Steve Nash (back) will not play Thursday as initially thought, the team's official site reports.

Nash (back) will not play Thursday as initially thought, the team's official site reports.

Analysis:

Nash was initially slated to play Thursday, but his back didn't respond as well as he hoped in warmups, so he will sit instead. The Lakers are already short players with Nick Young, Jordan Campbell, Xavier Henry and Jeremy Lin all dealing with injuries. Ronnie Price is starting at point guard Thursday and should see a lot of minutes with few other options to turn to, but Nash and Jeremy Lin are expected to be the top two running the point when the regular season begins.