What kind of black magic are the trainers in Phoenix using?

[Dex]

In his time in Phoenix, Steve Nash hardly missed any games. He dealt with occasional back problems, but he was still available virtually all of the time, and was able to produce at a high clip. In his first season with the Lakers, he has missed 30+ games, and is now being forced to labor through the playoffs with a bad back, bad hips, and bad hamstrings.

"It got worse as the game went on," he said after scoring nine points. "This has been far and away the worst season for injuries I have ever been a part of personally and collectively."

Nash will be going in for another epidural before Game 3. I know he is aging, but that aging never seemed to stop him before while he was leading one of the highest-octane offenses in the league and working his way to two MVP awards in Phoenix.

This is also the same organization that was also able to revive Grant Hill from the grave, and somehow manage to keep Amare Stoudemire on the court.

If the Spurs really want to upgrade this offseason, maybe they should try to lure Phoenix's training staff to San Antonio.

[Bruno]

You can read that good article about it:
http://valleyofthesuns.com/2012/04/0...raining-staff/

When I see how Spurs have managed Tim's knee that is said to be bone on bone for years, they are also doing a fine job. Having a coach like Pop that cared about players health unlike coaches like D'Antoni or Thibodeau also makes their job a whole lot easier.

[Dex]

You can read that good article about it:
http://valleyofthesuns.com/2012/04/0...raining-staff/

When I see how Spurs have managed Tim's knee that is said to be bone on bone for years, they are also doing a fine job. Having a coach like Pop that cared about players health unlike coaches like D'Antoni or Thibodeau also makes their job a whole lot easier.

Thanks, that is a great article! Really in-depth. Hard to believe the amount of attention and work they put into their health regiment.

And I agree, the fact that D'Antoni ran the Lakers into the ground all season surely isn't helping Nash Sr. or any of the other Lakers, for that point...but he was doing that with Steve in Phoenix too.

[will_spurs]

d'Antoni was the coach in Phoenix when Nash got his 2 MVPs (and incidentally one of the main reasons why he got them), so it's certainly not all on him... there's also the way the Lakers GM constructed the team: 4 stars, no bench. That doesn't help distributing minutes.

[Mugen]

Many people predicted that taking Nash away from that PHX staff would be very risky. They're obviously the best in the business (w/ the Spurs up there as well). Surprising that the Lakers' staff isn't better with the unlimited money they have.

On a related note, how is Nash able to take an epidural shot again? I thought he couldn't take another one for like 2-3 more weeks?

[Embedded]

And Grant Hill - they worked wonders with him.

[ohmwrecker]

When I see how Spurs have managed Tim's knee that is said to be bone on bone for years, they are also doing a fine job. Having a coach like Pop that cared about players health unlike coaches like D'Antoni or Thibodeau also makes their job a whole lot easier.

Has anyone mentioned the possibility that part of why Timmy has been playing better is due to him growing more comfortable with playing with that chunky hunk of metal on his knee?