Injured Los Angeles Lakers guard Steve Nash is targeting a return in the first week of February in hopes of helping the team salvage a ticket to the playoffs but indicated he is not in a rush for what could be his final comeback attempt as an NBA player.
Speaking to ESPN.com, the league's oldest player said he originally hoped to suit up for the Lakers' seven-game Grammys road trip from January 15 to 26 but has decided to use the time anyway to continue rehabbing in time for a February return. He said he remains cautious on returning to the Lakers, wanting to make sure that he is 100% healthy before he suits up.
"At some point, I have to also realize, do the safest thing, the best possible opportunity to play basketball again rather than letting my angst get the better of me and jumping back in there," Nash said. "I know I can get healthy. It's a matter of, 'Can I sustain it?' And I'm just trying to get that health under my belt for an amount of time where we feel confident that it can be sustainable is the tricky part, and that's probably going to take a little while longer than I was hoping."
Nash, who will turn 40 next month, may be able to play with just about 35 games left in the Lakers' schedule-just enough for the team to turn around what has been a rather disappointing season. Without Nash and star Kobe Bryant, the Lakers have stumbled to a 13-19 record with a season-high six-game losing streak.
"It's all super speculative at this point because it's such a weird, tricky dimension when you're talking about this nerve issue," Nash admitted.
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