LAS VEGAS -- Less than a day after Steve Nash was ruled out for the season with recurring back problems, Lakers coach Byron Scott said he did not address the injury with the team outside of naming Ronnie Price the starting point guard for Friday night's preseason game, and he said he has yet to talk to the two-time MVP.
"We didn't bring it up in practice, and we haven't talked about it at all," Scott said. "I think most of the guys who have been in the league for a while and are professionals know this is part of life in the NBA. You send out your well wishes and you move on. Obviously he'll be missed. Unfortunately for me, I didn't get a chance to coach him. He has always been one of my favorite people in the league because he's such a professional and such a gentleman. I'm going to miss out on that opportunity, but just like everyone else, I'm wishing him all the best."
The 40-year-old Nash played in only 15 games last season with nerve root irritation but hoped for a comeback season after several months of rehabilitation. Scott had penciled in Nash as the starting point guard this season, but Nash was only able to start and finish the first preseason game before experiencing back problems. He played in just three preseason games and strained his back while carrying travel bags several days ago.
"Obviously it hurts," Scott said. "I think we feel more for Steve than anybody because I saw how hard this kid worked out all summer long to be ready for the season. For him to be out hurts the team, because he's obviously the best point guard that we have and one of the best that's ever played the game. I know it hurts him because this is something he wants to do. He loves playing basketball. Like I said, I feel more for him than anything else."
Scott wasn't exactly sure how he was going to use Nash this season, mainly because he didn't know exactly what Nash could give him. Scott was planning on sitting him out on the second night of back-to-backs and resting him during some practices, but he realized early that Nash wasn't going to be able to be a dependable player this season no matter what he did.
"I got the sense that it was probably going to be like last year," Scott said. "This is something that's going to be ongoing and we're going to have to figure out which games he can play and which games he can't. That was pretty much my sense, but I had no idea. I didn't sense this whatsoever, him not playing at all and being out for the season.
"Just talking to him every day, I know he wanted to play. I know this is something that he's going to have to deal with. When you talk about missing a season, that's tough, especially when you're a competitor like he is."
Scott wouldn't get into the details of what went into Nash being ruled out for the season.
"I don't get involved in that much. I just want to know if the guy can play or not. I might have stayed at a Holiday Inn last night, but I'm not a doctor," he said.
Nash did not travel here with the team for the Lakers' final preseason game.
His absence creates an opportunity for point guards Jeremy Lin, who returned earlier this week from a sprained left ankle, and Price, who has impressed the coaching staff during the preseason while Nash and Lin have been out.
"It's a huge chance, a huge chance," Scott said. "It's obviously increases the chances for Ronnie as well. Both those guys are going to have big-time opportunities.
"We have two quality point guards. We're probably going to have to look for another one as well, but right now I'm pretty happy with Ronnie. I think he's played extremely well for us, and Jeremy is just coming back from an injury and in the last couple of games he's getting back into it. I'm not concerned about it."
Although Lin would appear to be the clear favorite to be the starter with Nash out, Scott said he hasn't decided yet who will start, and Lin said he isn't taking anything from granted after last season, when he started only 33 of the 71 games he played for the Houston Rockets after starting all 82 games the season before.
"One thing I've learned is nothing is guaranteed in this league. Just because he's out that doesn't mean I'll necessarily be playing a lot or the whole game," Lin said. "That's just something I have to continue to take day by day. The reason I say that is my whole experience in Houston taught me that nothing is guaranteed but if I do get a bigger role or a bigger chance, I'm going to try to do everything I can with it and have fun with it."
Scott said he would wait until just before Tuesday's season opener against the Rockets to name the team's starting point guard, but he likes both Lin and Price.
"If Ronnie starts or Jeremy starts, both of them play well with the first unit," Scott said. "That's not a defining factor. It's all about who I feel gives me the best chance to win basketball games. Whoever I start is going to play the bulk of the minutes. He's going to play 30 minutes or more. It's really who I feel comfortable with, and to be honest with you, right now I feel comfortable with both of those guys."
Scott said he would talk to Nash at some point after the team returned to Los Angeles but wanted to give him some time to think about his future. This is the final season of Nash's contract with the Lakers, and he turns 41 in February.
"My experience is to give him time, because I know this is a tough situation and a tough realization to come to, that you can't play this year and you're going to try to work hard to get back," Scott said. "But I've always felt in situations like that when guys are making those types of decisions, you have to give them space, and that's what I'm going to try to do."