Don't forget Nashy

Just when all but a few want to hand Chris Paul this year’s MVP and anoint him Best PG In The Game status, Steve Nash goes and drops a subtle reminder.

Before getting in too deep, let me explain something: Chris Paul has had a better year than Steve Nash – plain and simple. In all the measurable things – even assists, something Nash has owned since rejoining the Suns in the summer of ’04 – Paul is superior to Nash in ’08.

But when it comes to the immeasurable, Nash is still #1 for point guards.

Take Monday’s game with Denver. Trailing by 14 at the end of one (and by as many as 22 in the second), the Suns were headed for defeat. But Nash - who had scored just 27 points in his last three, and coming off a 2-9 evening at New Jersey, and not to forget he was playing with a sore shoulder - decided enough was enough.

He bought Phoenix all the way back, nailing 8-12 threes while finishing with a season-high 36 points in a 132-117 win. Nash is without peer when it comes to a point guard realizing when to set-up others and when to grab a game by the throat and start scoring. Tonight, his team needed scoring - so he scored.

(And surprisingly, for a guy who distributes the ball as well as Nash, I’ve always loved the games where’s he been greedy. Like his 48-pointer on Dallas in Game 4 of the ’05 WCF; the 42-point game at New Jersey that PHX won 162-158 and defined their season, helping them start a run of 34 wins out of 37; hauling the Suns on his back against Washington in Dec. '06 when he scored 32 second-half points (for a total of 42) in a game where Phoenix, lagged by travel complications that had them arrive at the arena 90 minutes prior to tip-off, just couldn’t get going. You sometimes get the feeling, when he’s feeling it, that he might just be their best offensive player, and that includes Amare Stoudemire.)

And here’s the difference between he and Paul: Nash knows when to do this. Sure, Paul is statistically playing the position as well as anyone his age has, but a lot of the greatness that lies within Nash is how he has adapted and evolved his game over time. Just watch him when others try to guard the pick-n-roll, Nash has a reaction or read for every stinkin’ defensive scheme. That’s something Paul can’t possibly have access to… yet.

Paul’s statistics sure are gaudy, but it’s the subtle stuff that Nash the best at. And to say Paul is the single most important player to his team – this year or any year – as some have suggested, just close your eyes and imagine how Phoenix would play without Nash. It would be a train-wreck.

Those who think Paul is the clear-cut best PG going around might want to stop and see; those who saw what Nash did to the Nuggets may have a different opinion.