Lakers GM: Hopes pinned on health
Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said Friday that Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash are healthier than they've been in years and that the goals for the team this season are loftier than simply making the playoffs.
"Our expectations are to win a championship," Kupchak said. "The expectations outside of this room might not be the same.
"I think everybody is healthy right now. I've watched Kobe throughout the summer. I've gone to watch him work out down in Orange County and he's been up here several times and he looks really good. He said he feels great. No ill effects on either injury. Steve Nash said he feels the best he's felt in a long time. He's been working out and playing every day here in the facility."
The Lakers finished last season at 27-55, the team's worst record since moving to Los Angeles in 1960. There were myriad reasons for the poor season but paramount among them was the absence of Bryant, who played in only six games while recovering from a torn Achilles tendon and then suffered a fracture in his left knee when he returned. Nash played in only 15 games due to nerve root irritation in his left leg.
http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/11595600/los-angeles-lakers-mitch-kupchak-says-kobe-bryant-steve-nash-healthy-expectations-high
