<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>If we didn't get it by now, Thursday night's Spurs-Suns game drove home the obvious point of just how important Steve Nash is to Phoenix.Many ESPN hoop experts have weighed the MVP merits of a player by considering the subtraction of that player from his team's lineup and considering how bad that team would be without him.So, with the reigning MVP sidelined with an injured ankle, we got a chance to gauge just how valuable the stellar Suns point guard is to his team. The answer?Very. His team was toasted at home by a Spurs team, 117-93, that seems to be hitting its stride.Take away Kobe from the Lakers, and they're pretty terrible. Remove Elton from the Clips, and they're below. 500. Subtract Dirk away from the Mavs, and they're not in serious contender consideration. Same for Duncan and the Spurs. Take Marbury and Francis away from the Knicks and . . . well, enough piling on Team Isiah.Take away Nash, and the party's over. Still hobbled by an ankle injury, Nash donned a sportcoat on the sideline. And the Suns also missed his Brazilian backup, Leandro Barbosa.This was an MVP night for France, though. Boris Diaw had 16 points, nine rebounds and nine assists for the Suns, just missing his third career triple double. And Tony Parker was on top of his game, scoring 29 points in the first three quarters. For a night, we could all forget the Gaul-ing glory that was Frederic Weis (sorry again, Knicks fans).And for all those Sean Marks enthusiasts out there, and we know you are out there, this was your game. The big Kiwi dropped in four points on the Suns in Dumpster time.Enough of the sideshows. For those who handicap such things, this matchup will likely be the West finals. The Mavs, Nuggets and Clips will have their say, for sure. But these are the two to keep an eye on.Nash or no Nash, the Spurs are looking sharp. And Nash doesn't seem too worried that his ankle will trouble him for long. The Amare Stoudemire comeback will come later, the wildcard in the whole playoff deal.We don't have long to wait for a rematch. The two teams meet in their regular season finale next Friday in San Antonio. It will be a better game if the MVP repeat candidate is running the show.That, we know.</div>http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dailydime
And having 5 players out wasn't the reason? lol Barbosa was injured too so we had to play Andre Barrett for a lot of minutes. Our problem wasn't offense, it was defense and if Nash was playing we'd be even worse there. If Barbosa was playing it would be a lot close because when Nash is out he and Eddie House play great together. And our defense has just sucked since Kurt has been out. There was no way we were going to defend Nazr and Duncan with no defensive big men, except Burke who played like 5-10 minutes...he's alright. Looking at the bench was so weird, we had more people in suits than in jerseys, lol. We started James Jones and Tim Thomas, lol come one! :HAHAHA:I guess this is just payback for us not having injuries last year when we had no depth. Now that we do we got lots of injuries to even it out. We had a lot of luck last year.I say, Steve Nash rest your back and let the Suns prove they don't need you as much once they get Barbosa back. :yahoo:
ESPN....not suprizing...They managed to score 93 points again't one of the top 3 teams in the NBA without their general...duh they will lose.
Our leading assist man and the best 3-point shooter in the league gone and still 93 points against one of the best. I like that. Now to focus on defense. Please Kurt, come back!I did enjoy watching Raja Bell and Manu together though. Raja pushing him on the floor made me laugh.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>I say, Steve Nash rest your back and let the Suns prove they don't need you as much once they get Barbosa back.</div>That's a dumb comment to make. Hope your best player is out for the home stretch to prove a point.<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Our leading assist man and the best 3-point shooter in the league gone and still 93 points against one of the best.</div>Geez what kind of thinking is that. Who cares how many you score. Spurs did their job to beat you. 93 pts is like 10 below your average, it's not special. Most teams can do that against Spurs and lose. Big whoop.
