Three Reasons Why Steve Nash Is The Best Point Guard In The NBA Right Now
The NBA is a point guard rich league. Almost every single team has a floor general who can kill you in a different way. Rajon Rondo can and will blow right past you in a blink of an eye. Jason Kidd can outsmart you and find those small edges that will give him even the slightest advantage. Tony Parker can destroy you with 18-footers all day long. But the point guard that is standing above the rest this season so far is, 35-year-old Steve Nash.
While many people will probably disagree with me and say that Deron Williams, Chauncey Billups, Rondo or Chris Paul might deserve that title, here are three reasons why the Suns star is the best point guard in the league this season.
1. Stats Don’t Lie: Considering his age, it’s absolutely amazing that Nash is throwing up numbers that he is. For the season, Nash is averaging a 18.3 ppg, 11.2 apg (best in the NBA) and 2.8 rpg. Only Williams (20.4 ppg, 10.3 apg) and Paul (21.1 ppg, 10.8 apg) have comparable numbers. But Nash is doing it in six less minutes per game than Deron and CP has only played in 15 games so far for an underachieving team. A lot of people will probably argue that Nash is just a product of a favorable system aka the D’Antoni offense. But Chris Duhon is in that same system now and has not been nearly as productive as Nash. His stats are higher than both of the years he was MVP (15.5 ppg, 11.5 apg in ‘04-05 and 18.8 ppg and 10.5 apg in ‘05-06). What’s most impressive is that he’s winning with a less-talented squad that was supposed to be an 8th seed at best. He is not only making guys like Amar’e Stoudemire and Grant Hill look really good this season, but he’s helped elevate the careers of Jared Dudley and Channing Frye.
2. The Suns Are Pretty Damn Good: Last year the word “rebuilding” was a common term that was thrown around the Valley of the Sun. Shaq wasn’t working out and there were rumors that Nash and Hill would bolt via free agency. Most of the basketball world definitely counted out the Suns coming into the season. Currently, the Suns are 17-8 and fourth place in the West (just one game out of second place). They’ve won nine-straight games at home including recent wins against Orlando and San Antonio. If they can get it together on the road, where they’ve dropped five straight, the Suns could finish in the second or third spot in the West. In comparison, D-Will and the Jazz are 14-10, CP and the Hornets are 10-13. Even though the C’s are 20-4, Rondo is the team’s third best player at best. In Phoenix, everything starts and stops with Nash. He is definitely in the race to get his third MVP.
3. He Can Make the Big Plays: With so many point guards who can close out a game like Williams and Billups, Nash isn’t as known for being the most clutch guard. And while that may be true, Nash is one of the best competitors and doesn’t care whether he gets the last shot or not. Like John Stockton, he is there to make plays whether it is a drive and kick to Jason Richardson or running a late game pick-and-roll with Stoudamire. But sometimes it’s not how you finish it’s how you start. Nash has been great at closing out games in the first few quarters. Eight of the Suns’ 17 wins have been by more than 10 points. The Suns are leading the league in points at 108.7 ppg.
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December 16th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
control says:
PLEASE Dime, get rid of that AI ad on the webpage. I can’t stand that stupid looking idiot just STARING at me…
Yeah, Steve Nash is the best!
December 16th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
skitz says:
nash4mvp.
cmon guys, you’ve counted out the suns during preseason, u said nash in a decline..
guess he proved you guys wrong.
December 16th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
K Dizzle says:
Good article….but the haters still gonna swarm lol
December 16th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
BigRedFred says:
LMAO @ Control…..that is a stupid look too
December 16th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Ian says:
for the last 2 season i had parker and deron at one and two in any order but i guess they are 2 and 3 again with nash being 1.
December 16th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
LakeShow84 says:
Ill buy it..
Nash got that team playing lights out.. And hes making Frye look like an Allstar..
And Nash been clutch forever tho.. Last PG in the WORLD i want shooting the last shot on us.. his 3pt% is off the chain the past couple of years..
December 16th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Lucas says:
I’d say that’s accurate but just imagine this… Put Chris Paul on Phoenix.. Which team would be better? I honestly don’t know, just trying to start discussion.
December 16th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
Chris says:
Nash gets schooled every time he goes up aginst D-Will or CP3. D-Will and CP3 are men amongst boys in the point guard world with Grandpa Nash playing well in a run and gun system that anybody with a decent shot and passing ability would succeed in. Duhon obviously can’t shoot or pass. The Suns are a damn good team; but why the hell were people picking them to finish so low? They have 2 superstars (Nash and Amare), great role players (Hill, Richardson, Lopez, Frye), and spark off the bench (Barbosa). They should be this good and not surprising anybody. Nash = Over-Rated.
December 16th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
POPPI GEE says:
and he goes green!
December 16th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
K Dizzle says:
There it is…
If you expected Phoenix to start off like they did, then you lyin….Point Blank.
Replace Shaq with Channing Frye and pin your hopes on a 35 year old with a bad back…
This system bs needs to stop. If Nash wins 2 mvps in a system, then the coach who brought the system goes to a new team and Nash still killin, maybe the fact that he a 50/40/90 shooter as well as a league leadin assist man is why he’s good, not D’Antoni
Callin a 35 year old point guard who’s puttin up the numbers dude is “overrated” either loses you all credibility or you just a hater. Hope you just a hater
December 16th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
bobby s says:
agree. awesome player, wish he were still with his bud nowitzki.
when is he going to slow down?
December 16th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
karizmatic says:
The last part of argument 1 is stupid. Nash thrives in a system that benefits him, the uptempo system doesn’t benefit Chris Duhon, he’d be better in a half court system. Not that he even deserves to be in the same conversation as Nash. That’s a straw man argument if I ever saw one.
December 16th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
GABRIEL BROGDEN says:
I’m with Number 8 Chris.
How can you be the best when your D is one of the worst?
I aint smellin’ you on this one Gerald.
No K-Dizzle, you don’t have to be a hater to disagree with someone’s opinion – he’s over-rated because “THE BEST” label was applied to him in this article.
That makes us a ‘disagreer’ not a hater.
Now look, opinions are opinions but why he is he “THE BEST?” —} because his offense is magnificent, because he makes everyone better.
One of the best, maybe.
But THEE BEST? Get outta here.
I think that Deron and Paul are really the only ones qualified to be in “THE BEST PG” convo right now.
Maybe Big Shot. Maybe Rondo even.
Nash? Nash can even be MVP right now, but he’s not THE BEST point guard in the L right now.
Either Nash is over-rated or DEFENSE is UNDER-RATED.
I’m done. Carry on.
December 16th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
eyes says:
Jared Dudley,Channing Frye,Grant Hill,Louis Amundson,Drajic in the West. 35yrs old. If he ran with the Nuggets they would have won last yr. If he plays with the Blazers now. Forget about it. If he came to NY we’d be in the Playoffs. If he played for Atlanta they might win a chip. I know he doesn’t play defense but that’s his only weakness. He’s a way better shooter than Deron,Chauncy, & Paul. Let him run our Olympic team & you’d see Mark Price & Pistol Pete reincarnated. Is & will go down to some better than John Stockton. His game is very similar to Isiah Thomas. Does everything. If he were black. I wonder what the opinion of him would be???? Nashingtonnnnnnnnnnnnnn. It looks like he’s at the Rucker w/o TO’S. THe ball is on a stringgggggggg. Where do you think Paul & Deron got the blueprint for double double’s. Give this man his respect. Grant Hill is 37 and has been brought back 2 life. He made S.Marion an All Star. If he would have won the ring the league robbed them of. Then what. If he played for the Mavs now. CHIPPPPPPPPPPPPP. His game is like jazz speed up
December 16th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
K Dizzle says:
@ GB
I agree with most of your points but I gotta say this:
When the discussion of best point guard right now comes up, defense is overrated.
Understand that I’m not sayin defense ain’t important, but I’m sayin it’s more important to have a Dwight Howard protectin the hoop than to have a shut down point guard.
When we discuss top points, the fact is that nobody in the top 10 can stop any other in the top 10. DWill, TP, CP3, Nash, Chauncey ain’t puttin up these numbers against scrubs; they puttin big numbers on each other.
When heads talk top defensive points, only Rondo and maybe Westbrook will put the clamps on you and still put up numbers offensively. Most other point guards will just kill you offensively. If your point is usin up all his energy on the defensive end, he ain’t helpin u offensively as good. Point blank, ever since Gary Payton, no point guard since can do it as well on both ends so all this can be a moot point.
In conclusion, the article was who the best right now?
DWill and Utah were strugglin just 2 weeks ago and CP3 wasn’t even playin so you missin the point on the “right now” aspect of this article.
I wouldn’t take Nash over CP3 or DWill or even Rondo or Rose if I was startin a franchise today, but if I’m tryin to win now and I can get the best shootin and passin point guard with Nash’s experience TODAY, then I’ll deal with the defensive inadequacies(I thank college tuition for even knowin what that mean) as they come
Sorry for the essay.
I’m out
December 16th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
Chaos says:
i still give a lot of credit to the trainers down there in PHX cuz they got nash and grant hill playing like they both 25 and nash is again a great player but he is better in that particular system.
December 16th, 2009 at 5:13 pm
jmg says:
Nash is 3 behind Paul and Deron because of his lack of defense. i need a pg that can keep up with other top PGs and these two kill Nash. Hell, even Derek Fisher gives Nash fits LMAO
December 16th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
w says:
I know he doesn’t play defense but that’s his only weakness.
^^ So he’s only weak on half the game…
December 16th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
LakeShow84 says:
aye if u make 2-3 positions on the floor BETTER statistically then they better cover ur ass when the opposing PG blows by u lol..
December 16th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
LakeShow84 says:
IMO i think there will come a day when CP3 will be seen as overrated.. he holds the ball WAY TOO MUCH for a PG.. but then again he plays with trash lol
but it looks like he passes to INITIATE plays maybe 8% of the whole game.. other than that hes scoring or passing for assists..
I dunno i could be biased.. i hate how he uses his off arm..
December 16th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
Rizwan says:
Enough about his defense.
LeBron only really started playing D in the past two seasons. Before that he was kinda lacking but was rightly regarded the best SF in the league.
PP only started when Garnett came over, before that he didnt do jack but was still ranked as one of the best.
Carmelo doesnt play any defense but still is front runner for MVP this season.
Deron Williams is an average defender but still is one of the best PG.
You get my point about this. If Steve Nash plays awesome offensively, then he should be rewarded with tags such as this one. The primary goal is always offense.
Steve Nash could have been a good defender but his back and the fact that he selflessly helps too much on defense makes his man be ahead of him.
Defense is nto Steve’s strong point but what about all the other players who are bad on defense but are not highlighted? Carmelo and Dirk are high on that list, Brandon Roy also is not a elite defender. Steve does draw charges and is a good team defender.
Also Tony Parker is not killing anyone with 18-footers. Teardrops maybe but come on!! He’s not Rondo bad but he aint Ray Allen either.
December 16th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
sh!tfaced says:
At this point in the season, Nash is MVP right now. Karl Malone won it at 36, MJ at 35. Why the hell not for Steve.
Who cares about playing D. The real objective is to score more points than your opponent anyway. lol
December 16th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
QQ says:
Nice to see Dime finally give recognition to Nash. Yall all been saying Amare is the alpha male in PHX, and I just have ti fucking disagree with that all the time.
Nash is the Man. He will forever be the Man. Amare aint nothing if not because of Nash.
December 16th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
flegman says:
nash is the stockton of this this season.
December 16th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Ian says:
lakeshow
u right on the pg and defense argument. doesnt matter how good you are defensively parker , nash , deron and paul will light u up. so why not have the most efficient off pg in the game that can make everyone else better?
and yes cp is overrated.
December 16th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
George W Kush Sr says:
Steve Nash couldnt guard a phone booth. I refuse to believe that someone who gets his ass handed to him by 10 other point guards is the best in the game.
Stockton was known for his gritty defense as well as his play making abilities. Jordan and Malone both played defense as well. Steve Nash is a huge liability on defense because even a mediocre player can embarass him.
I like Nash, but I think Stern and every other dick rider just loves him because he’s white.
December 16th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
George W Kush Sr says:
Steve Nash couldnt guard a phone booth. I refuse to believe that someone who gets his ass handed to him by 10 other point guards is the best in the game.
Stockton was known for his gritty defense as well as his play making abilities. Jordan and Malone both played defense as well. Steve Nash is a huge liability on defense because even a mediocre player can embarass him.
I like Nash, but I think Stern and every other dick rider just love him because he’s white.
December 17th, 2009 at 12:13 am
dave says:
nash the canadian pride is doin his thang lol
December 17th, 2009 at 1:32 am
johnsacrimoni says:
I love Steve Nash and am glad he is playing so well. He is one of my favorite players and he’s still got it. But he’s not as good as Deron Williams. And LakeShow 84, it’s time someone had the balls to say it ‘cuz it’s true.
December 17th, 2009 at 2:26 am
Murcy says:
Let me help those, who for some reason cannot master the art of reading comprehension: the article is (even in it’s title) about the best PG RIGHT NOW. This season. See? That’s why it says best PG. Obviously, CP3 and Deron are (kinda) better in the long run, in the past few years and so on. Yes, Nash is a bad defender. By default, by reputation, by evidence and so on. But, most of you probably haven’t watched too many Suns games this season: he is trying much harder (as is Amar’e) and is getting way less abused. He’s not good by any means, but not as horrible as he was. And he really IS the best PG so far THIS YEAR. Does that help you clear it up? I sure hope friends and neighbours.
December 17th, 2009 at 6:01 am
kimiraikko says:
@Murcy
I agree with you all the way. You got the point highlighted there. The title is who’s the best PG right now. People who are biased always point the weakness of a player but then he have compensated his weakness with other things. To overcome weakness, you have to master it and takes time and sometimes it’s even impossible to overcome due to several factors like physical condition and likes. Nash definitely has bad back and he is 35 yrs old. He definitely is doing everything he can play defense by taking charges on the painted area. Come on guys. Ease up on the your emotions. Let’s be objective when we are discussing things about basketball because letting emotions will definitely make argument prolong and drag on for no other reason than that you never love Nash’s game. Thanks for taking time to read this out.
December 17th, 2009 at 6:15 am
GURU says:
NO HORNETS have a better % of wins withou CP3…
Cp3 team wins more games without him…
SUNS dont even with Amare and MARION the wouldnt won games…
SMARBURY SUNS were one of the worst teams in the NBA…
Just look at MArion stats…
Overated??
Let me ask you something whos a better 3point shooter RAY ALLEN or NASH…
RAY allen he is the real overated shooter, he doesnt have the same pressure like RMiller had, he misses a lot of sots alone (ALONE) finish games 0 from 7…
NO WAY:
His best season average was 43.4%…thats NASH carrer average…
Nash is in the 5th place list of all time 3point %…
Ray Allen is in 35 place and not for much more time TROY MURPHY is gonna pass him…
December 17th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
johnsacrimoni says:
@Murcy
I know what the title says. I said Steve Nash is not as good as Deron Williams. I meant RIGHT NOW. Does this help clear things up? I sure hope my friend and neighbor.
December 19th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
Lee says:
A couple of points here. Carmelo does play defense and dida great job last year in the playoffs and still got his numbers. I only mention that bcuz someone said he doesn’t play D. Another thing is Nash is a bad defender but his offense is state of the art.
There are plenty of guys that can defend better than he can that aren’t anywhere near as impactful so which would you rather have? Unless a guy is a lockdown defender like a Payton, Kidd, or MR Richardson in their primes, then what’s the point? You take your 18 and 11 w/ 50/40/90 and enjoy it.
The guy is an absolute freak of nature to be a dominant PG at 35 years old. Other than Stockton who also I classify as a lock defender in his prime, it’s never been done before. Not Frazier, West, Oscar, Gus, Isiah, GP, Maravich, Pearl, never ever.
Kevin Johnson said he told Nash as a rookie that he was as good as anybody he had ever played with and he just needed to believe he was that good. I also like CP3 and think he’s better when he’s healthy and on his game and Deron is up there too but Nash has been killing for 10 years now
December 22nd, 2009 at 11:18 am
Dave says:
the arguement that none of the top pg’s can stop each other to make your point that Nash is the best is weak. There are many games when DWill stops his opposing pg, many times v Chris Paul and Steve Nash he’s shut them down. I would have to say until Deron can consistently get his team wins as opposed to almost wins I’m going to agree that he isn’t the best. Nash has some intangibles that come with time so if I had one game to win I’d probably go with Nash. dam.