HoopWatch

Steve Nash’s shoulder injury was a blessing-in-disguise.

That injury that sidelined him for four games solidifies his bid for a third straight MVP plum, a feat that he would share with Legends Larry Bird and Wilt Chamberlain. His Phoenix Suns lost three of four games since Nash was sidelined. And they barely won the first one against Portland. It was an overtime win, and a narrow one.

With Nash back in the line-up against the Los Angeles Clippers, he wasted no time in orchestrating plays and restoring order in the Suns offense. Phoenix thrives on their run-and-gun style, and they would love to score in the first eight seconds of the shot clock. An interesting stat was offered in the final eight minute mark of this game. Suns scored 43 points when they make a shot within eight seconds of the clock, and produced only 18 after the next eight. And the maestro of those plays is Steve Nash, the reigning two-time NBA MVP.

Nash scored seven points and had six assists in the first six minutes of the game. This led to a double-digit lead by the end of the first canto, and the Suns would not relinquish that lead till the end of the game. Nash scored a total of 13 points and dished out 12 assists in just 28 minutes for a 115-90 Suns victory.

Tonight, the Suns will face the Boston Celtics, and I expect another rout. That’s how important Nash is to the Suns. Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire are not the same without him. Their fluidity is lost without him. I saw them having fun against the Clippers. Rarely used forward Pat Burke even had a career-high 10 rebounds.

There’s a lot of talk going on on Dirk Nowitzki being this year’s MVP. But I still believe Nash is more valuable to Phoenix than Dirk is to Dallas. (Sorry Dirk!) He deserves to win the award more than the past two seasons. (pic courtesy of yahoonba)