Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
At the end of his contract with the Mavs Steve Nash was near the end of his peak years as an NBA player. He was looking for a five or six year deal. Now granted he's played about three years of very high quality basketball for the Suns but last year showed he's finished as an elite level NBA player. Plus HE WAS AWAYS a DEFENSIVE LIABILITY.
The Mavs gambled and lost on this one - I don't necessarily fault the logic (aging player, some injury concerns, desire for a long term deal, etc)
However, it just didn't pan out the way they thought it would
Nash just finished his 7th season in phoenix, averaging just over 77 regular season games a year and close to 10 playoff games a season (while logging a ton of minutes) - a pair of MVP awards - has led the league in assists 5 of those seasons - even this last season he was still pretty good and at worst statistically equivalent to his last year in dallas
It's very similar to the decision the suns made with Amare - with guaranteed contracts they just didn't like the risk associated with the length & dollar amounts
Can't really blame Dallas for that, to be honest. Nash was 31 and conventional wisdom was that he had more good years behind him than ahead. Frankly, I don't think you would have seen Nash 'emerge' like he did had he stayed in Dallas. He was an all-star point guard, but certainly not a HOF prospect at that point. Credit to D'Antoni's system for giving Nash the freedom to fully utilize his offensive skills, but I also think that the rule changes to give the perimeter player more freedom aided him as well. You don't simply make 'that' level of jump like Nash did,at an age when guards slowly begin their decline, without certain circumstances coming into play.
I'm not blaming them either - but it did decisively work against them and I'm sure there were many factors in play
In part D'Antonis system ... but to a large degree he was at his best while doing the same things he did with the mavs .... rule changes are huge, not only has it opened the game up for PGs they have also removed some of the beating he's received ..... he also didn't get significant run in his first 4 years and was 26 when he started getting serious minutes ... the suns training staff is also superb ... there are also things like his shooting percentage dramatically going up across the board, which is pretty hard to predict
So again - I don't blame them for making the move and you could argue that it was the sound move at the time (I know it was a pretty hot debate topic on both ends with both the mavs & suns fans) - however, in hindsight it's pretty clear how this one turned out
Amazing feat. Haywood was on the radio today and they were talking about Dirks ridiculous shooting night and he said Dirk isnt even the best pure shooter on the team. He said Peja just the other day made 96/100 three point shots in practice including 57 in a row! That is crazy in a game or not.
I hope Peja comes to life tonight and was only rusty in Game 1; the Mavs really need that outside threat.
He will. Theyre going to try to front Dirk and slide defenders, should create some open shots. Peja is very capable of going 6/6 like he did in game 4 against the Lakers.
The Thunder bench came through tonite with Harden and Maynor coming up big. Collison played scrappy D as usual. As far as Westbrook, that kid is stubborn. He tried to many 1-on-1 plays. He needs to be a playmaker. I was glad to see him benched for the entire 4th.
The first game the Mavs have lost at home in these playoffs. It looks like the Thunder also have a bench unlike what some have proclaimed on here. They are a legitimate contender; this should be another good series.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
