After watching Steve Nash on Wednesday night this question has to be asked. The Phoenix Suns point guard who's been described as the "sun and the moon and the stars" of the franchise went dim with a 2-11 shooting performance against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Doug Collins did something I've been waiting for teams to do against Nash -- make him prove he can still score. Early in the game they went under the screens and stayed home on the roll man and shooters and gave Nash the space to get his shot off.
Nash recognized this immediately and just like he's always done, took the shots that were given to him. This time, however, the guy who used to TORCH teams who tried this approach fell flat as his jumper that clanged off the front of the rim.
Steve had what he described as, "as bad a game as I've had personally..." 17 minutes, four points, 2-11 shooting, four fouls, six turnovers. It wasn't pretty.
The obvious reaction to this performance is that Nash, 37, has hit the wall and the engine of the Suns' offense has run out of gas.
Not so fast.
Steve Nash has typically used his offseason time to refresh his basketball mind. Instead of spending hours in the gym working on his game like young players do, Nash keeps his body in shape and waits for late summer to start getting his basketball rhythm and shooting touch back.
This year with the lockout it's no surprise his shot is going to be inconsistent at this point in the season.
Maybe we have seen the end of Steve Nash, but it's far too soon to believe that. If in a few weeks Nash still can't string together solid games in three or four out of every five or six nights, then we'll begin to write his basketball obituary.
In the mean time, the Suns have a bigger concern whether Nash is back to form or not -- who else is going to create points on this team? Maybe Michael Redd is the answer.
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