Hasn't Steve Nash proved he can make people better?

[Axel]

Maybe it's just me.. but I'm really getting tired of sports commentators constantly saying "Amare wont fit in when he comes back". Well, hasn't Steve Nash proved already that he can easily incorporate people into the offense, and make them productive? If players like James Jones, Raja Bell, and Boris Diaw can have career years in nearly every statistical category, then why would someone with 1,000 times more skill such as Amare not be able to fit in? Some people say he wont get enough shot attempts.. or it will take away too many from other players. Don't the Suns take more shots than any other team in the league? I find it hard to believe that in that extremely high paced offense that Amare wont find shots, and that other players will not get enough... just my opinion though. I guess we will find out soon enough.

/rant

[J@3]

I think any PG worth their contract can make their teammates better, and by that I mean they distribute the ball to the other players in decent positions. I think anyone who thinks Amare coming back isn't a good thing, or that he can't fit in is an idiot. He can play C, he can run, he can (sort of) rebound... he'll get the ball. Who's going to command his shots? Raja Bell? Boris Diaw?

[fgrep15]

Commentators just need things to say, obviously he's not going to make them worse. Who cares if House and J.Jones don't get shots, it's not like they'll score more efficiently than Amare.

[Matt]

Steve Nahs doesn't make anyone better, he just creates easier scoring opportunities for them.

[Jackal]

So...he makes them better scorers, right?

[Axel]

Steve Nahs doesn't make anyone better, he just creates easier scoring opportunities for them.

Are you just upset that he won the MVP last year, and will likely take it over Chauncey Billups this year?

[Andrew]

There might be a short period of adjustment as Amare settles back in and the Suns accomodate him, but it's not as though he's unfamiliar with playing with Nash and Marion, there's a couple of other familiar faces from last year as well. The notion of his return sending Phoenix crashing and burning seems far-fetched though. It's probably just being thrown out there as a talking point.

[Its_asdf]

Hey, if you can make Tim Thomas look good, you can make anyone look good.

[gifted]

Steve Nahs doesn't make anyone better, he just creates easier scoring opportunities for them.

Well in sense people mean that Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Shaq, etc. make their teammates "look" better. Their teammates have the easiest job in the world by just staying open and hitting the shot, and their stats make them "look" much better.

[fgrep15]

Hey, if you can make Tim Thomas look good, you can make anyone look good.

No, not at all, unless Marbury wouldn't be hated on by everyone right now. Marbury gave TT his highest career scoring average at 15.8 PPG, with some nice percentages too, yet he isn't making everyone look good in NY, though their's other factors relating to it.

[Axel]

Tim Thomas hasn't played in months, give it some time... he'll be averaging 20 ppg before Amare returns.

[fgrep15]

No, not at all, you need minutes to average 20 PPG, minutes that won't be there for TT. Max I see him averaging is 14 PPG.

[Matt]

i wonder where the Suns go from here.....they still have no defense.

[GloveGuy]

Matt speaks the truth.

This takes nothing away from Steve Nash, but the phrase "makes his teammates better" is constantly over-used.

The way I see it, Boris Diaw is still the same player he was last year. It's just that this year, he's playing in a system that gets him easier looks at the basket.

The Suns' system is like a puzzle, containing one large piece [Steve Nash] and smaller pieces, many looking the same.

It's important not to underestimate how contingent Steve Nash is to the puzzle, the offense runs through him

However, the offense is also dependent on athletic big men, three-point shooters, and unselfish players.

But it's important to recognize that one player can't make another player better, just by playing side-by-side to one another. It's the system that these guys play in that allows them to be more efficient. It gets them easier looks. It allows them to play to their strengths.

And bear in mind, I'm not trying to hate on Steve Nash. Very few players could be doing what he's doing right now. He's a perfect fit in the Suns' offensive system.

BTW, Kobe for MVP.

[Andrew]

If the Lakers weren't around .500 and close to being on the bubble as far as the playoffs are concerned, he'd be a stronger candidate. But I think if you were to give him the award at this point, it would be ignoring criteria traditionally used to determine the MVP.