LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Lakers got their coach back on the sidelines Tuesday against the Brooklyn Nets. But it will be a while before Mike D'Antoni has two of the Lakers' veteran point guards available to run his offense.
The point guard everyone continues to wonder about is Steve Nash, who hasn't played since suffering a fractured fibula in his left leg on Oct. 31. There still is no determined date for the 16-year veteran's return.
"The other Steve is coming along," D'Antoni said of the two-time league MVP. "I don't think we have a timetable. He feels some nerve endings that are tingling and when they go away, we'll start ramping it up and he'll be fine.
"Whether it's tomorrow or next week or next month, we'll just take our time and he'll eventually be there. As soon as he gets there, I know, give him an hour and a half and he'll have the offense down and running it like a clock. So we can wait on that."
Nash declined to speak to reporters in the locker room before Tuesday's game against the Nets, saying he had to return to the training room to receive treatment. He is scheduled to be reevaluated by Lakers doctors on Friday.
Steve Blake, who missed the Lakers' last three games with a strained abdomen, was out against Brooklyn and will not play during the upcoming three-game road trip either.
"I would like to see him practice before he plays," D'Antoni said. "We had four games in five nights and then we don't practice on Thanksgiving, so I would rule him out for the next four games and then after that, it should be day to day hopefully, and that will get him going."
Second year guard Darius Morris received his fourth straight start at point guard Tuesday with Chris Duhon, who played previously for D'Antoni in New York, serving as the backup.
The Lakers' road trip begins Wednesday in Sacramento and continues Friday in Memphis and Saturday in Dallas.
