Harvey: Poor Steve? Trend of Phoenix's lovable loser

[Amuseddaysleeper]

Buck Harvey: Poor Steve? Trend of Phoenix's lovable loser

Web Posted: 04/23/2008 01:09 AM CDT


San Antonio Express-News

Steve Nash will be the victim again, and that's not all bad. He's good at it.

He's the unlucky No. 13 who endured the bloody nose, the Bowen knee and the Horry hip-check. He had to suffer last year's suspension that cost him two teammates, as well as a decade of losses to the Spurs, first out of Dallas and later Phoenix.

Tuesday will add to that. He lost, but look at his numbers. Can't the guy get a break?

But there are other numbers, such as in the third quarter. Then, with the Suns in the lead, with Nash on the floor, with the two-time MVP in control, the Suns came apart and spit up another chance.

Then, again, Nash was the victim.


Nash won't get blamed the way, say, Tracy McGrady does. Nash is small and Canadian and a nice guy. He is also a friend of the planet; this week, he introduced a line of sneakers made from recycled materials.

Besides, he finished with 23 points and 10 assists Tuesday, and it's far easier to point at other Suns who failed. Leandro Barbosa, continuing what he did a year ago against the Spurs, missed all seven of his shots.

Phoenix also kept going to Boris Diaw, and he kept coming up with little. One memorable post-up was against his French buddy, Tony Parker, and Parker scrapped and caused a turnover.

Parker did a few other things, too, such as lead the Spurs with 32 points. He also sprinted as the in-seven-seconds-or-less Suns were supposed to.

The stat of the night: The Spurs ended with 23 fast-break points and the Suns just four.

There was a time Nash would have been the one with a quick dribble and bullet pass. That's how he won everyone over. He ran the most entertaining offense in pro basketball.

He impressed the crowd, too, when he scored 31 in the bloody-nose game last year. But it's that perception — with him as the victim — that makes people forget what else happened last year.

Such as Game 5. Then, with both Amare Stoudemire and Diaw suspended, the Suns took a nine-point lead into the fourth quarter on the Spurs and lost by three.

Poor Steve? He was 6 of 19 with three turnovers.

In Game 6 last year, the Suns had no excuses. Stoudemire and Diaw were back and fresher than anyone in the series, and Robert Horry was still suspended.

Stoudemire held up. He finished with 38 points, similar to Tuesday's 33.

Nash had his moments on his way to 14 assists. Once, he not only went behind his back but Tim Duncan's, too, while whipping a pass to Stoudemire for a dunk and three-point play.

But he mixed in five turnovers, and he was no match then for Parker and Manu Ginobili. Then, a year ago, Parker went for 30 and Ginobili for 33.

Saturday's opener was no different, as Nash made just 9 of 20, albeit with one perfect detail. Playing the role of the victim again, Nash was still recovering from the flu.

Still, Parker and Ginobili combined for 50 in that one, then they followed for another 61 on Tuesday night. Given this trend, exactly who has been the best guard on the floor?

It's a toss-up, all right. Either Parker or Ginobili.

Nash came back with some plays to pull the Suns close late in the fourth quarter Tuesday. But that third quarter should hang on Nash more than on any Suns player.

Then, Phoenix came out with a seven-point lead and promptly made one of a dozen shots. Nash threw in the one, a tough fade.

But he also dribbled the basketball off one of his recycled sneakers, and he failed at running an offense and setting up scorers. One particularly awful attempt was a behind-the-back pass to Stoudemire that became a turnover.

Afterward Mike D'Antoni said, "We looked like we panicked," and the "we" is the responsibility of the point guard. A veteran such as Nash, a great player such as Nash, is supposed to assume control in these tense playoff moments.

Instead, Parker did to Nash what Chris Paul has done to another aging point guard, Jason Kidd.

Nash goes back to Phoenix now with a chance to change that, and he might. He still shows signs of being as good as his reputation.

But since Horry bumped Nash into the scorer's table a year ago, the victim has been victimized. Nash has lost four consecutive playoff games to the Spurs.


(Hopefully that article doesn't piss off Nash the way an SA Express article pissed off Kobe after game 2 and allowed spurred the Lakers to win games 3 and 4 back in 2003)

[Amuseddaysleeper]

well, maybe the didn't "rip" on him but they're definitely calling him out like most newspapers never do.

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

I thought that was a bad choice for an article

that can motivate Steve Nash.

Also, if anything is a weakness of the Suns its their bench, and Diaw and Barbosa disappearing.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

Diaw did great in the first half (as did his whole team) but going to him 5 times in the fourth quarter was silly.


I understand Mike D wanting to exploit the mismatch, but it completely backfired.

[xcoriate]

Fuck that. Steve Nash scares the shit out of me.

If I was a suns fan I wouldn't blame shit on him. When McGrady stinks up game 7's he is liable to be called out. Nash is always massive down the stretch.

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

Fuck that. Steve Nash scares the shit out of me.

If I was a suns fan I wouldn't blame shit on him. When McGrady stinks up game 7's he is liable to be called out. Nash is always massive down the stretch.

Yup, that's why i thought Harvey's choice to go after Nash was kinda weak.
Nash went down swinging last year.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

As I mentioned at the end of the article, it's the type of bulletin board material Kobe used back in 2003.

[MannyIsGod]

Blah Blah

Wake me when Nash learns how to play a lick of defense.

Then I'll overrate the guy with the rest of the world

[hitmanyr2k]

What a dumb article. Wait until the series is over to trash Nash lol. That is indeed bulletin board material. Yeah, Nash doesn't scare anyone on defense but he can take over a game with his deadeye shooting when motivated.

[timvp]

Isn't this the same Buck Harvey who picked the Suns to win last year? It's pretty lame being a newspaper bully just because you happen to cover the defending champions. Nash was lights out in Game 2 for a large portion of it despite having both Bowen and Parker draped all over him.

[carina_gino20]

The title alone has to motivate Nash if he sees this. No one likes being called a loser.

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

What a dumb article. Wait until the series is over to trash Nash lol.
Man, that's what I was thinking too...way too premature to be calling out the guy, when the Suns aren't even out of the series yet. Really, really stupid article to write up.

[WalterBenitez]

For the record, Steve Nash is a monster player, he's great, even in Suns uniform.

[DarrinS]

I found this article to be in bad taste.


Why not call out Amare for disappearing in the 3rd quarter? Why not call out D'Antoni for being a complete dumbass? Barbosa? Bueller?


That team wouldn't be squat without Steve muthafuckin Nash!

[angel_luv]

(Hopefully that article doesn't piss off Nash the way an SA Express article pissed off Kobe after game 2 and allowed spurred the Lakers to win games 3 and 4 back in 2003)

I thought the same thing.
While reading the article I was like, " Buck, don't anger it!"

:lol

Now if Buck had wanted to take another go at Shaq, I would have had no objection to that.

[phyzik]

In the immortal Words of Red Foreman....

What a Dumbass.

My curiosity is getting the better of me though.... I wonder what Suns fans would say if there was a similar article about Tony Parker or Manu Ginobili.

[MajorMike]

I think Nash is a great player; however I found this article to be spot on. You all are doing it yourselves - sticking up for Steve Nash. He is the MVP of that team and the league and he can't come up with anything better? Poor Stevie, he never gets a break. Those big bad mean Spurs won't let him win. Please. Real Champions find a way to will their team to victory (i.e. Timmy's 3) not sit around and be sad they can't get it done.

Nash is a real nice PG and may be one of the toughest SOBs out there, but he does not have the heart of a Champion. As the leader of that team, therefore he fails them. Plain and simple.

[remingtonbo2001]

My curiosity is getting the better of me though.... I wonder what Suns fans would say if there was a similar article about Tony Parker or Manu Ginobili.

Let's not find out.

[ancestron]

I like it when Bill Walton calls him "Little Stevie"

[some_user86]

I think Nash is a great player; however I found this article to be spot on. You all are doing it yourselves - sticking up for Steve Nash. He is the MVP of that team and the league and he can't come up with anything better? Poor Stevie, he never gets a break. Those big bad mean Spurs won't let him win. Please. Real Champions find a way to will their team to victory (i.e. Timmy's 3) not sit around and be sad they can't get it done.

Nash is a real nice PG and may be one of the toughest SOBs out there, but he does not have the heart of a Champion. As the leader of that team, therefore he fails them. Plain and simple.

That's crap. His success on the Suns teams have been thwarted primarily by poor coaching skills.

[1Parker1]

Here's a question. What would happen to the Suns if you replaced CP3 with Nash? Would they be the same, better, worse?

[angel_luv]

CP3 like Nash is a great player. But CP3 would have the same crew to work with as Nash does so I don't know that he could be any more effective.

[degenerate_gambler]

That's crap. His success on the Suns teams have been thwarted primarily by poor coaching skills.


screw nash..

[Extra Stout]

Steve Nash historically has been the only player on the Phoenix roster with any heart whatsoever. He has a long and storied history of singlehandedly keeping the Suns in games in the fourth quarter. He is so consistent in doing so that we stop noticing it.

Does he ever miss an open 3? Does he ever miss that turnaround jumper in the lane? How many passes at impossible angles while double-teamed on the baseline does he make to Stoudemire for easy dunks?

Didn't he, just three days ago, hit a 3-pointer every bit as ridiculous as Duncan's, that is forgotten only because Ginobili's game-winning layup immediately followed?

Nash may suck at defense, but belittling him as a "victim"... well, timvp had it right. Harvey is playing newspaper bully. Thanks, dumbass, for lighting a fire under a warrior. We can now look forward to Nash putting up 30 points and 20assists in Game 3.

[Spurminator]

Steve Nash is awesome. Looking at the box score after Game 1, I was surprised he had missed any shots at all. Every time he shoots I expect the ball to go in. He's a badass, the Spurs are just the better team. I don't think Nash (or any player for that matter) should be ripped for failing to beat a better team.

But like most sports writers and analysts have done in the past 10 years, Harvey has chosen to focus on the negative - to play up perceived "failure" - instead of playing up the winner's greatness. With only a few exceptions, post game coverage has devolved into dissecting how the loser lost rather than how the winner won. You'd think you could get a column on the Spurs from one of their local writers after a win, but maybe Harvey is applying for ESPN.

[MajorMike]

If the Spurs had never won it all, but Duncan had 2 MVPs and all these All Star games and 1st team NBAs and 1st Team Defenses.... who's fault would it be? Who would the blame be placed on?

Do we blame bad coaching for TMac not getting out of 1st round?

Do we blame bad coaching and poor team mates for Ewing, Malone, Stockton?

Again... excuses. He's a rugged little canuk, so everyone feels sorry for him.

Leave your man-crushes at the door. If Nash can't get fired up after the last 2 years then one stupid article isn't going to do it.

[thispego]

uh yeah, of the 7 suns players that see any pt and coach dan, Nash is last on the list of reasons they lose to us

[Mark in Austin]

Buck Harvey has written too many good columns over the years for me to call him an idiot, but this was a bad choice to write this column now. IF the Spurs win the series and the same trends continue, THEN write this. But I think the premise is entirely incorrect, and will be even if the Spurs beat the Suns this year.

Phoenix was a joke before Nash got there - he's the player that made that team as good as they are. Nash has never played the victim card - when Marion, or D"Antoni, or Sarver have bitched or cried about things, Nash has always been a man, taken responsibility, and given credit to the other team when it was due.

Nash as a victim? Only in your eyes, Bucko.

[Don Quixote]

I thought the same thing.
While reading the article I was like, " Buck, don't anger it!"

:lol

Yes, it would not be a good idea to anger "it." :eyebrows

[Strike]

Good article, in my opinion.

:flag:

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Isn't this the same Buck Harvey who picked the Suns to win last year? It's pretty lame being a newspaper bully just because you happen to cover the defending champions. Nash was lights out in Game 2 for a large portion of it despite having both Bowen and Parker draped all over him.

This was a little premature and makes good bulletin board material. But if you really want to see the E-N dumbass of the day, go read Finger's article about how this series is already over.

[bdictjames]

I thought Harvey was better than McDonald, I guess this just proves me wrong.

This is a classless post by a writer from San Antonio. WTF.

[TDfan2007]

Buch Harvey just wrote one of the most inane and stupid articles I've ever read...about sports at least. That one was pretty bad.

Someone tell him that Amare and Diaw were the ones who pissed away the game for PHX in game 2, not Nash. Nash is an incredible offensive talent and is NOT the reason for Phoenix's struggles.

[Jeremy]

Thanks for posting this article and referencing the other one, guys. I'll see what I can do to help get these into Nash's hands. :lol

[DAF86]

Nash is great, that's all I have to say.

P.S: And he isn't such a defensive liability like everyone thinks.

P.S/2: SA journalists need to stop acting so cocky and realize that this series isn't over yet.

[Manudona]

Nash is great, that's all I have to say.

P.S: And he isn't such a defensive liability like everyone thinks.

P.S/2: SA journalists need to stop acting so cocky and realize that this series isn't over yet.

I agree.

[5ToolMan]

The responce to Buck's article demonstrate exactly what he called Nash out for. He get continual praise for the good he brings. And gets a clean pass for his liabilities that contribute to the Suns failure.

Nash was supposed to guard Tony, who was busy destroying the Suns in the paint again. Nash was supposed to be leading their "fast break" attack that Tony and the "old slow" Spurs destroyed at a clip of 24 - 4.

If Nash, or any athlete for that matter, needs a sports hack to motivate them, they are a victim in waiting. Against the Spurs, Nash won't have to wait long ... again.

[Spurminator]

I'm betting after tonight Nash isn't going to be getting much of a clean pass.

[PlayoffEx-static]

About three minutes into the game tonight, there was a loose ball rolling on the floor after a Spurs shot. Steve Nash allowed Kurt Thomas to bend at the knees and gently scoop it up. I used to think he was just bad at defense, but I've come to the conclusion that if Steve Nash isn't dribbling the ball, he's pretty much worthless to his team.

Later in the half, Thomas dove for a loose ball, and got a TO. Net effect of those two different levels of hustle: +4 Spurs points.

[Capt Bringdown]

Nash's greatness is overestimated because the entire system is built around him doing what he does without him playing a scrap of defense. Sometimes he does appear to be a force of nature on offense, but he doesn't and can't play ball on the other end of the court.

Look where it's got 'em: nowheresville. OK, so he gets the admiration of casual fans and fanboy sportswriters. I'll take the rings.

[degenerate_gambler]

Let's bump this up...Buck was right on the money.

Nash...nice 4th qtr...how many turnovers did you have Mr. MVP? Just a one dimensional player whose decision making at crunch time is abysmal.

O-V-E-R-R-A-T-E-D...clap, clap...clap, clap, clap.

[Killakobe81]

Let's be honest Nash looked OLD!!!! he made several key TO's and Bowen rendered him ineffective most of the series ...he is the 2-time MVP!! (even though BOTH years they should of went to Kobe or LBJ)
I dont question his heart or the fact he is a clutch open shooter BUT he was outplayed by TP and it wasnt just BOWEN ...Parker played him in pots and did a much better job ...NAsh NEVER gaurds Parker ...
Nash is heading in to the JKidd territory still a HOF in spots but no longer able to dominate a series ...

[bigfan]

Nash played like crap during this series. How bout that fake look of innocence and crying to the ref after he missed the inbound pass in game 5? More playacting just like last year with Horry. Horry didnt bump him that hard, it was all playacting. They guy is good but for certain on the downward slide, just like Jason Kidd.

[timvp]

I'm betting after tonight Nash isn't going to be getting much of a clean pass.Nash will get out clean. He was the number one reason why the Suns lost this series (even above D'Antoni) yet Nash's shortcoming will be ignored.

[degenerate_gambler]

Nash will get out clean. He was the number one reason why the Suns lost this series (even above D'Antoni) yet Nash's shortcoming will be ignored.


of course he will...

if nowitzki had played like nash did last night and essentially for the whole series...they'd be ready to string him up by his ears.


oh wait, i forgot about the golden state series last year..