Steve Nash likes that people are counting the Lakers out

Can the Lakers really fly under the radar?

Even though everyone rational realizes they will at best be in the mix for one of the bottom seeds in the West, that they are the third best team in their own division, they are still the Lakers with the huge fan base and big stage. People in the league and fans around it are enjoying watching them struggle and would like to pile on. They are still going to play the Heat on Christmas Day on national television. Can that team really be overlooked?

Steve Nash thinks they are under the radar and told Lang Whitaker of All Ball at NBA.com that he likes it that way.

I think everyone’s kind of counting us out, which is fine by me. I think it’s good for us to fly under the radar a little bit. We’ve got a lot of new pieces, we’ve got guys coming off injuries, myself included. So we’ve got to find out where everyone’s health is, and then figure out each other and play together, and hopefully we can surprise some people.

If the Lakers are going to make any kind of splash they are going to need to be healthy — Nash, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, all of them. Nash is spending Tuesday in a “tryout” (honorary, really) with Inter Milan, so he’s running around and kicking the ball.

Nash, are you healthy?

Good enough to embarrass myself on the soccer field. I’m not quite 100 percent, I can’t quite sprint, but I’ve been able to train around it, so I’ve made a lot of progress in other ways, and hopefully in the next three or four weeks I should be one hundred percent.

Whatever happens with the Lakers this season it’s going to be interesting. It’s going to be a story. It’s not going to be under the radar.