Lakers' Steve Blake out 6-8 weeks after abdomen surgery

The point guard situation for the Lakers is headed in the wrong direction.

The team announced Monday that backup point guard Steve Blake will miss six to eight weeks after he undergoes laproscopic surgery to repair a torn abdominal muscle.

That would place his return in late January. If it takes the full eight weeks, he'll miss about 30 games.

Blake, 32, was diagnosed with the abdominal strain Nov. 12 and has missed the last 10 games with the injury. In seven games this season (five starts), Blake is averaging 5.1 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 26.0 minutes per game.

Obviously the complication here for the Lakers is that starter Steve Nash is still without a timetable as he recovers from a fractured fibula. Without Nash or Blake, the Lakers have leaned heavily on veteran Chris Duhon.

The Lakers are 8-9 and one of the major issues for their poor record, outside of defense, is that the team very clearly needs a point guard to run Mike D'Antoni's system.