Steve Nash wins the MVP

[torpid]

Originally posted by: SP33Demon

Originally posted by: torpid

Originally posted by: SP33Demon
We'll just have to agree that Bell's playing better than average defense on Kobe.

Sure, I hope we can agree that other players have played even better defense against Kobe though.

Yeah, for the most part, I think the PHO double team has been exceptional on Kobe. But they haven't doubled him every time.

The double team itself is not stifling but their rotation has been really good for the most part. Compare that to san antonio's supposedly great defense (usually it's true, this year not so much) where they rotate and then suddenly bonzi wells is open for every offensive rebound and lay-up.

 

[SP33Demon]

From ESPN today:

The relentless circles through the lane weren't there. Nor the careening attacks in transition. Nor the multiple pivots to find the one passing angle that splits the defense for a teammate's easy basket.

Instead, there were passes directly to an opponent. Balls fumbled without pressure. Three-on-ones that looked as if the man in the middle, the reigning MVP, had the emergency brake on.

And yet, Steve Nash, locked back and stuttered gait, found his way to the rim just enough times and made just enough answer-back jumpers to lead the Suns to a 114-97 win over the Lakers, extending their best-of-seven first-round series to a sixth game in Los Angeles.

Yeah, Boris Diaw had the near triple-double and Shawn Marion finally broke out to add 21 points, but Nash provided the resilience, the refusal to let the Lakers ever get the psychological upper hand. Every time the Suns stuttered, he made a play. Maybe it was a no-frills jumper or a measured three or a crafty layup, but he delivered.

Whether it was facing elimination, a body refusing to let him play with his usual verve or some combination of both, Nash already appeared to be gritting his teeth at the morning shootaround.

When someone asked if he was 100 percent, he said, "I'm ready to go." Then he paused. "I'm never 100 percent, but I'm ready to go."

Nash finished with an atypical four assists, leaving the orchestration to Diaw, who finished one dime short of a triple-double (25 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists). Instead, he concentrated on parrying every momentum-threatening Lakers' shot.

When Kobe Bryant checked him, he forced a switch and then buried a 3 over Brian Cook.

When Kobe made one of two free throws off Raja Bell's flagrant foul and ejection and then sank a 3 on the subsequent possession to trim the Suns' lead to 10, Nash answered again with a mid-range J.

There's no mistaking where the heart of this series lies: Kobe vs. Nash, in a battle of MVP candidates to see whose will can lift their team four times first. The sad truth is that if Nash wins the personal accolade (as has been reported) and the Lakers advance, history will treat Nash's achievement no better than the year Hakeem Olajuwon vanquished MVP David Robinson and the Spurs.

Considering what Nash showed Tuesday night to extend this series, that wouldn't be completely fair. There's not a lot Nash can do about his health. His determination? That remains unquestioned.

-- Ric Bucher, in Phoenix

Even when Nash has a less than MVP like statline, we still see why he is the MVP.

And btw, MVP's don't get thrown out of the game, especially out of frustration (after cutting the deficit to 10 and then failing to do anything more).

 

[Miramonti]

Originally posted by: SP33Demon
From ESPN today:

The relentless circles through the lane weren't there. Nor the careening attacks in transition. Nor the multiple pivots to find the one passing angle that splits the defense for a teammate's easy basket.

Instead, there were passes directly to an opponent. Balls fumbled without pressure. Three-on-ones that looked as if the man in the middle, the reigning MVP, had the emergency brake on.

And yet, Steve Nash, locked back and stuttered gait, found his way to the rim just enough times and made just enough answer-back jumpers to lead the Suns to a 114-97 win over the Lakers, extending their best-of-seven first-round series to a sixth game in Los Angeles.

Yeah, Boris Diaw had the near triple-double and Shawn Marion finally broke out to add 21 points, but Nash provided the resilience, the refusal to let the Lakers ever get the psychological upper hand. Every time the Suns stuttered, he made a play. Maybe it was a no-frills jumper or a measured three or a crafty layup, but he delivered.

Whether it was facing elimination, a body refusing to let him play with his usual verve or some combination of both, Nash already appeared to be gritting his teeth at the morning shootaround.

When someone asked if he was 100 percent, he said, "I'm ready to go." Then he paused. "I'm never 100 percent, but I'm ready to go."

Nash finished with an atypical four assists, leaving the orchestration to Diaw, who finished one dime short of a triple-double (25 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists). Instead, he concentrated on parrying every momentum-threatening Lakers' shot.

When Kobe Bryant checked him, he forced a switch and then buried a 3 over Brian Cook.

When Kobe made one of two free throws off Raja Bell's flagrant foul and ejection and then sank a 3 on the subsequent possession to trim the Suns' lead to 10, Nash answered again with a mid-range J.

There's no mistaking where the heart of this series lies: Kobe vs. Nash, in a battle of MVP candidates to see whose will can lift their team four times first. The sad truth is that if Nash wins the personal accolade (as has been reported) and the Lakers advance, history will treat Nash's achievement no better than the year Hakeem Olajuwon vanquished MVP David Robinson and the Spurs.

Considering what Nash showed Tuesday night to extend this series, that wouldn't be completely fair. There's not a lot Nash can do about his health. His determination? That remains unquestioned.

-- Ric Bucher, in Phoenix

Even when Nash has a less than MVP like statline, we still see why he is the MVP.

And btw, MVP's don't get thrown out of the game, especially out of frustration (after cutting the deficit to 10 and then failing to do anything more).

You know you're desperate when you're quoting the Ric Bucher.

Nash's heart symbolizes what the Sun's stand for, the backbone of a paper tiger.

The only MVP award Nash deserves is for most valuable pacifist.

 

[torpid]

Half of the lakers seem able to guard nash one on one. I see odom and cook on nash and actually guarding him well. Nash must be hurting more than he lets on physically. Impressive that he can still perform remotely well if that's true.

 

[SP33Demon]

Originally posted by: jjsole

Originally posted by: SP33Demon
From ESPN today:

The relentless circles through the lane weren't there. Nor the careening attacks in transition. Nor the multiple pivots to find the one passing angle that splits the defense for a teammate's easy basket.

Instead, there were passes directly to an opponent. Balls fumbled without pressure. Three-on-ones that looked as if the man in the middle, the reigning MVP, had the emergency brake on.

And yet, Steve Nash, locked back and stuttered gait, found his way to the rim just enough times and made just enough answer-back jumpers to lead the Suns to a 114-97 win over the Lakers, extending their best-of-seven first-round series to a sixth game in Los Angeles.

Yeah, Boris Diaw had the near triple-double and Shawn Marion finally broke out to add 21 points, but Nash provided the resilience, the refusal to let the Lakers ever get the psychological upper hand. Every time the Suns stuttered, he made a play. Maybe it was a no-frills jumper or a measured three or a crafty layup, but he delivered.

Whether it was facing elimination, a body refusing to let him play with his usual verve or some combination of both, Nash already appeared to be gritting his teeth at the morning shootaround.

When someone asked if he was 100 percent, he said, "I'm ready to go." Then he paused. "I'm never 100 percent, but I'm ready to go."

Nash finished with an atypical four assists, leaving the orchestration to Diaw, who finished one dime short of a triple-double (25 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists). Instead, he concentrated on parrying every momentum-threatening Lakers' shot.

When Kobe Bryant checked him, he forced a switch and then buried a 3 over Brian Cook.

When Kobe made one of two free throws off Raja Bell's flagrant foul and ejection and then sank a 3 on the subsequent possession to trim the Suns' lead to 10, Nash answered again with a mid-range J.

There's no mistaking where the heart of this series lies: Kobe vs. Nash, in a battle of MVP candidates to see whose will can lift their team four times first. The sad truth is that if Nash wins the personal accolade (as has been reported) and the Lakers advance, history will treat Nash's achievement no better than the year Hakeem Olajuwon vanquished MVP David Robinson and the Spurs.

Considering what Nash showed Tuesday night to extend this series, that wouldn't be completely fair. There's not a lot Nash can do about his health. His determination? That remains unquestioned.

-- Ric Bucher, in Phoenix

Even when Nash has a less than MVP like statline, we still see why he is the MVP.

And btw, MVP's don't get thrown out of the game, especially out of frustration (after cutting the deficit to 10 and then failing to do anything more).

You know you're desperate when you're quoting the Ric Bucher.

Nash's heart symbolizes what the Sun's stand for, the backbone of a paper tiger.

The only MVP award Nash deserves is for most valuable pacifist.

Thanks for adding absolutely nothing to the thread. The truth hurts, eh?

 

[Miramonti]

Originally posted by: SP33Demon

Originally posted by: jjsole

Originally posted by: SP33Demon
From ESPN today:

The relentless circles through the lane weren't there. Nor the careening attacks in transition. Nor the multiple pivots to find the one passing angle that splits the defense for a teammate's easy basket.

Instead, there were passes directly to an opponent. Balls fumbled without pressure. Three-on-ones that looked as if the man in the middle, the reigning MVP, had the emergency brake on.

And yet, Steve Nash, locked back and stuttered gait, found his way to the rim just enough times and made just enough answer-back jumpers to lead the Suns to a 114-97 win over the Lakers, extending their best-of-seven first-round series to a sixth game in Los Angeles.

Yeah, Boris Diaw had the near triple-double and Shawn Marion finally broke out to add 21 points, but Nash provided the resilience, the refusal to let the Lakers ever get the psychological upper hand. Every time the Suns stuttered, he made a play. Maybe it was a no-frills jumper or a measured three or a crafty layup, but he delivered.

Whether it was facing elimination, a body refusing to let him play with his usual verve or some combination of both, Nash already appeared to be gritting his teeth at the morning shootaround.

When someone asked if he was 100 percent, he said, "I'm ready to go." Then he paused. "I'm never 100 percent, but I'm ready to go."

Nash finished with an atypical four assists, leaving the orchestration to Diaw, who finished one dime short of a triple-double (25 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists). Instead, he concentrated on parrying every momentum-threatening Lakers' shot.

When Kobe Bryant checked him, he forced a switch and then buried a 3 over Brian Cook.

When Kobe made one of two free throws off Raja Bell's flagrant foul and ejection and then sank a 3 on the subsequent possession to trim the Suns' lead to 10, Nash answered again with a mid-range J.

There's no mistaking where the heart of this series lies: Kobe vs. Nash, in a battle of MVP candidates to see whose will can lift their team four times first. The sad truth is that if Nash wins the personal accolade (as has been reported) and the Lakers advance, history will treat Nash's achievement no better than the year Hakeem Olajuwon vanquished MVP David Robinson and the Spurs.

Considering what Nash showed Tuesday night to extend this series, that wouldn't be completely fair. There's not a lot Nash can do about his health. His determination? That remains unquestioned.

-- Ric Bucher, in Phoenix

Even when Nash has a less than MVP like statline, we still see why he is the MVP.

And btw, MVP's don't get thrown out of the game, especially out of frustration (after cutting the deficit to 10 and then failing to do anything more).

You know you're desperate when you're quoting the Ric Bucher.

Nash's heart symbolizes what the Sun's stand for, the backbone of a paper tiger.

The only MVP award Nash deserves is for most valuable pacifist.

Thanks for adding absolutely nothing to the thread. The truth hurts, eh?

As a rule of thumb, whenever 'Nash' and 'MVP' are mentioned in the same sentence, thoughts with substance are significantly lacking to begin with. And its from within this deficiency that I'm apparently being judged. So no, it does not hurt.

 

[SP33Demon]

Originally posted by: jjsole

Originally posted by: SP33Demon

Originally posted by: jjsole

Originally posted by: SP33Demon
From ESPN today:

The relentless circles through the lane weren't there. Nor the careening attacks in transition. Nor the multiple pivots to find the one passing angle that splits the defense for a teammate's easy basket.

Instead, there were passes directly to an opponent. Balls fumbled without pressure. Three-on-ones that looked as if the man in the middle, the reigning MVP, had the emergency brake on.

And yet, Steve Nash, locked back and stuttered gait, found his way to the rim just enough times and made just enough answer-back jumpers to lead the Suns to a 114-97 win over the Lakers, extending their best-of-seven first-round series to a sixth game in Los Angeles.

Yeah, Boris Diaw had the near triple-double and Shawn Marion finally broke out to add 21 points, but Nash provided the resilience, the refusal to let the Lakers ever get the psychological upper hand. Every time the Suns stuttered, he made a play. Maybe it was a no-frills jumper or a measured three or a crafty layup, but he delivered.

Whether it was facing elimination, a body refusing to let him play with his usual verve or some combination of both, Nash already appeared to be gritting his teeth at the morning shootaround.

When someone asked if he was 100 percent, he said, "I'm ready to go." Then he paused. "I'm never 100 percent, but I'm ready to go."

Nash finished with an atypical four assists, leaving the orchestration to Diaw, who finished one dime short of a triple-double (25 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists). Instead, he concentrated on parrying every momentum-threatening Lakers' shot.

When Kobe Bryant checked him, he forced a switch and then buried a 3 over Brian Cook.

When Kobe made one of two free throws off Raja Bell's flagrant foul and ejection and then sank a 3 on the subsequent possession to trim the Suns' lead to 10, Nash answered again with a mid-range J.

There's no mistaking where the heart of this series lies: Kobe vs. Nash, in a battle of MVP candidates to see whose will can lift their team four times first. The sad truth is that if Nash wins the personal accolade (as has been reported) and the Lakers advance, history will treat Nash's achievement no better than the year Hakeem Olajuwon vanquished MVP David Robinson and the Spurs.

Considering what Nash showed Tuesday night to extend this series, that wouldn't be completely fair. There's not a lot Nash can do about his health. His determination? That remains unquestioned.

-- Ric Bucher, in Phoenix

Even when Nash has a less than MVP like statline, we still see why he is the MVP.

And btw, MVP's don't get thrown out of the game, especially out of frustration (after cutting the deficit to 10 and then failing to do anything more).

You know you're desperate when you're quoting the Ric Bucher.

Nash's heart symbolizes what the Sun's stand for, the backbone of a paper tiger.

The only MVP award Nash deserves is for most valuable pacifist.

Thanks for adding absolutely nothing to the thread. The truth hurts, eh?

As a rule of thumb, whenever 'Nash' and 'MVP' are mentioned in the same sentence, thoughts with substance are significantly lacking to begin with. And its from within this deficiency that I'm apparently being judged. So no, it does not hurt.

You are an obvious troll who responded nothing to Bucher's editorial, nor my comments on whether MVP's get ejected from games in the playoffs. The true definition of a troll.

 

[Accipiter22]

HAHAHHA from bill simmons' article today on ESPN.com

We just spent three weeks arguing about the 2006 MVP Award, which was the perfect vehicle to separate two groups of people: Those Who Understand Basketball, and Those Who Need To Pull Their Heads Out Of Their Butts. See, LeBron and Kobe were the only two acceptable candidates; they meant more to their teams than anyone else and submitted two otherworldly statistical seasons. If you wanted to penalize them because LeBron played in an inferior conference, or because Kobe was a self-centered ballhog who was once accused (and then had the charges dropped) of rape, then Nowitzki was the only possible fallback option (the only All-Star on a 62-win team). There were five other players who were worthy of being discussed (Billups, Anthony, Wade, Paul and Nash), but none of them had the credentials of the top three guys.
Unfortunately, Nash is white, and he has floppy hair, and he's a good guy and better teammate, and his style of play can be seductive to watch ... seductive enough to make everyone forget he can't guard anyone and struggles to take over close games. So he ended up winning the MVP for the same reason that short guys win the Dunk Contest and Julia Roberts won Best Actress for "Erin Brockovich" -- namely, it was more fun to pick him than anyone else, and we were rewarding him for the fact that he wasn't as gifted as some of the other candidates. He's the perpetual underdog, The Little White Guy Who Could. When Rodman and Isiah downed Bird with the "If he were black, he would be just another good guy" comments, it turned out that they were just 19 years too early. So be it.

Back to the Suns-Lakers series: I have been rooting for the Lakers because they were my upset pick on ESPN.com, as well as my sleeper to make the Western Conference finals. I like being right. But part of me was hoping that Kobe would settle the MVP debate the old-fashioned way -- by obliterating Nash and the Suns, the same way Hakeem swallowed up David Robinson in 1995. The weird thing is that Nash personifies everything I like about basketball (unselfishness, team play, good character) and Kobe personifies everything I don't like (selfishness, individual play, dubious character, contrived phoniness). It's just that multiple modern point guards (Kidd, Payton, Stockton, Isiah, even Mark Price) played the position as well or better than Nash did this season, and none of them ever won an MVP Award. Why should Nash get rewarded? It's completely illogical.
When it was leaked before Game 2 that Nash had won the MVP, I suddenly found myself rooting for Kobe to shove it in his face. After Kobe dunked over Nash, even though it was a charge, I nearly jumped out of my chair in delight. I refuse to believe that Kobe has ever jumped higher, or dunked a basketball more violently, in his entire life. Now that was a moment. And this series has been full of them.

 

[Miramonti]

Originally posted by: Accipiter22
HAHAHHA from bill simmons' article today on ESPN.com

We just spent three weeks arguing about the 2006 MVP Award, which was the perfect vehicle to separate two groups of people: Those Who Understand Basketball, and Those Who Need To Pull Their Heads Out Of Their Butts. See, LeBron and Kobe were the only two acceptable candidates; they meant more to their teams than anyone else and submitted two otherworldly statistical seasons. If you wanted to penalize them because LeBron played in an inferior conference, or because Kobe was a self-centered ballhog who was once accused (and then had the charges dropped) of rape, then Nowitzki was the only possible fallback option (the only All-Star on a 62-win team). There were five other players who were worthy of being discussed (Billups, Anthony, Wade, Paul and Nash), but none of them had the credentials of the top three guys.
Unfortunately, Nash is white, and he has floppy hair, and he's a good guy and better teammate, and his style of play can be seductive to watch ... seductive enough to make everyone forget he can't guard anyone and struggles to take over close games. So he ended up winning the MVP for the same reason that short guys win the Dunk Contest and Julia Roberts won Best Actress for "Erin Brockovich" -- namely, it was more fun to pick him than anyone else, and we were rewarding him for the fact that he wasn't as gifted as some of the other candidates. He's the perpetual underdog, The Little White Guy Who Could. When Rodman and Isiah downed Bird with the "If he were black, he would be just another good guy" comments, it turned out that they were just 19 years too early. So be it.

Back to the Suns-Lakers series: I have been rooting for the Lakers because they were my upset pick on ESPN.com, as well as my sleeper to make the Western Conference finals. I like being right. But part of me was hoping that Kobe would settle the MVP debate the old-fashioned way -- by obliterating Nash and the Suns, the same way Hakeem swallowed up David Robinson in 1995. The weird thing is that Nash personifies everything I like about basketball (unselfishness, team play, good character) and Kobe personifies everything I don't like (selfishness, individual play, dubious character, contrived phoniness). It's just that multiple modern point guards (Kidd, Payton, Stockton, Isiah, even Mark Price) played the position as well or better than Nash did this season, and none of them ever won an MVP Award. Why should Nash get rewarded? It's completely illogical.
When it was leaked before Game 2 that Nash had won the MVP, I suddenly found myself rooting for Kobe to shove it in his face. After Kobe dunked over Nash, even though it was a charge, I nearly jumped out of my chair in delight. I refuse to believe that Kobe has ever jumped higher, or dunked a basketball more violently, in his entire life. Now that was a moment. And this series has been full of them.

I agree with his comments about Nash. Throw him a bone once, ok, but twice is like giving 'best dance' to the white man's overbite.

 

[torpid]

Anthony and Paul are not worthy of being discussed. Maybe you meant Artest and Pau. Similar names.

 

[SP33Demon]

Originally posted by: Accipiter22
HAHAHHA from bill simmons' article today on ESPN.com

We just spent three weeks arguing about the 2006 MVP Award, which was the perfect vehicle to separate two groups of people: Those Who Understand Basketball, and Those Who Need To Pull Their Heads Out Of Their Butts. See, LeBron and Kobe were the only two acceptable candidates; they meant more to their teams than anyone else and submitted two otherworldly statistical seasons. If you wanted to penalize them because LeBron played in an inferior conference, or because Kobe was a self-centered ballhog who was once accused (and then had the charges dropped) of rape, then Nowitzki was the only possible fallback option (the only All-Star on a 62-win team). There were five other players who were worthy of being discussed (Billups, Anthony, Wade, Paul and Nash), but none of them had the credentials of the top three guys.
Unfortunately, Nash is white, and he has floppy hair, and he's a good guy and better teammate, and his style of play can be seductive to watch ... seductive enough to make everyone forget he can't guard anyone and struggles to take over close games. So he ended up winning the MVP for the same reason that short guys win the Dunk Contest and Julia Roberts won Best Actress for "Erin Brockovich" -- namely, it was more fun to pick him than anyone else, and we were rewarding him for the fact that he wasn't as gifted as some of the other candidates. He's the perpetual underdog, The Little White Guy Who Could. When Rodman and Isiah downed Bird with the "If he were black, he would be just another good guy" comments, it turned out that they were just 19 years too early. So be it.

Back to the Suns-Lakers series: I have been rooting for the Lakers because they were my upset pick on ESPN.com, as well as my sleeper to make the Western Conference finals. I like being right. But part of me was hoping that Kobe would settle the MVP debate the old-fashioned way -- by obliterating Nash and the Suns, the same way Hakeem swallowed up David Robinson in 1995. The weird thing is that Nash personifies everything I like about basketball (unselfishness, team play, good character) and Kobe personifies everything I don't like (selfishness, individual play, dubious character, contrived phoniness). It's just that multiple modern point guards (Kidd, Payton, Stockton, Isiah, even Mark Price) played the position as well or better than Nash did this season, and none of them ever won an MVP Award. Why should Nash get rewarded? It's completely illogical.
When it was leaked before Game 2 that Nash had won the MVP, I suddenly found myself rooting for Kobe to shove it in his face. After Kobe dunked over Nash, even though it was a charge, I nearly jumped out of my chair in delight. I refuse to believe that Kobe has ever jumped higher, or dunked a basketball more violently, in his entire life. Now that was a moment. And this series has been full of them.

Simmons has a fun writing style and I like him b/c he's a Sawx fan, but he has the logic of a 14 year old (uh, no offense if you are lol) and here's why:
1) He pulls the race card in the Nash debate when it has absolutely nothing to do with it. Only people who cannot make a strong argument will bring race into the debate. He's the type of person who would say Jackie Robinson won the 1949 MVP because he was black, because Stan Musial and Ralph Kiner had higher OPS's (analogous to Kobe's scoring) even though J.Rob was in the top 3 in hits/run/led in stolen bases (think Nash and leading in assists). :roll:

2) Mark Price's and Gary Payton's best 2 years are nowhere in the direct stratosphere of Nash's 2 MVP's. Price only broke double digits in assists ONE year of his career, and the ONLY year his shooting %'s rivaled Nash's from this year, he had the exact same amount of ppg (18.9) but TWO less assists. The most Payton has ever had was 9 assists in 2002 when he had abysmal shooting %'s, by putting Gary Payton into the mix he may as well just said SHAWN KEMP, lol. Last but not least, Stockton and Isiah played in an era with these two relatively unknown players named MAGIC AND MICHEAL. Both of which were better than anyone in the NBA since, so of course Stockton and Isiah had no chance.

Simmons is a homer plain and simple, anytime he opens his mouth about the NBA he can't be taken seriously.

 

[Accipiter22]

Originally posted by: SP33Demon

Originally posted by: Accipiter22
HAHAHHA from bill simmons' article today on ESPN.com

We just spent three weeks arguing about the 2006 MVP Award, which was the perfect vehicle to separate two groups of people: Those Who Understand Basketball, and Those Who Need To Pull Their Heads Out Of Their Butts. See, LeBron and Kobe were the only two acceptable candidates; they meant more to their teams than anyone else and submitted two otherworldly statistical seasons. If you wanted to penalize them because LeBron played in an inferior conference, or because Kobe was a self-centered ballhog who was once accused (and then had the charges dropped) of rape, then Nowitzki was the only possible fallback option (the only All-Star on a 62-win team). There were five other players who were worthy of being discussed (Billups, Anthony, Wade, Paul and Nash), but none of them had the credentials of the top three guys.
Unfortunately, Nash is white, and he has floppy hair, and he's a good guy and better teammate, and his style of play can be seductive to watch ... seductive enough to make everyone forget he can't guard anyone and struggles to take over close games. So he ended up winning the MVP for the same reason that short guys win the Dunk Contest and Julia Roberts won Best Actress for "Erin Brockovich" -- namely, it was more fun to pick him than anyone else, and we were rewarding him for the fact that he wasn't as gifted as some of the other candidates. He's the perpetual underdog, The Little White Guy Who Could. When Rodman and Isiah downed Bird with the "If he were black, he would be just another good guy" comments, it turned out that they were just 19 years too early. So be it.

Back to the Suns-Lakers series: I have been rooting for the Lakers because they were my upset pick on ESPN.com, as well as my sleeper to make the Western Conference finals. I like being right. But part of me was hoping that Kobe would settle the MVP debate the old-fashioned way -- by obliterating Nash and the Suns, the same way Hakeem swallowed up David Robinson in 1995. The weird thing is that Nash personifies everything I like about basketball (unselfishness, team play, good character) and Kobe personifies everything I don't like (selfishness, individual play, dubious character, contrived phoniness). It's just that multiple modern point guards (Kidd, Payton, Stockton, Isiah, even Mark Price) played the position as well or better than Nash did this season, and none of them ever won an MVP Award. Why should Nash get rewarded? It's completely illogical.
When it was leaked before Game 2 that Nash had won the MVP, I suddenly found myself rooting for Kobe to shove it in his face. After Kobe dunked over Nash, even though it was a charge, I nearly jumped out of my chair in delight. I refuse to believe that Kobe has ever jumped higher, or dunked a basketball more violently, in his entire life. Now that was a moment. And this series has been full of them.

Simmons has a fun writing style and I like him b/c he's a Sawx fan, but he has the logic of a 14 year old (uh, no offense if you are lol) and here's why:
1) He pulls the race card in the Nash debate when it has absolutely nothing to do with it. Only people who cannot make a strong argument will bring race into the debate. He's the type of person who would say Jackie Robinson won the 1949 MVP because he was black, because Stan Musial and Ralph Kiner had higher OPS's (analogous to Kobe's scoring) even though J.Rob was in the top 3 in hits/run/led in stolen bases (think Nash and leading in assists). :roll:

2) Mark Price's and Gary Payton's best 2 years are nowhere in the direct stratosphere of Nash's 2 MVP's. Price only broke double digits in assists ONE year of his career, and the ONLY year his shooting %'s rivaled Nash's from this year, he had the exact same amount of ppg (18.9) but TWO less assists. The most Payton has ever had was 9 assists in 2002 when he had abysmal shooting %'s, by putting Gary Payton into the mix he may as well just said SHAWN KEMP, lol. Last but not least, Stockton and Isiah played in an era with these two relatively unknown players named MAGIC AND MICHEAL. Both of which were better than anyone in the NBA since, so of course Stockton and Isiah had no chance.

Simmons is a homer plain and simple, anytime he opens his mouth about the NBA he can't be taken seriously.

I don't htink there's an NBA writer out there who hits the nail more on the head than him.....the race card applies here. There's plenty of guys that get their team involved (lebron, paul, pierce) just as much as nash.....except those guys are black....the race card can be used if it applies. Just becuase someone uses it doesn't mean their argument is weak. it CAN be abused, but I fully agree that it applies here. Nash isn't even one of the 5 best players in the league...not even top 10......everyone points to how the team doesn't do as good without him.....IT'S YOUR STARTING POINT GAURD. take that out of any team that runs the O through their PG and you're going to have the exact same results. Especially a team that fast breaks and depends on the PG.....it just means his value to his team is inflated....replace Nash with another above average gaurd, who can run a fast break, and PHX is just as good.

 

[Accipiter22]

Originally posted by: torpid
Anthony and Paul are not worthy of being discussed. Maybe you meant Artest and Pau. Similar names.

why? Denver wins 25 games without melo. Cha/OK/aruba/whatever is the worst team in the league without Paul...

 

[torpid]

Originally posted by: Accipiter22

Originally posted by: torpid
Anthony and Paul are not worthy of being discussed. Maybe you meant Artest and Pau. Similar names.

why? Denver wins 25 games without melo. Cha/OK/aruba/whatever is the worst team in the league without Paul...

Don't think so. That team was decent the past couple of years before Paul. Not great or anything. They went from decent to mediocre.

Denver won their division by default. Melo could have been injured for all but 5 games and they still might have won it. They shared worst record in the playoffs honors with sacramento, who is playing much better in the playoffs too. Maybe they wouldn't have won the division, but they wouldn't "really" have been much worse as a team. They were already pretty bad. I bet Utah could have handled them.

 

[SP33Demon]

After watching Nash dismantle the LAL and take a 2-1 lead on the Clips (who I picked to beat the Suns in 5), Nash just keeps reaffirming why all the writers and sports analysts said he was the M-V-P. One strange thing I didn't know was that Nash is Bill Walton's favorite player! lol. You would think his son would get that honor. :laugh: