by --- on Tue Oct 24, 2006 11:38 am
Well, they did lose:
Quentin Richardson: 14.9ppg 6.1rpg 2.0apg 1.2spg 0.3bpg | 35.9mpg
Joe Johnson: 17.1ppg 5.1rpg 3.5apg 1.0spg 0.3bpg | 39.5mpg
Amare Stoudemire: 26.0ppg 8.9rpg 1.6apg 1.0spg 1.6bpg | 36.1mpg
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Total Loss: -58.0ppg -20.1rpg -7.1apg -3.2spg -2.2bpg
Thats a big chunk of their team gone. They did get Boris Diaw and Raja Bell, but that is no where near enough to make up for the loss of Johnson, Stoudemire and Richardson. In 05/06 they went 62-20 with those 3 playing, and Nash won the MVP with a statline of 15.5ppg 3.3rpg 11.5 apg, good - but not MVP type numbers because most MVP's are usually high scorers.
However, before Nash arrived in Phoenix, the Suns went 29-53 and were 6th in their division. Therefore, I think despite his stats (which are still very good) the fact that he was the main factor in a change of 33 wins was enough for him to win the MVP. In 05/06, The Suns lost that huge chunk of their team that I showed earlier, and gained Boris Diaw and Raja Bell. Those two players were hardly stars on their respective teams before they went to Phoenix, so things were looking very, very bad for the Suns.
04/05 Stats:
Boris Diaw: 4.8ppg 2.6rpg 2.3apg
Raja Bell: 12.3ppg 3.2rpg 2.6apg
As you can see, thats not a huge improvement over the 3 guys I mentioned earlier. However, Nash just showed how he makes everyone around him better, and the Suns, who most people were projecting to possibly miss the playoffs because of the huge loss, went 54-28. A change of 8 wins, and a playoff appearance as the 2nd seed and went back to the Conference finals. Nash went for 18.8ppg 4.2rpg 10.5apg during the regular season, and went 20.4 3.7rpg 10.2apg. I think that deserves MVP honors because he not only improved himself, but his team that looked like it was heading towards lottery with 3 of their starting 5 gone, had a great record in the regular season and the playoffs, all while he was playing the most important position on the floor - the point guard.