be honest, did you think this was possible?

[Lorenzo]

Nash has already paid for his contract already with two MVPs. Dallas is just thinking those are two Championships they could have won (if they had kept Nash). Maybe this is the year that Steve leads a healthy postseason team to a Championship.

When the mavs would lose they would always say nash needed more rest in the regular season. Maybe that's why cuban let him go. I don't that was a factor. Dallas just wasn't good enough. Dallas is better since nash left. Who knows what would have happened if nash stayed in dallas. Well phoenix wouldn't be as great as they are. Dallas and their management should be commended for their ability to get better despite the loss of both finley and nash.

 

[Hoopy Dunkalot]

Syeah, right

When the mavs would lose they would always say nash needed more rest in the regular season. Maybe that's why cuban let him go. I don't that was a factor. Dallas just wasn't good enough. Dallas is better since nash left. Who knows what would have happened if nash stayed in dallas. Well phoenix wouldn't be as great as they are. Dallas and their management should be commended for their ability to get better despite the loss of both finley and nash.

Getting rid of Nash and Finley IS what made Dallas better. Neither could play a lick of defense and defense wins championships. The old Big 3 made for a nice regular season and some exciting basketball (which Mavs fans sometime long to see during a long season), but they could not get stops when they needed them. Getting those stops is the difference. The new Mavs can get any stop they want whenever they want. They dictate pace.

Counterpoint:
Is the question is less Nash and Finley and more Nellie? Could AJ's schemes worked with Nash running point? Nash is an undisputed MVP. Players of his calibur can do anything. If asked to play tough defense, can he? Since the Suns don't ask that of him, and he'll finish his career there, we'll never know.

 

[SO91]

What championship have the Mavs won for you to be spewing that same old cliche? No doubt they're a great team, but until they win it with defense, a Mavs fan can't use that, I'm sorry. Spurs and Pistons fans, however, can

 

[Suns_fan69]

I'll preface this post with a caveat that I didn't really get a chance to see Dallas play much during the Nash era.

I always thought that Finley was a decent defender. Not a lockdown kinda guy by any stretch but I don't think he's worse than say Dirk at their respective positions. Nash on the other hand was probably a sieve in Dallas. He's a little improved now through sheer determination but he's definitely still a liability in one on one situations.

The reason I would agree that it was an AJ vs Nellie thing is because some of the guys on your team as a whole presently, aren't much better defenders than the guys when Nash was around. Back then you had guys like Bell and Najera and wasn't Adrian Griffin still on the team? Those are some pretty decent defenders but it was really AJ that instilled the mindset that has allowed you guys to be so successful this year.

 

[Phxchris1989]

amare's numbers so far in february:

31 ppg / 14 reb / 1.5 ast / 1.0 blk, 58%fg, 82%ft

that is absolutely eye-popping

and so the question is obvious: can THIS team...with THIS amare added to the WCF team of last year be denied?

they're the best suns team i've ever seen at this point, just need to keep proving it.

If we have a healthy Steve Nash+Amare and they really play like they want to win, then they already have won.