 27 minutes in his first three games before getting an increased playing time in his fourth game with 28. On his fifth game, he played 41 minutes and looked impressive leading the team's offense with his 20 points and 15 assists. Lakers fans only hope that he can stay healthy.
