Lakers’ point-guard production lowest in league

The mantra from Coach Mike D’Antoni and the Lakers continues to be, “Wait for Steve Nash.”

When he finally does return from a leg injury, will he solve all of the Lakers’ problems?

Not all but he’ll certainly be a boon for the Lakers, who are playing with arguably the worst tandem at point guard in the league.

Darius Morris started 10 games, averaging 5.5 points and 2.6 assists a game. The second-year guard has shown flashes of effective play but struggled for consistency.

For the season, Chris Duhon is averaging 3.2 points and 3.5 assists.

Not only is Nash out but his backup, Steve Blake, just had surgery to help fix an abdominal strain and will be sidelined for at least another six to eight weeks.

D’Antoni recently swapped out Morris for Duhon, who has been an improvement over the last few games, putting up an average of 4.5 points and 8.5 assists.

Kirk Hinrich of the Chicago Bulls and Mario Chalmers of the Miami Heat are both averaging 6.4 points a game, lowest in the league after the Lakers.

Duhon’s recent sample size on assists is small. If he can keep steady at 8.5 a game, he’d be among the league leaders, but Morris’ 2.6 would only top Aaron Brooks and Isaiah Thomas of the 5-12 Sacramento Kings.

Last season Nash averaged 12.5 points and 10.7 assists a game. Even if he drops off a little when he returns, he’s going to dramatically improve the Lakers at a crucial position.

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Email Eric Pincus at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.