Nash is Out of Gas

[goldseraph]

I've been thinking this the whole series, but this night was more evident than ever - Nash appears to be largely spent, he seems to be moving at about 70% max of his normal self. Tonight he was 3-11 FG, 0-2 from 3, 8 total points in 40 minutes. He seemed to be deferring much more than usual to Diaw and Barbosa. Is there anything we can do to revitalize Steve, or has our lack of depth finally caught up with us?

 

[Chris_Sanders]

I've been thinking this the whole series, but this night was more evident than ever - Nash appears to be largely spent, he seems to be moving at about 70% max of his normal self. Tonight he was 3-11 FG, 0-2 from 3, 8 total points in 40 minutes. He seemed to be deferring much more than usual to Diaw and Barbosa. Is there anything we can do to revitalize Steve, or has our lack of depth finally caught up with us?

Eddie House's complete ineffectiveness has caught up with us. Nash is being pounded in the post and he gets too little rest during the game.

 

[Chaplin]

I've been thinking this the whole series, but this night was more evident than ever - Nash appears to be largely spent, he seems to be moving at about 70% max of his normal self. Tonight he was 3-11 FG, 0-2 from 3, 8 total points in 40 minutes. He seemed to be deferring much more than usual to Diaw and Barbosa. Is there anything we can do to revitalize Steve, or has our lack of depth finally caught up with us?

That's an alarmist point of view. Tiredness might have something to do with it, but very little. He's being defensed differently and making some decisions that aren't the norm. He's passing very well (tonight had one of the best passes he's EVER made in his career), but the guys aren't finishing. If we would hit even 5% more 3 pointers, this post wouldn't even exist.

 

[SirStefan32]

He looks tired, but I also think that Clippers are doing a very good job of defending him. Every time he tries to drive, they're in front of him, and when he tries to pull up for a jumper, they're right in his face.

 

[Nasser22]

It's because we don't have a real point guard on the bench and it really hurts because Nash has those back problems. If we win game 5 that will be big. There's a 4-day rest between Game 6 and 7 if it gets there. I do think it's part of him being tired and old but he just doesen't match up well with those guards, they are killing him.

 

[goldseraph]

That's an alarmist point of view. Tiredness might have something to do with it, but very little. He's being defensed differently and making some decisions that aren't the norm. He's passing very well (tonight had one of the best passes he's EVER made in his career), but the guys aren't finishing. If we would hit even 5% more 3 pointers, this post wouldn't even exist.

How can you say very little? He's hardly been getting any rest lately, and it's obvious in the 2nd halfs of the last few games. You can still pass tired, he's not penetrating or creating offense for himself , getting to the FT line etc.

 

[Chaplin]

How can you say very little? He's hardly been getting any rest lately, and it's obvious in the 2nd halfs of the last few games. You can still pass tired, he's not penetrating or creating offense for himself , getting to the FT line etc.

That's crap. He's ALWAYS penetrating, but he's having problems with the way that the Clippers are defending him. On some possessions, he doesn't even try to run--call that tiredness if you want, but it's not--it's laziness, mostly because he's just not getting any help. He's trying like crazy to get guys going, but they're just not doing it. And when that happens, the Clips defend Nash a lot differently, which makes it doubly difficult for him to get anything going offensively.

Tiredness is a cop-out.

 

[HooverDam]

Nash is fine, he doesnt look tired to me. The vast majority of his passes have been perfect. How many wide open threes have we missed? How many soft layups by our bigs have rolled out? The Suns arent finishing. They MUST go strong to the hoop more. The Clippers are fouling machines, lets get them in foul trouble early and let out good FT shooting take over.

 

[Nasser22]

Like goldseraph said, you can still pass when you're tired. That doesen't have much affect on passing.

 

[Nash]

Nash looked solid at the start of the 2nd qtr. At the end of the game he looked totally frazzled though. And Tim Thomas rimmed out all his 3 point attempts IIRC.

The Clips were all over Nash during the game. Interesting to hear Cassell refer to Nash as 'Rook' in the post game interview when he mentioned how dangerous Nash could be. Asked why he called him that, he said "Oh, he will always be Rook to me" and smiled.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

i disagree with all of you. cheese and i were at the game. he was turning down open shots. shots that he wouldn't hesitate to take in any prior game. particularly when the rest of the team is not functioning well. it became obvious to us pretty early on that something was going on. he KNEW he didn't have his shot and thus passed up on it. i think it's his back. he was not steve nash tonight.

that said, MAN was that tim thomas 3 close! sooooooooo close. that would have sent the clips reeling. i have no doubt.

also, such a shame to waste raja's incredible performance!

finally, boris had a nice game, but damnit, he needs to get meaner. too many missed layups again. and the wide open dunk that he passed up for a pass to tim thomas for a three in the corner? when we're not hitting our threes?!? and we were closing the gap! that pass pissed me off.

oh, and speaking of pissing me off . . . shawn marion.

 

[Gaddabout]

Nash's shot didn't look good in Game 3 and he was passing them up in Game 4. The announcers assume it's because Shawn Livingston is guarding him, but I've seen Nash shoot over 7-footers. He hit that game-winner over Maggette.

Nash may get winded on occasion (who doesn't when you play 40 a game?), but he doesn't get frazzled or weak legs from exhaustion. He does, however, get passive when his back is inflamed. I'm almost positive his back has been an issue the past two games. We would never know that, though, because it's not information the Suns or Nash shareds with the public.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

oh, and speaking of pissing me off . . . shawn marion.

LOL the Usual Suspect.

How legit was his third foul because it looked like nothing to me.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

LOL the Usual Suspect.

How legit was his third foul because it looked like nothing to me.

though the others were legit, that one was questionable. but it was still in the realm of reality.

what's amazing to me (and cheese) are the feet shuffling and extra steps they allow brand. they're obvious. cheese and i would yell "travelling!" in tandem over and over again. the "laker fan" sitting in front of us turned around laughing and asked if a shot by raja was a 2 or 3 b/c he said, "you two see everything!" we're pretty vocal at the game. and amazingly enough, not in an obnoxious way. we just pretty much do the equivalent of play by play and color w/o realizing it. the scary thing is, we are almost always in sync. it'd be scary if we were twins instead of just brothers.

i still can't get over the dude in a clips jersey pointing to the lakers' banners . . . wow.

 

[Cheesebeef]

i still can't get over the dude in a clips jersey pointing to the lakers' banners . . . wow.

seriously - the saddest thing I've EVER seen from any fan in my entire life. Calling franchise scoreboard FOR ANOTHER FRANCHISE?

I will NEVER get over thiunking how pathetic that guy was after that.

And Chris - you can LOL all you want - but it's not like there's no reason Shawn ain't "the usual suspect" - it's what happens a player consistently fails to live up to his own averages in the playoffs.

Still wondering if there's any word on Nash's health status. The guy didn't look like Nash at all tonight or in the last game, or the game previous for that matter, but really bad in LA.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Cheese the LOL is because it is sadly true

He is becoming the Usual Suspect. At least tonight there were a bunch of others in the lineup as well.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Cheese the LOL is because it is sadly true

He is becoming the Usual Suspect. At least tonight there were a bunch of others in the lineup as well.

ah - gotcha.... I got your meanign lost in translation there.

This entire series hinges on one game - Game 5 - the way I see it, whoever wins takes the series. I f we win, we can afford to have a littl eletdowna nd lose game 6 and then get some MUCH NEEDED rest with 4 days before Game 7 at home where the hosue will rock.

We lose - we're down in the series, and again - with only one day in between games, we're still spent and we lose to the Clips in 6.

 

[Chaplin]

One thing to look for is the 3-second non-call. I thought I saw it not called on Brand and Livingston at least once a piece, and that was only when I was looking.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

One thing to look for is the 3-second non-call. I thought I saw it not called on Brand and Livingston at least once a piece, and that was only when I was looking.

yeah, but honestly, that one goes both ways. the clips fans in front of us were screaming it a couple times for the suns, so i started paying attention to that as well and they were right. it's just not a call that happens often.

 

[Joe Mama]

I love both of these guys, but Nash and especially Diaw are driving me crazy when they pass up layup/foul opportunities over and over. Any time there's a clipper anywhere near the basket they passed the ball to the perimeter.

Nash looks either exhausted or injured to me. All of his shots are short.

Joe

 

[Cheesebeef]

I love both of these guys, but Nash and especially Diaw are driving me crazy when they pass up layup/foul opportunities over and over. Any time there's a clipper anywhere near the basket they passed the ball to the perimeter.

Nash looks either exhausted or injured to me. All of his shots are short.

Joe

Diaw pissed me off the most at the end of the game when he had a dunk or a certain foul on Brand and he kicked it to TT for a horrible 3. But - Diaw did play better than anyone besides Raja tonight, so you can't bang him too much and hopefully as he progresses, he can shed whatever that instinct is - selflessness or frogness - which ever one it is, Amare will need to beat it out of him, he's too talented not to finish those plays, especially when we're not hitting 3s.

 

[nowagimp]

Nash's shot didn't look good in Game 3 and he was passing them up in Game 4. The announcers assume it's because Shawn Livingston is guarding him, but I've seen Nash shoot over 7-footers. He hit that game-winner over Maggette.

Nash may get winded on occasion (who doesn't when you play 40 a game?), but he doesn't get frazzled or weak legs from exhaustion. He does, however, get passive when his back is inflamed. I'm almost positive his back has been an issue the past two games. We would never know that, though, because it's not information the Suns or Nash shareds with the public.

Do any of you guys remember how Nash's hamstring and then his ankle slowed him down at the end of the regular season. Almost any defender could guard him then. Remember the recent sprain, how he came out next game and played great for the MVP trophy presentation, you know he had to do that. Since then, he looks to me like he has limited ability to cut, accelerate off the dribble. He gets a big defender on the switch and doesnt take advantage?? He holds the ball a little and passes off. Thats not steve Nash the MVP. His -wide open- that is, undefended outside shot appears off. Funny how a bum ankle just takes the shot with it. Thats your "great clipper defense", a bum ankle. And now D"Antoni only plays 7 deep if JR plays, otherwise 6 deep. Just who is resting here??? Everyone is playing 40+ min and banging with bigger opponents. This physical banging for 40+ minutes will take its toll, period. Maybe the suns take the clippers, but then the Mavs will be waiting for revenge, with their full complement of players. If the suns do win, KT's return from 12 weeks of realtive inactivity will not be to his mid season form, either.

 

[Hoopy Dunkalot]

Glad he's gone...

This is why Cuban didn't pay him the long contract. They knew that in a few seasons time he would be hurtin bad. Plus, he fades about now. GL.

 

[boisesuns]

This is why Cuban didn't pay him the long contract. They knew that in a few seasons time he would be hurtin bad. Plus, he fades about now. GL.

 

[jibikao]

This is why Cuban didn't pay him the long contract. They knew that in a few seasons time he would be hurtin bad. Plus, he fades about now. GL.

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