The expected April decline of Steve Nash

I am a bit worried by the last few games played by Steve Nash.

He looked tired and I am afraid his back is starting once again to feel the pressure of playing 35 minutes each night.

The long discussed inability of the Suns coaching staff to develop a decent back up to Nash is taking its toll, as usual in April. Just check his Split Stats on ESPN.

Nash is averaging 13.2 points, 11 assists and shooting a season low 35 percent from the field. This decline in production has already happened in 2005-06 and 2004-05 and that means 3 of Nash 4 seasons with the Suns.

With the Suns more or less locked in 6th place in the West, why not rest Nash for a week?

Go Suns !

PG-SG Combo Power Ranking

Last night's game against the Magic showed how great Steve Nash and Raja Bell are as a PG-SG combination. So while I was watching the game I thought about where would I rank them in a ideal PG-SG (power) ranking.
I have tried to rank the ten best starting PG-SG combination right now. Starting (right now) means no Parker-Ginobili as long as Manu comes off the bench and no Gilbert Arenas or Mike Bibby as only active players have been taken into consideration. I have indeed included LeBron as he's just day-to-day.

Here's my PG-SG Combo Power Ranking. Each player is followed by his current avg. in points, rebounds and assists. (PPG, RPG, APG - NO DECIMALS). Stats as of Sunday, December 2nd, 2007.

1. Detroit - C. Billups (16, 2, 7), R. Hamilton (16, 3, 4)

2. Dallas - D. Harris (15, 3, 5), J. Terry (17, 2, 3)

3. Milwaukee - M. Williams (14, 3, 7), M. Redd (23, 5, 3)

4. Chicago - K. Heinrich (10, 2, 5), B. Gordon (19, 4, 2)

5. New Jersey - J. Kidd (11, 8, 10), V. Carter (18, 5, 4)

6. LA Lakers - K. Bryant (27, 6, 4), D. Fisher (11, 2, 3)

7. Golden State - M. Ellis (16, 3, 2) B. Davis (23, 5, 8)

8. Cleveland - D. Gibson (12, 2, 3), L. James (30, 7, 8)

9. Phoenix - S. Nash (18, 3, 11), R. Bell (10, 3, 2). Great Combination of defense, playmaking and shooting...if you could combine the offensive side of Nash with the defensive side of Bell you would make the greatest guard to ever play the game

10. Miami - J. Williams (9, 2, 5), D. Wade (19, 3, 4)

11. Charlotte - J. Richardson (17, 5, 2), R. Felton (16, 3, 7)
12. Houston - T. McGrady (25, 5, 5), R. Alston (8, 3, 4)

13. New York - S. Marbury (14, 2, 5), J. Crawford (16, 2, 4)
14. Denver - A. Iverson (23, 3, 7), A. Carter (7, 3, 5)

15. Utah - R. Brewer (13, 2, 2), D. Williams (19, 3, 8)

16. San Antonio - T. Parker (20, 3, 7), M. Finley (7, 2, 1). With Manu Ginobili (19, 4, 4) starting the Spurs' duo would be in the top five.

17. Indiana - M. Dunleavy (16, 5, 2), J. Tinsley (14, 4, 8)

18. New Orleans - C. Paul (19, 4, 10), M. Peterson (9, 3, 1)

19. Boston - R. Rondo (8, 3, 5), R. Allen (20, 4, 3)

20. Toronto - J. Calderon (9, 2, 7) or TJ Ford (13, 2, 7) and A. Parker (11, 4, 1)

21. Seattle - K. Durant (19, 4, 2), D West (7, 2, 3) or Watson (7, 2, 6).
22. Memphis - D. Staudamire (7, 2, 4), M. Miller (14, 7, 3)

23. LA Clippers - C. Maggette (20, 6, 2), B. Knight (4, 1, 4). Not much better if you count S. Cassell (13, 2, 4) at PG

24. Atlanta - A. Johnson (4, 2, 3), J. Johnson (22, 3, 5)

25. Philadelphia - A. Miller (14, 4, 4), W. Green (11, 3, 2)

26. Orlando - J. Nelson (12, 4, 5), K. Bogans (9, 4, 1)

27. Portland - S. Blake (5, 2, 5), B. Roy (16, 3, 4)

28. Sacramento - B. Udrich (14, 3, 4) K. Martin (24, 5, 2)

29. Minnesota - S. Telfair (9, 2, 4), C. Brewer (4, 2, 1). Not much better with Marko Jaric in the line-up.

30. Washington - A. Daniels (7, 3, 4), D. Stevenson (7, 3, 2).They're missing G. Arenas (22, 4, 5) a lot.

Go Suns !