Mavs stifle Nash’s L. A. debut
Point guard, Lakers unimpressive in loss to Nowitzki- less Dallas
LOS ANGELES — Moments before tip- off Tuesday night, Kobe Bryant took the microphone at centre court and fired up the season- opening crowd at the Staples Center by shouting “let’s get this party started.” And Steve Nash did just that. In his first game as a Los Angeles Laker, Nash scored the team’s first points when he drained a three- pointer just over a minute into the game. But the party was over early as the Lakers’ new star- studded lineup bombed big- time and fell 99- 91 to an injury- riddled Dallas Mavericks team.
The Lakers will not go 82- 0. Heck, they’re now 0- 9 if you include their eight pre- season losses.
This most definitely was not Showtime and it certainly was not the kind of Laker debut Nash had envisioned.
The Victoria native finished with seven points on 3- of- 9 shooting, four assists and two rebounds. He and his teammates looked out of sorts all night.
Nash and the rest of the Lakers had been warning the media that it was going to take some time for the team to adjust to new personnel and a new offence.
“It will definitely take us some time,” Nash said before the game. “We have got a whole new offence, we have got a lot of new players trying to feel each other out so it’s going to take some time. Who knows how long, but hopefully we’ll be competitive out of the gate.”
The Lakers certainly seemed to be feeling each other out for much of Tuesday night’s game. They were not crisp and looked methodical on offence. Their new Princeton offence is a rather complicated system that calls for lots of ball movement, motion and backdoor cuts. The Lakers looked confused much of the night and were not at all sharp defensively.
Nash, one of the best pickandroll point guards of all time, was not given an opportunity to demonstrate that against the Mavs.
“We have a lot of expectations and are working hard to live up to those expectations to try and bring another championship back home where it belongs in Los Angeles,” Bryant said to the crowd before the game.
Clearly, there’s lots of work to be done.
Nash also touched on those high expectations before the game, saying he welcomes them. The Lakers are trying to win their 17th NBA championship and Nash, entering his 17th season, would love to help them do just that.
“I think that’s what you want, you want to be in an environment where a championship is the expectation,” Nash said. “It’s basketball. At the end of the day you have a great attitude and work ethic, you come in every day and focus and concentrate and do the best you can. Then you chalk that game up and get on with the next one and at the end of the year hopefully you had as many great days as possible as far as your concentration and work ethic and you put yourself in position to win.”
The Lakers lost the game at the free- throw line, where they went an abysmal 12- for31. Dwight Howard was the big culprit as he hit only three of his 14 free throws. Those Hack-A- Shaq days may soon become Hack- A- Howard in Los Angeles if Howard can’t improve his free- throw shooting.
Howard fouled out of the game with 2: 02 remaining. He had 19 points and 10 rebounds in his Laker debut.
Apart from his fast start, Nash had a quiet first half, finishing with five points, two assists and one rebound. Things weren’t any better in the second half when his only points came with five minutes left in the fourth on a running lay- in.
The hope is Nash and Bryant will gel into a dynamic backcourt to complement the front line of Howard, Pau Gasol and Metta World Peace. That, too, is going to take some time, Nash said.
“We only played four games together ( in their pre- season) so we are pretty comfortable, but I think it will grow into a good partnership and understanding for sure but we haven’t spent that much time on the floor together.
“As seamless as it may feel at times, I think we can grow a lot as a backcourt.” FOUL SHOTS: Nash has played more playoff games — 118 — than any player who has not been to the NBA Finals ... The Mavericks played without star forward Dirk Nowitzki, who is expected to miss about a month following knee surgery. They were also missing another significant interior player in Chris Kaman ... North Vancouver’s Rob Sacre dressed for the game, but did not play ... The Lakers meet the Trailblazers Wednesday night in Portland.