Did Coach Mike D’Antoni run his players into the ground with heavy minutes on back-to-back nights?
Sure, but did that have anything to do with the loss in Phoenix on Monday night?
“We’ve been playing a seven-man rotation, and I think it caught up with us,” said Steve Nash after the game.
It’s not like D’Antoni had any other choice. He could have tried to work in Robert Sacre, Darius Morris, Chris Duhon or Devin Ebanks, but D’Antoni would have certainly preferred Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol or even Jordan Hill — but none was available.
Injuries have been the reality for the Lakers all season. D’Antoni won’t get a full roster for his entire initial season with the team. It hasn’t happened and it won’t with Hill out for the year (hip).
— Reported by Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Blog)
