Injured Steve Nash Playing Too Many Minutes

Following the Suns‘ crushing double-overtime loss to Chicago, head coach Alvin Gentry laid into his bench (specifically, Goran Dragic) for leaving him no choice but to ride the injured Nash into the ground. From the Arizona Republic: “Through three quarters Wednesday, Steve Nash had done enough. The point guard had 10 points, 14 assists, no turnovers, and the Suns, though once ahead by 23 points, led the Chicago Bulls by 12 entering the fourth quarter. Two minutes and 10 seconds later, the man with the bruised right heel who recently recovered from a groin strain was being summoned to return to a nine-point game. Even with Nash, the Suns lost the rhythm and movement to their offense, the one thing they thought would not be an issue while fixing the defense and praying for rebounds … ‘It’s not fair to him,’ forward Grant Hill said of Nash. ‘Dealing with the (groin) thing, and his foot’s hurting him. He gave it all he had out there and did a good job. When we don’t go to him, we’ve got to be a little sharper with execution.’ ,,, ‘(Dragic) didn’t play very good and, as a result of that, I have to play Steve too many minutes,’ Gentry said. ‘Forty-nine minutes for Steve is too damn many. Then I got another guy out there (Hill) who plays 46 minutes and should be playing about 30 in a double-overtime game. So we’ve got to get the bench playing well again.'”