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Los Angeles • Pain is something NBA players have to deal with.
Utah Jazz point guard Trey Burke has been dealing with a sore back — something that he first noticed after Saturday's win over Miami. But the rookie is expected to play tonight against the Lakers.
"He looked pretty good" during shootaround, Jazz coach Ty Corbin said Tuesday morning. "Everybody's a little sore with something this time of year."
Few teams are more familiar with that than the Lakers.
With the All-Star break approaching, L.A.'s roster has already combined to miss 176 games due to injury.
Kobe Bryant (13.8 points per game), Pau Gasol (17), Nick Young (16.9), Jodie Meeks (14.4) and Xavier Henry (10.1) are five of the team's top six scorers. All of them will be sidelined tonight due to one injury or another.
The Lakers have seen a little bit of good news come out of their camp recently. Point guard Steve Nash is expected to suit up against the Jazz tonight, despite a nerve irritation that has lingered since fracturing his leg last season.
It would be just his 10th game of the season.
"There's no reason to sit out if it feels better [Tuesday] and I feel pretty good," Nash told the L.A. Daily News. "But if it is an issue, then I'm definitely not going to jeopardize any prolonged absences again."
Corbin, for one, has been impressed by Nash's drive.
"At his age, we're still talking about him in the scouting report," Corbin said. "If he's going well, then they're playing pretty well because he makes everybody else on the floor better for them."
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Jazz at Lakers
Tuesday, 8:30 p.m.
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