Steve Nash Is All Alone In Phoenix; Utah Is For Real

Okay, so he does have Marcin Gortat (24 points, 15 rebounds). But other than that, Steve Nash is the last man standing in Phoenix. Last year, it looked like their deep trips into the postseason were over. Now, the fast-breaking, free-wheeling style is a thing of the past as well. We felt like we were watching ghosts in San Antonio yesterday. San Antonio beat Phoenix 102-91 in a game that would’ve mattered back in 2006. Now, it almost felt like Gregg Popovich wasn’t even taking it seriously. San Antonio controlled throughout, and even when the Suns made their run, he didn’t flinch. The minute he brought back in the starters for the finish, the Spurs regained control and shut down Nash and the Suns. If you can’t make this San Antonio defense pay, then you have some serious problems. Even Popovich would admit that. Alvin Gentry was caught in the huddle saying “We gotta do it like we used to.” Therein lays the problem. Grant Hill, Jared Dudley and Hakim Warrick can’t “do it like they used to.” Eight minutes in, Nash (20 points, 10 dimes) had zero assists while, for comparisons sake, Richard Jefferson had four. At one point, Phoenix was 3-17 in the second quarter … The Spurs had one of their best all-around performances of the season, and Tim Duncan had unquestionably his best game of the year, going for 24 points and 11 rebounds. At one point in the first half, he also passed Gary Payton on the all-time scoring list … Winning seven of eight against scrub teams is one thing. But beating Denver in the Mile High City is another. The Jazz blew away their in-division rivals in the fourth quarter, following the lead of their frontcourt in a 106-96 win. Utah took advantage of Denver on the blocks, and opened up an eight point lead in the fourth after Paul Millsap (26 points, 12 rebounds) went to work on two straight possessions. A few minutes later, Al Jefferson (18 points, 12 boards) threw Millsap a half-pass/half-lob and Millsap put it in over his shoulder. Big Al was so hyped, he gave Millsap a couple of really awkward ass slaps, the worst ones we’ve seen since Wally Szczerbiak. This all came during a stretch that saw Millsap go for 14 consecutive points, with Al Harrington and Danilo Gallinari (18 points) taking turns getting served … If Devin Harris (10 points, seven dimes yesterday and only one turnover… that’s all he needs to give them) can ever quit playing like a hungover high school kid, Utah could make some serious noise just a year after losing a Hall of Fame coach, and their best player since the glory days. But in the meantime, let’s file a petition to make sure the Jazz never wear those crap green uniforms again. Nasty green and dirt yellow should never be combined. Look out six months from now for No. 25 Jefferson jerseys in this color on the racks at Marshalls … Keep reading to hear why Lamar Odom almost retired …

We feel for Greg Monroe. As good as he’s been, and as hard as he apparently worked to come back a completely new guy, he has virtually no chance of making the All-Star team as long as the Pistons keep stacking up Ls. They lost again yesterday by eight to David Lee (24 points) and the Warriors. Monroe had 25 and eight yesterday, some of them on Ekpe Udoh (the man who was chosen right before him in the 2010 Draft), and is the one bright spot in a dismal organization … Is there any question the Pistons are probably spending too much time sprawled out in their new penthouse locker room? … Lamar Odom nearly went on sabbatical. After the blindside hit the Lakers threw on him with the eventually-vetoed Chris Paul trade, Odom admitted that he was seriously considering sitting out a year. Mentally, he wasn’t sure he was ready for the season, and wasn’t sure how he’d handle a new city and team. Eventually, his friends and family stepped in and convinced him to hang around. That’s exactly what Dallas fans want to hear: their prized offseason pickup had to be convinced to play. That probably helps explain why Odom is acting like Peter Gibbons from Office Space so far this year … They might be oh, two years too late on it, but Doc Rivers and the Celtics are finally admitting that the Celtics are Rajon Rondo‘s team. He’s been their best player for the past two seasons (even during his honeymoon swoon in the second half of last season). The biggest change this year is that Paul Pierce has finally slowed down and actually is playing like an old man … Boston has a tough time admitting anything. Not only did it take them too long to completely hand the keys over to Rondo, but now Rivers is saying that Kendrick Perkins will always be a Celtic, and that he “don’t give a CRAP what uniform he has on.” Why are we still talking about this? This is one of the weirdest trade scenarios we’ve ever dealt with: a decent role player being turned into the reason one franchise’s future/present was completely altered. By the way, Perkins is scoring 5.7 points and pulling down six boards a night this year … Clifton Herring, Michael Jordan‘s coach in high school, has been back in the news a lot lately. First, there was the Sports Illustrated story that told the tale of a guy who started to go down the drain immediately after Jordan came into his life. Now, reports say that Herring was arrested after police found a dead body buried in the backyard. Eerie. Sports Illustrated was just here – the home Herring listed to police as his residence – and now a body is discovered there. Criminally, this is definitely the worst thing he’s done since cutting MJ … Following the four-day 16-game NBA D-League Showcase, 15 players were named as standouts. The First Team was made up of Justin Dentmon (Austin Toros), Andre Emmett (Reno Bighorns), Gerald Green (Los Angeles D-Fenders), Brandon Costner (Los Angeles D-Fenders) and Marcus Lewis (Tulsa 66ers). Reno’s Blake Ahearn, Texas’ Booker Woodfox, Austin’s Lance Thomas, Tulsa’s Larry Owens and Erie’s Chris Daniels comprised the 2012 All-NBA D-League Showcase Second Team. On the third team, it was Fort Wayne’s Walker Russell, Dakota’s Edwin Ubiles, Reno’s Bobby Simmons, Sioux Falls’ Anthony Mason, Jr. and Rio Grande Valley’s Greg Smith … And remind us to never listen to this guy on a play-by-play again. This game-winning, full-court shot was crazy, but calm down dude … We’re out like the Packers.