NBA Los Angeles Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers Should Start Steve Nash When Healthy

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By @AnthonyIrwinNBA

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Ask any head basketball coach and they’ll tell you: It’s not about who starts games but who finishes.

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Byron Scott said he envisions Steve Nash as his starting point guard. Not only is it the right decision, but it will not take away from Jeremy Lin being the most productive leading guard on the team. Nash might play when the ball goes up, but Lin will lead in minutes played.

Nash enters the season at 40 years old. The last thing a 40-year-old athlete wants to do is sit down after warming up only to have to get their body ready all over again to compete with players half their age. It just makes the most sense to let Nash play immediately after those warmups so as to mitigate risk of injury. I can’t imagine he’ll play more than five or six minutes at a time before Lin enters the game, though. From there, Lin and Kobe Bryant will probably share another few minutes before Nick Young enters the game and the Lakers’ pace increases noticeably.

Fortunately for Nash, he won’t be called upon to play extended minutes as Lin has rarely struggled with injury and third-string point guards Jeremy Clarkson and Ronnie Price (they’re competing for the role) will garner anywhere from three to seven minutes per game. Last year, the Lakers’ had to rely on Xavier Henry to play some point guard because of injuries, but as less will be expected of Nash, Henry can breathe a little easier knowing that won’t be part of his job description.

What I’m most intrigued about, however, is what kind of lineup Scott goes with at the end of close games. At this point in his career, it’s hard to imagine Nash is actually the better player compared to Lin. Whether Scott has the confidence to make that move is another story, though. The lineup will be dependent on matchup, too, since some teams will opt for a smaller backcourt. In those cases, we might see Lin and Nash share those crunch-time minutes.

Nash will also sit plenty of games both for injury or rest and, in those cases, Lin will obviously dominate minutes-wise. Again, whoever starts the game is only important for the Lawrence Tanter, the Lakers’ in-game announcer. I’m more focused on who passes to Kobe at the end of those games.

Anthony F. Irwin is an NBA, NFL, MLB and NCAA Football contributor for www.Rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google. Send him an email at .

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