The moment the best player for any team in any sport gets injured, a sudden hush and tremble envelopes the crowd and organization. Hence, there is no doubt that fans, coaches, and the staff of the Phoenix Suns panicked the second point guard and 2-time defending MVP Steve Nash got hurt against Denver on February 5th.
Now that Nash has been out for a week and a half, I’ll bet that there are more people smiling about Nash’s injury behind the breath of their bellowing concerns. Why you might ask? Well, there haven’t been many recipients of the MVP award in the NBA who were scrutinized more than Steve Nash. Remember Dan Le Batard suggested in the Miami Herald (the article is no longer available online) that Steve Nash won the MVP over Shaq two years ago because of race? Remember last year, the Kobe, Dirk, and LeBron supporters all said Nash was overrated and undeserving? Well, I think all of those respective cries have been quelled.
The Phoenix Suns have lost their past three games. In the losing streak, the Suns lost twice at home, once to the Hawks who were 20-30 entering the game, and once to the Bulls who were 9-16 on the road entering the game. Last night, the Suns got blitzed by the Sonics who were a lowly 19-32 prior to the win. In fact, the 114-90 defeat was their worst of the year. The Suns haven’t even been close in these 3 games (2 against poor teams), losing by a margin of 15 points per game in this span.
The poor play of the Suns without Steve Nash only validates what I believed all along – that Nash was a worthy recipient of the MVP each of the last two seasons. Sure Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire are fine players, but the truth is evident – they are the supporting cast while Nash is the lead. Sometimes you don’t really know what you have until you’ve lost it. Now that they’ve lost him, I think Phoenix, the media, the NBA, and especially the critics, finally can understand the direct impact Steve Nash has on the success of the Phoenix Suns.
