The Steve Nash experiment was one the Lakers had to try, but the fact is: it failed. Nash's career is in its final hours. Last season, he managed to play in just 15 games due to persistent nerve root irritation in his back and leg, after playing only 50 games in 2012-13. Even in the games Nash was able to suit up for, he only played 21 minutes per contest, averaging a paltry 6.8 points, 1.9 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.5 three-pointers. His usual exemplary field goal percentage took a significant hit, dropping from 50 percent in 2012-13 to 38 percent on 6.3 attempts last season. The only place Nash's numbers didn't suffer was at the free-throw line, where he hit 92 percent of his shots on 1.7 attempts per game. In the final year of his contract, and possibly his career, Nash will likely be relegated to a backup role behind newly-acquired Jeremy Lin and will likely get around 16-20 minutes a night. With his recent injury history, there'll be a decent chunk of games where Nash doesn't suit up at all, and it's going to be hard to rely on him for fantasy purposes.
Nash continues to work his way back into the Lakers' starting point guard role. However, the 40-year-old Nash has not played the number of minutes the Lakers expected him to this preseason due to a minor ankle injury and a stomach virus. The Lakers desperately need Nash to produce this season seeing as how Steve Blake has struggled immensely during the preseason. Because his legs and body are obviously not what they used to be, fantasy owners will have to constantly monitor Nash's performance throughout the year to gauge his productivity.
While the Knicks and Raptors were fighting over Nash with competing sign-and-trade offers and poison pill offer sheets, the Lakers stepped up and grabbed the future hall-of-famer. He immediately becomes (apologies to Smush Parker) the best backcourt mate Kobe Bryant has ever had. Even at his advanced age, Nash remains one of the best passers and most efficient shooters in the league. But how will the Lakers use him? Mike Brown is famous--maybe notorious is a better word--for running an isolation-heavy offense through a perimeter player, but Nash--and Dwight Howard--are too good to stand around and watch Bryant set himself up. Knowing that, Los Angeles is adding Eddie Jordan to the coaching staff this year, and he'll be installing some elements of the Princeton offense he ran in Sacramento and New Jersey. That should play to the strengths of both Nash and Pau Gasol and prevent any drop-off in Nash's fantasy value.
The Suns continue to stray further and further from their “Seven Seconds or Less” heyday and the Western Conference Finals. But Steve Nash keeps putting up remarkable numbers. He led the league in assists in 2010-11 with 11.4 assists, and is still a remarkably efficient scorer, though his scoring, shooting percentages and three-pointers made all dropped slightly last season. We’ll give him that. After all, he turned 37 in February. There will be a lot of talk about Nash – whose contract expires next summer – getting traded to a contender, which would seemingly make sense for both team and player. But to this point, the Suns have shown exactly zero inclination to deal their star, and Nash has given no indication that he’ll seek one.
Steve Nash continues to produce… and the Suns continue to repay him by letting his most talented teammates go. The Suns were one of the surprise teams of 2009-10, getting back to their high-octane roots after the failed, "Hey, let's play defense" experiment and reaching the Western Conference Finals. Nash was at the heart of that run, running the offense (11.0 apg) and scoring with remarkable efficiency (16.5 ppg, .507 from the field, .426 from three, and a league-leading .938 from the line). But in the offseason, Phoenix sent Amar'e Stoudemire to the Knicks via a sign-and-trade deal and included Leandro Barbosa in the deal that brought Hedo Turkoglu to the Valley of the Sun. The new-look Suns will feature Nash and veteran guard Jason Richardson in the backcourt, with some combination of Turkoglu, Josh Childress, Grant Hill, Channing Frye, Hakim Warrick and Jared Dudley down low. Everyone predicting a return to the Conference Finals, raise your hand. Of course, fronting a less-talented team might not be the worst thing for Nash's fantasy numbers; he could be required to score more often, and he's a remarkably efficient scorer. It will be interesting to see how he works with Turkoglu – another highly adept facilitator.
The good: after last season’s abortive attempt to re-fashion the Suns into a more defense-oriented, half-court team, Phoenix will be back to a more up-tempo, aggressive offensive style for all of 2009-10. And the rumored fire sale that was to send Amar’e Stoudemire to parts unknown seems to be on hold, at least for now, so one of Nash’s most potent weapons will be back in the valley of the sun this season. After a 2008-09 season that had the Suns in an identity crisis, that means a big boost to Nash’s fantasy value. On the other hand, Nash will be 36 in February, and simply can’t be counted on to produce the same sort of numbers he generated as a two-time MVP. His scoring average dropped to 15.7 points per game last season, his assist average dipped into single digits for the first time since his arrival in Phoenix, and his 74 games played were his lowest total since 2000-01. Look for a slight rebound to his numbers this season, helped by the return to the up-tempo offense he runs so well, and the fact that he won’t have to force the ball into the low post to make Shaq happy. And expect his usual stellar percentages (.503 from the floor, .439 from three, .933 from the line in 2008-09). But don’t expect 82 games’ worth.
At 34, Nash is still one of the top point guards in the league, but his MVP days are likely behind him for good. He’s also missed a handful of games over the years, but has played through several nagging injuries. Nash is an elite playmaker that manages the fast break as well as anyone – he’s averaged 11.2 assists per game in four seasons with the Suns. Nash has also hit over 50 percent of his shots over that span while maintaining elite levels from 3-point range and the free-throw line. We’ll be waiting to see the impact of a full season with Shaquille O’Neal along with a new coach in Terry Porter. O’Neal doesn’t thrive in the high-tempo game we’ve become accustomed to. And Porter is looking to instill a more defensive-minded approach. The high-speed Phoenix teams we became used to are looking like a thing of the past, though we still expect Nash to push it when the situation arises.
By trading away draft picks and not stocking the pipeline with expensive prospects, Phoenix has been able to tweak its roster and retain its biggest stars. That means another season of Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion, which should keep Nash stocked with scoring targets to build his stunningly-high assist numbers – his contribution to a fantasy team’s assist total is greater than any other single player’s contribution in any other single category. With the Suns finishing third in the league in possessions per game, Nash gets more opportunities than nearly anyone else to dish or shoot. He’s accurate from all ranges and boasts a career of 42.6 percentage from beyond the three-point line. The addition of Grant Hill and return of scoring machine Leandro Barbosa and an in-shape Boris Diaw will give Nash even more weapons in 2007-08.
This time last year, the word was out: the Suns’ running style won’t win in the post-season. They’re going to slow down and play tougher. Yeah. Not so much. The Phoenix offense, keyed by Nash, is to the NBA what Coors Field, pre-humidor, is to baseball; it makes everyone look good. Joe Johnson. Tim Thomas. Quentin Richardson – all turned in tremendous performances playing with Nashie. Heck, Boris Diaw became the NBA’s least likely superstar. Unfortunately, the Suns wore down at playoff time, and that may lead coach Mike D’Antoni to try and rest his key players more during the regular season. It seems reasonable to expect a slight drop-off to Nash’s stellar overall numbers, though he’ll likely lead the league in assists once again.
Everyone’s favorite floppy-haired Canadian put on a clinic last season, posting a season average double-double in points and assists (15.5 and 11.5, respectively), shooting over 50% from the floor and 40% from range, and leading Phoenix to the NBA’s best record. Unfortunately, the Suns’ fun-and-gun offense didn’t prove as successful in the playoffs, and the team went through an offseason extreme makeover. Gone are wing scorers Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson; in their place are defensive specialist Boris Diaw and physical 4/5 Kurt Thomas.
Due to those personnel changes alone, don’t look for a repeat of Nash’s MVP numbers. The Suns simply won’t score as much as they did last year. That said, don’t drop Nashie’s rating too far. He and Amare Stoudemire are still a near-unstoppable pick-and-roll combo. Expect him to be back among the league leaders in assists, with a possible increase in scoring this year as the Suns look to replace Richardson’s and Johnson’s outside scoring.
The long-haired Canadian moves back to the team that gave him his NBA start back in 1996-97. Nash isn't the scorer that some of the point guards listed above him are (averaging 14.5 ppg last season), but Nash picks his spots intelligently, shooting 48 percent from the field overall, and 41 percent from the 3-point line. Nash really helps you in two important categories. Nash put up 8.8 assists per game last season, and with Quentin Richardson, Shawn Marion, and Amare Stoudamire filling the lane, Nash should have plenty of targets. And if you draft Nash (unless you draft Shaq along with him), you've got a big leg up in free throw percentage: Nash shot 92 percent from the charity stripe last season. Not bad.
