He Be Da mp3 ... Again

For the longest time me and Ali G had something in common. We weren't hearing what Steve Nash was saying. Needless to say, AG and I don't "speak Canada."

Or at least, I didn't then.

Last season Steve Nash being MVP made about as much sense to me a ball bouncing without springs - it was sheer insanity to me. How could I be so blind? What was my reasoning for such unbelief? My case was simple: I wasn't about to hand the NBA's most prestigious individual award to a player with the main argument in his favor being that extremely talented players around him were having success and that his team --- which at the time had the best starting five in basketball --- was winning games. In fact, I had it completely backwards. My view was that Amaré Stoudemire was the reason for Nash's statistical improvement, that the presence of a true low-post player like Stoudemire in Phoenix, as oppose to a jump shooter like Nowitzki in Dallas, was the reason for Nash's increase in assists and shooting percentages. I was thinking the talent around Nash was the reason for his success.

Needless to say I was off the damn deep end. I might as well have been asking why the room isn't bouncing.

Seeing Nash play is like watching a conductor direct a orchestra. He's in control at all times. Regardless of the musicians, he makes sure every instrument is playing the right tune. Even if he isn't the one always doing the playing, you know he's the one making the music.

Nash does everything his team needs him to do on a nightly basis with grace and an incredible subtly and most importantly his team wins with significant regularity. The Canadian bred point guard is having the best scoring season of his career(19.1 per game) and is still managing to lead the league in assists(11.3). But of course Nash isn't about the numbers, however impressive they may be. No, it's the music that counts.

Nearly a year since my very vocal doubts of Nash, I can safely say my Canada has improved to near fluency. I'm hearing Nashy loud and clear and it couldn't sound sweeter.

What exactly am I hearing?

For those of you still in Ali G's English class, let me break it down for you. What I'm hearing is the Phoenix Suns being 30-16(good for first in the Pacific division) minus the presence of Joe Johnson, Quentin RIchardson, and Amaré Stoudemire(for now) that were around for last year's run. What I'm hearing is Steve Nash putting up better numbers than last season despite having considerably less talent around him. What I'm hearing is Nash turning Raja Bell, Leandro Barbosa, Boris Diaw, Eddie House, and James Jones into serious contributors on a first place team. What I'm hearing is Nash making his teammates better in a way no one else can. What I'm hearing is Steve Nash having more effect on a basketball game than any other player in the league.

If that doesn't sound like M-V-P to you, perhaps you've been spending too much time with TNT's most colorful correspondent.

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