Shaquille O’Neal Knows His Role; Steve Nash Has Almost Perfected His
Coach D’Antoni: Here’s the play. Steve, you bring up the ball. Amare, set the pick for Steve. Shaq, get out of the way.
The pick and roll at the top has always been the Suns bread and butter, but then Shaq arrived, and that butter made ya put on an ugly face. Shaq picking and roliing wasn’t working. And, even when the screen was set by Stoudemire, the Big Diesel seemed to get in the way. Steve Nash was having trouble adapting to the big fella. Nash was playing with a dominant big man for the first time in his career, and D’Antoni was putting this big man in a position where he wasn’t going to be successful - at the free throw line and beyond.
Since then, things have been figured out. Shaq either gets the ball in the post, or he gets off the block and watches Steve and Amare work their magic. The key thing is that everyone is doing what they do best. Stoudemire continues to finish at the rim and doesn’t look for Shaq at his spot along the baseline; Shaq isn’t great at finishing from there, but he is useful. Just as the front office planned, he receives the ball down low in post up situations or he gets a feed when he’s stationed only a couple feet from the bucket. Meanwhile, the Nash is free to roam the way he’s been roaming for years. Creating, distributing, getting out on the break, and he’s also hitting his shots.
Which brings us to the two-time MVP that hasn’t won a ring. To me, Nash’s downfall in the playoffs has been that he’s too unselfish. He just doesn’t look for his own shot enough when his team really needs him to. When the postseason gets going and the D tightens up, Nash needs to get a little greedy and stroke that sweet J. I keep thinking of last season, round 2: a game 5 loss to the Spurs when both Stoudemire and Boris Diaw were suspended. As time wound down in a close game, Nash either passed off, or, when he did decide to shoot, his reluctance threw him off just enough so that he’d miss shots he’d made thousands of times.
It isn’t a concern to me that he feels he doesn’t need a ring to validate his career. He has the drive to win; he wouldn’t have come close to this point if he didn’t. I just think he has to change who he is a little bit to get there. Nash has never been a typical NBA player - he’s selfless. Monday against the Nuggets, his 36 point performance was selfish, and it was beautiful. He got hit in the face, he was angry, and he went and got his. Now, we’ve seen Nash score 40+ in the postseason before, but his shots have never won a series. To me, a little helping of “Selfish Steve” would do just that.
The Shaq trade has brought a bit of urgency to the Suns organization, and it surely has made Nash take notice. The front office has made a statement: the time is now. Steve isn’t dumb, he sees it. He also understands that sometimes if you wanna get things done, you just gotta do it yourself.
Comments (19)Just Another Take On The Shaquille O’Neal Trade
Shaq on the Suns, huh? It still seems so odd. I’m not sure how we’ll look back at this season and all its big trades, but is this a Hall of Famer being traded for what he’s done in the past, or will he be that missing link Phoenix needs?
The Suns have been very, very close the last few seasons. A basket here, some common sense by David Stern there, and we’d be talking about this run and gun Suns team as the one that finally won it all with no D. Trading for Shaq does not change the way we should look at this team. Just because one guy runs slower than the rest, it doesn’t make their style any slower. There is no 5 man fast break.
We all know the game slows down in the post season; defenses tighten up, fast break points decrease. Phoenix had a plodder starting for them in the playoffs last season. Similar to Shaq, Kurt Thomas was in the lineup to take up space, keep Amare Stoudemire out of foul trouble, defend and rebound. Shaq is there for all those reasons, and to add a little more offence. This team was still flying up the floor with Thomas and will continue to do so with Shaq. That’s if he can stay on that floor.
Shaq was brought in to do what he did against the Suns on November 9, 2007. He was a beast that night. He beat up Stoudemire so much that Amare got irritated and was tossed for arguing a call. I’m not sure how much Phoenix was swayed by Shaq’s 25 point, 10 rebound, 3 block performance, but it had to have left a mark on GM Steve Kerr. He’s not the only one (bottom) thinking Shaq has plenty left. I, myself, came away from that game totally convinced that The Big Diesel was back. As he makes this new pit stop, can we really doubt him if he is injury free?
As for right now, Shaq looks good in practice. He may be allowing the cameras to only turn on for the play or two he looks like the old Shaq, but either way, he seems pretty healthy. And this Suns medical staff knows injuries. From Amare’s knee, to Steve Nash’s back, to Grant Hill’s body, these guys have seen some ugly things. You have to assume if they give Shaq a good bill of health, they know something we don’t.
And, so does team management. Only one team gets to the top of the pile. It’s never been a question of talent in Phoenix but there has been something missing from their formula. When several talented teams are pulling for the same thing, there has to be an extra jolt of desire and swagger to get to that peak. Enter The Big Aristotle. Shaq might not make the difference on the court with his shooting or passing, but his teammates will play knowing they have a 4-time title winner riding with them. Shaq’s arrival may simply coincide with the ball finally bouncing Phoenix’s way in the playoffs, but sometimes you have to be good, or at least think you’re good, to be lucky.
Comments (5)Marion: ‘When You Want Me To Be A Laker?’
Shawn Marion at the 2007 MTV Video Music awards a few weeks back. Is it just me or does this interview make it sound like the Matrix has already been traded from the Suns? I mean, the “I’ll see you in L.A.” line, the cackle cackle cackle, the “wink-wink” high-five … I think we’re in the dark on this one, folks. Shawn Marion is a Laker.
Comments (1)WeTube: Amare Stoudemire ‘Making It Rain’
If you have no idea what’s going on here — Grandma — this is video of Suns superstar Amare Stoudemire “making it rain” by throwing money into a crowd at a nightclub. Ridiculous? Of course. But at least Amare manages to make it look somewhat classy.
And oh, yeah, he gets his Pac.
Comments (1)Sunny Days
Like everyone else, I couldn’t help but scratch the old noggin when I heard the Suns had given away even more assets this offseason for salary cap relief. The moves: 2 future first round picks and Kurt Thomas to Seattle for an $8 million dollar trade exception after giving away Rudy Fernandez and James Jones to Portland for $3 million on draft night. It’s a lot more of the same for Phoenix who gave away 2 potential Steve Nash replacements at the draft in ‘06 by trading Rajon Rondo to Boston and Sergio Rodriguez to Portland in identical cap-related moves.
However, these trades do not affect the team’s core. The offense happy Suns don’t allow just anyone to become part of their rotation - in the playoffs, they only ran 7 guys - and with 9 players locked up for the next 2 seasons, there isn’t much burn to go around. Sure, you can argue this kills the team’s future for some dolla dolla bills in the short term, but Phoenix is also picky about the young players occupying space on their bench, and they simply don’t play kids. The roster for this coming season now sits at 11 players, including the newly drafted Alando Tucker and will likely be 12 when 2nd round pick D.J. Strawberry (what a name!), inks a contract.
So, there is some youth there. And, then there’s the rest of the green squad: Amare, Boris Diaw, Barbosa, a boyish 29-year-old Shawn Marion, and a withering Marcus Banks who has the legs of a teenager because he never sees the floor. There just aren’t many minutes to be given out in this tight rotation for the foreseeable future. Not to mention, the team owns Atlanta’s 1st round pick in 2008, which will obviously be a far better player than any of the selections they’ve traded to Boston, Portland or Seattle. The Suns prefer to fill those last roster spots with veterans who can help them win now - your Jalen Rose types - and those guys are available throughout the season.
As for Kurt Thomas, I personally really admired his game. He is a pro’s pro. I loved watching him hammer his own head in frustration when he made a mistake guarding Tim Duncan this postseason. People are now asking, “Who’s going to guard Duncan or Carlos Boozer?” The answer is: NO ONE! These guys are virtually unstoppable and I’m sure Phoenix thinks the trade off of having a front line of Grant Hill-Marion-Amare will give them the advantage on the offensive end - the end they care about. By signing Hill, the Suns more than made up for whatever professionalism and locker room presence they lost by giving away Thomas. On the floor, people forget how good Hill was. Yes, that was signifies the past, but in an offense with so many other weapons, Grant will have room to use his skills and smarts.
Despite everyone ragging on their moves, the team is one year older and ready to contend for the gold ball. And, hold up. Isn’t the Thomas move what the salary cap was designed for? To ensure there was some parity in the league so you didn’t have teams buying championships like you have in Major League Baseball? Even though the NBA’s cap is softer that Elton Brand’s voice, it does work to a degree. All in all, you’ve gotta like the Suns’ chances the next few years.
Comments (11)Suns’ Fans: ‘If Nash Bleeds, We Bleed’
In case your Internet’s down — and someone has been kind enough to print this off and fax it to you — the Suns and Spurs continue their series tonight at 10:30 p.m. EST on TNT.
A must win game for ball fans everywhere, Steve Nash and his All-Star hemophilia are expected to play. But just in case he can’t, 20,000 doppelgangers are ready to go:
Apparently in a show of support for Steve Nash, there’s been a grassroots effort to get fans to wear bandages across their nose tonight when the Suns host the Spurs in Game 2 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals.
Nash was hurt late in Game 1 when he collided with the Spurs’ Tony Parker. Nash needed six stitches to close up the cut and he will be playing tonight.
Um, I’m not so sure this is such a great idea. Didn’t anyone see how poorly those stupid BandAids (TM!) stayed put? They didn’t! And it basically cost the Suns the game.
Which is why I suggest everyone — Nash and his teammates included — show up tonight dressed like the dude/dudette above. Not only would the excessive gauze fend of Tony P. and his razorblade eyebrows, it would also look a hell of a lot cooler. And isn’t that what’s really important here?
Suns Fans to Don Purple Bandages to Support Nash [KTAR.com]
Comments (2)The Suns, Seckbach, and Silly, Stupid Questions
My favorite part about Elie Seckbach’s latest YouTube video is the complete and total randomness of it all. The ‘NBA’s embedded correspondent’ starts off telling us how the Suns refuse to let their recent success go to their heads, only to immediately follow that up with shots of Diaw talking about Israeli fans, Amare flipping through a tabloid mag, and Kurt Thomas learning Hebrew. And that’s just the first 30 seconds!
Yeah, I’m not going to lie; it’s a beautiful, beautiful thing. Barbosa had me on the floor.
The Phoenix Suns [YouTube]
Ep. 083: Our Elie Seckbach Exclusive [The Basketball Jones]
Caption Contest: Karaoke With Jalen
Um, I’m pretty sure this doesn’t count as an actual contest per say — you know, rumor has it you have to give away like, real prizes and shit for that — but whatever. It’s a funny picture. I figured you smart-asses could run with it a little.
So take a look at the picture below and tell us this: What song is Jalen Rose singing?
Give us your best in the comments.
Like I said, we really don’t have any prizes to give away — well, unless you guys want a cardboard cut-out of Russ Granik’s head — but shit, maybe we’ll try and convince Tas to sing some of your song suggestions on the morning show ‘cast. That could be fun. We’ll see…
So let’s hear ‘em, people! Make me a funny!
(Note: I like to think Jalen’s singing “Trapped in the Contract (Ch. 1)” by R. Kelly R. Babcock.)
Nash’s Jersey Retired And Raised
Two-time NBA Very Valuable Human Steve Nash had his jersey retired by Santa Clara University on Monday afternoon. The AP — or Apsy, as I like to call him — reports:
A banner honoring the Phoenix Suns guard was hung in the rafters at the Leavey Center, and Nash’s No. 11 jersey was raised on the opposite end of the gym. Nash is the first Santa Clara athlete whose jersey has been raised.
“This is obviously very exciting for me,” Nash said. “I don’t get a chance to come back to school often, so for me to be here is just great, and coupled with the huge honor it is to be able to be acknowledged for my career, is amazing and very humbling.”
No word on whether Nash’s new jeans were raised as well, but you can sure as hell bet he still likes soccer.
Nash Is First Santa Clara Athlete To Have Jersey Retired [ESPN]
Steve Nash Buys Jeans … [The Basketball Jones]
Steve Nash Buys Jeans …
At least according to the NY Post he does:
Steve Nash, the NBA MVP, [seen] shopping for jeans with his wife at the Replay store in SoHo and confessing how he loves to play soccer in the off-season …
Wait a second! Steve Nash loves to play soccer? Really? I’ve never heard of such a thing…
And if you believe Chuck Klosterman — and I know I sure as hell do; he wears hipster glasses! — Steve Nash was probably buying those jeans with his wife at a ridiculously fast clip.
From Klosterman’s new book, IV: A Decade Of Curious People And Dangerous Ideas, comes this 2005 Nash article, The Karl Marx Of The Hardwood:
“STEVE NASH IS FAST. This, as stated earlier, probably appears apparent to anyone with access to cable television. You probably think you know how fast Steve Nash is, because he plays basketball at a different speed than everyone who plays against him. However, to truly understand how fast Steve Nash is, you need to watch him buy baby food. At the conclusion of our interview, Nash got a text message from him wife; she told him he needed to buy food for their twin girl infants. We casually shook hands, made some superfluous banter how the conversation had been friendly, and then–because it was raining–I reached down to get my umbrella off a chair. By the time I had returned to an upright position, Steve Nash was already on the other side of the street. It was like someone had taken a laser beam, obliterated every atom in his body, and instantaneously reconstructed his entire anatomy forty feet to the west. This was some Philip K. Dick–Star Trek–vampire shit.”
Hey, didn’t that laser beam scenario happen to Mike Teavee once?
Sightings … Sightings … [NY Post]
Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade Of Curious People And Dangerous Ideas [Amazon]
(Actually basketball related: In that same Klosterman article, Nash says Iverson “has the best two steps in the league”, Marbury’s explosiveness is “physically palpable when he blows past people”, Kidd is the “fastest baseline-to-baseline” in the L, and Manu Ginobli “has the greatest agility” … and cousin Larry.)
Comments (1)About
The Basketball Jones is a NBA blog and podcast, written and recorded five times a week by J.E. Skeets, Tas Melas and Jason Doyle. Comments, questions and cold hard cash are always welcome and much appreciated. Contact us.
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