For Lakers' Steve Nash, it's now a game of less give, more take Curators at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame should watch Steve Nash closely in the coming weeks. If recent trends persist, they may have to make the following addendum to his biographical blurb: Switched to shooting guard halfway through the 2012-13 season to help save one of the most disappointing teams in NBA history. In this most surreal Lakers season, the top point guard of his generation suddenly deferring ballhandling duties to Kobe Bryant has been the oddest twist. "The roles are all kind of upside down," Bryant said Monday. Nash was unrecognizable even to Lakers Coach Mike D'Antoni, who had watched him win a pair of most-valuable-player awards in Phoenix, after the 17-year veteran scored 17 points to go with only five assists Sunday against Oklahoma City. "What he just did," D'Antoni said, "he's not." Well, he's certainly headed in that direction. Over the Lakers' last two games, Nash combined for more than three times as many shots (22) as assists (seven) while averaging 16 points per game. Meanwhile, Bryant averaged 14 assists and only 11 shots, including zero three-point attempts, in those games. The only figure that mattered to Nash was 2-0, his team's record in that span. "I want to do whatever I can to help this team," he said, painfully aware that the Lakers (19-25) still have plenty of room for improvement. That means the days of double-digit assists could be numbered for a player who has led the league in that category six times in the last eight seasons. Not that Nash necessarily has to choose between pick-and-rolls and picking apart defenses with his shooting. He can do both. "He's just going to play basketball," said former New York and Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy, who worked the Lakers-Thunder game as an analyst for ABC. He's going to shoot if he's open and pass if he's covered and try to make the right play. Nash has a unique perspective. I think he's willing to do anything it takes to try to help them win. Some might wonder why Nash didn't take a shoot-first approach earlier this season considering his career accuracy of 49.1%, including 42.8% from beyond the three-point line. "He's one of the greatest shooters of all time," Bryant said. He's a no-leave guy. If they do leave him, God bless them. The Lakers convened for training camp in October with what appeared to be clearly defined roles for their superstar guards. Bryant would be the primary scorer and Nash the top facilitator. It has taken a few months and more than a few losses for them to realize that those job descriptions required some tweaking. "It's not going to be the same as it was in Phoenix for me," said Nash, who turns 39 next week. It's going to be different and I've got to accept and embrace that and try to help any way I can. Bryant can relate to old ways being gone with the recent wins. The league's onetime leading scorer has dipped to No. 3 in points per game (28.7) behind Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant (29.6) and New York's Carmelo Anthony (29.4) while his assists have soared.