It was
brought to my attention recently that one of the greatest point guards ever to
play the game had no nick name. His name is Steve Nash. Who better to dub him
than one of the greatest shooting guards of all time, Kobe Bryant? He recently
spoke to the Los Angeles Times about his time with Nash.
"I'm not
working too hard, to be honest with you. The shots that I made were all
jumpers. It doesn't take much energy to knock those jumpers down," he
said. "Bringing the ball up and having me kind of initiate the offense and
score and stuff like that, it's making me work a little more than I will when
Gatsby gets back. When Gatsby gets back, I don't have to do that. The game's
going to become even more easy for me."
Nash is a two
time NBA MVP, winning them back to back in 2005 and 2006. He led a resurgence
for the Phoenix Suns, putting them on the map after years of futility. He was
the conductor of the "Seven Seconds or Less" offense designed by the
coach he was recently reunited with, Mike D'Antoni. In the two seasons he won
the MVP award, Nash averaged 10.5 assists per game. The team averaged a record
of 59.5 wins and 24.5 losses, while also averaging 109.3 points and 26.2
assists per game. Both ranked first in the league. They eliminated the Lakers
from the playoffs in both years.
The franchise
had not been relevant since the the days of Charles Barkley. But Barkley did
one thing that Nash could not which was get the Suns out of the Western
Conference Finals and to the big stage in June: the NBA Finals. They gave the
Bulls all they could handle in six games of the 1992-1993 NBA Finals, but alas
it was not to be with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in their own primes. It
was interesting to note only once during the series did a home team win, when
in Game 4 the Bulls won 111-105.
Eventually
though "The Hip Check Heard Around the World and Felt by Steve Nash"
seemed to doom that era of Phoenix basketball. It occurred in Game 4 when Nash
brought the ball up and former Spur Robert Horry stepped into his path in a
semi-aggressive fashion, causing Nash to fly out of bounds. How much of it was
due to Nash's leaping ability will never truly be known. The Phoenix bench was
in an uproar as Stoudemire and forward Boris Diaw stood to observe, breaking an
NBA rule of leaving the bench. Even though they had not been involved in the
skirmish, the two players were suspended amidst plenty of controversy. They
eventually returned after a one game suspension, but all momentum was lost and the
Spurs defeated them four games to two.
Nash went on to
play six more seasons with the Suns making the playoffs only twice, one of
which was a 2010 appearance in the Western conference Finals when they lost to
the Lakers. That season also marked the last time they finished a season above
the .500 mark.
Stoudemire
suffered through multiple injuries and eventually signed as a free agent with
the New York Knicks in 2010. Fans, pundits and writers all cried for Nash to
get traded, as the Suns organization seemed to be content in wasting a once in
a lifetime talent. Ever the company man, Nash never disparaged the franchise.
He showed up everyday to play even while the Shaquille O'Neal tour bus came
through town. Shaq came, he saw, and he sat. He was rarely healthy and when he
was productive it was shocking. He suffered through cameos by Vince Carter and
Jason Richardson. They were guys who put up stats and made a fan's eyebrow
raise as they saw the acquisition along the bottom line of ESPN, then quickly
remembered their best days of dunking and scoring were behind them.
“And so with
the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as
things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was
beginning over again with the summer.” -
The Great Gatsby
Fast forward to
the summer of 2012 which will forever be remembered as the "Summer of the Dwightmare."
Nash made the first splash when he was part of a sign and trade to the Lakers
on July 7th. This was his invite to the lavish Gatsby-like party that is Los
Angeles Lakers Basketball. Playing for the Mavericks and Suns for sixteen
years, he looked over the fence like Nick Carraway while the Lakers moved and
shook their way to multiple titles in that span.
The party only
got bigger as Dwight Howard gets traded to the Lakers on August 10th. People
cried foul that somehow the Lakers did it again, scoring another all star like
they did in 2008 with Pau Gasol. The early edge on the Western Conference representative
in the Finals goes to the Lakers, as the Thunder traded away third wheel James
Harden who is flourishing in Houston.By adding Nash and Howard, the Laker's
life as perennial playoff contenders seemed to start again. It opened a new
window for a franchise that resents stagnancy and regression as well as
anything close to the dreaded term "rebuilding".
“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.”
The season
began and Nash was hurt in his third game, fracturing a small bone in his left
leg. Building team chemistry is tough enough. Players not being able to play
and gel with their new team makes it even harder. The Lakers struggled and
former coach Mike Brown was fired after a 1-4 start. Bernie Bickerstaff held
down the fort until D'Antoni arrived, hobbled knee and all. Kobe has played
like he always does, to the tune of averaging 27 points. While on the bench,
Nash dressed in a dapper manner,
sporting a vest and sports jacket. His 200 dollar haircut with a part to
the side was reminiscent of Jay Gatsby and
caused Bryant to dub him simply "Gatsby".
Maybe it's
because we all know the talent of Steve Nash
and it is assumed he is still great. No need for Kobe to add the
adjective. Less is more. Yet at the moment we have only seen a small sample
during his three games with the Lakers. We have no idea how great Nash still
is, and how greatly he can improve. All that is certain is that with Nash at
the helm, the Lakers are bound to improve, barring any other major injury of
course.
What the
Lakers lack is consistency and stability and that's what a healthy Nash can provide. His return would
signal a new phase for the Lakers, even in such
an early part of an 82 game season. He can direct an offense like the
back of his hand, finding the open man at any given time. He knows when to take
his man off the dribble and drive to the basket, beating him by one step using
his quick finger roll to slip pass the outstretched hand of the defender. His
other trademark includes circling the basket and bringing it inside, sensing
trouble and resetting until he finds a shot he wants to take or a pass he wants
to make. This creates openings for Kobe and frees up Dwight, not to mention
Gasol on the elbow.
The timetable
for his return is not definite, as he is ruled out for tomorrow's game versus
the Pacers. He is improving, performing agility drills and jogging and
progressing in the right direction. The Lakers can only hope it is sooner than
later. Nash wants back in to the party, and if he can get close to one hundred
percent, he'll be the life of it.
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