AP reports Steve Nash for MVP

[HabaneroBuck]

Is this a racially-motivated choice? I'm going to go out on a limb and say it: Yes. Steve Nash is nice and the Suns are greatly improved, but give me a break. He wears down, he's a defensive liability, they've learned how to win without him late in the season, his assists are inflated because he's got four or five great shooters on a team whose philosophy is to take a boatload of shots (and score a boatload of points) every game, etc....Again, I'm not going to say he isn't one of the best PG's in the league, but I am not buying the MVP argument.

Guess the voters are tired of just giving it to Shaq or Duncan again like they did to MJ a couple of times....In reality, the concept of the award is stupid. Classic apples and oranges stuff, only with hardware and bonuses involved. "Most Valuable"? Well, I guess you could say LeBron is the most valuable just for the fact that the city would have a meltdown if he was to leave. His "value" is off the charts.

 

[tibor75]

It's not racial, its' just the sexy choice. Of course, Shaq deserves it, but he's won it plenty of times. Just like when MJ would be "snubbed" for somebody else.

 

[OH10]

I believe Shaq has only won the award once, maybe twice. Either way, that shouldn't matter. Jordan should have won the MVP every year he was in the league after '89-'90. And sorry Tibor, but it is the race thing that put Nash over the top in a tight race. He's the sexy choice because he's a novelty to the public and the media - and for whatever reason, that novelty is related to the fact that he's white.

I think it's a tough choice when you consider that the Suns, Spurs, Pistons, and Heat are IMO head and shoulders above the rest of the leage. The Spurs and Pistons were in this position last year, and the Heat/Suns were not. The change? Shaq and Nash, plus the improvements of Stoudamire and Wade.

I would have had the MVP race come down to Duncan, Shaq, and Nash. I would then eliminate Duncan, only because of the injury problems he had at the end of the season. Otherwise, I think Duncan's the MVP. Since it comes down to Nash and Shaq, you have to consider the impact each has on their team and in the game. Nash makes everyone on his team better by running the best offense in basketball and dishing the ball out to some outstanding players - but it's all limited to offense. Nash is a huge liability on defense. Whereas, Shaq has had a large impact on both sides of the court, by being the focus of everyone's defense, which allows the other players on his team to get open looks - and by having such a prescence down low on defense.

Therefore, I think you have to give the award to Shaq.

 

[buckcrazy4]

Nash is deserving of MVP

The Suns have made a 33 game improvement since last season, going from
29-53 to 62-20. Are you kidding me? They lost more than 50 games last year and won more than 60 games this year. That is only the second time it has ever been done. The other time was when Larry Bird joined the Celtics in 1979. That speaks enough volume for the Suns right there. The only major moves the Suns made during the offseason and season were the acquisition of Nash and our beloved Jim Jackson. Jimmy has been crucial for the Suns, but Nash has been the backbone of the team. He has uncanny eyesight on the floor, which is why he dishes out so many assists. The Heat have made quite a turnaround since last year as well. That is mostly due to Shaq, no doubt about it. However, their turnaround has not been as great as the Suns, and therefore the MVP is going to the most deserving of the two, Steve Nash.

 

[BB73]

It's not racial, its' just the sexy choice. Of course, Shaq deserves it, but he's won it plenty of times. Just like when MJ would be "snubbed" for somebody else.

If you consider the 1 regular season award that Shaq (1999-2000 season) has won as 'plenty of times', then your statement has some validity. If not, I think you're confusing Shaq's NBA Finals MVP's with the regular season award.

And the Suns did have a bigger improvement in their record than Miami, but look how the Lakers fell apart without Shaq, while Dallas was just as good without Nash. Of course, they had Kobe's ego mess and Phil Jackson's loss also.

But for everyone that talks about Shaq's dominance on the defensive end, he still needs a lot of work defending the high screen/roll.

It can be argued either way, but I'm happy that Nash won. Their record without him was worse than Miami's record without Shaq, and the West is still tougher than the East. And for style of play, I'd much rather watch the Suns run than watch Shaq shove guys around in the low post.

 

[OH10]

yeah, but you're not accounting also for the addition of Quentin Richardson as well. You can't discount that. You also shouldn't forget that Miami had to give up Lamar Odom and Caron Butler in that trade with the Lakers - so it's not like Shaq was added to an already good team. In reality, outside of Wade and Shaq, that Heat team doesn't have any other really good players like Shawn Marion, Joe Johnson, Q, and Amare Stoudamire. Therefore, I think I just found more reasons why Shaq is the MVP.

he still needs a lot of work defending the high screen/roll

I can't think of too many 300+ lbs. centers that do defend the high screen/roll very well. But it's much less of a problem than the fact that Jeff McInnis torched Nash earlier this year in an 18-point comeback at the Gund. Jeff Friggin' McInnis!!!

 

[BB73]

yeah, but you're not accounting also for the addition of Quentin Richardson as well. You can't discount that. You also shouldn't forget that Miami had to give up Lamar Odom and Caron Butler in that trade with the Lakers - so it's not like Shaq was added to an already good team. In reality, outside of Wade and Shaq, that Heat team doesn't have any other really good players like Shawn Marion, Joe Johnson, Q, and Amare Stoudamire. Therefore, I think I just found more reasons why Shaq is the MVP.

In the paragraph where I compare how teams improved/declined based on personnel changes, do you think that argues for Nash? I pointed out that Dallas didn't decline without Nash, but that the Lakers fell apart without Shaq. That paragraph does nothing but lean toward Shaq as the choice.

And I find your choice of phrases such as 'You can't discount that' and 'You also shouldn't forget' as very confrontational. I'm in a relatively good mood, so I'll leave it at that.

 

[OH10]

I wrote the top part in response to the post above yours, because I hadn't seen your post yet. Then I edited the second part. I'm not trying to be confrontational, I'm just making the argument for Shaq over Nash.

And no, the words aren't confrontational. It's a rebuttal of the argument that "Phoenix had a bigger improvement, and therefore Nash is the MVP." I think the Suns' improvement is extremely relevent, and is why it is a close race, but it's not as if the Suns don't have players, and it's not as if Shaq joined the same Miami team that was in the playoffs last year.

I think your point about the Lakers and the Mavericks is a good point by the way.

 

[HabaneroBuck]

It's kind of confusing when you break it down....but the fact remains that the Suns not only added Nash, but they added the three-point shootout champion (Quentin Richardson), and they had two very young draftees who showed great development this season (Stoudemire and Johnson). Nash is very valuable to that team, but they still win fifty games this year with a decent point, and they have six players on their roster who can legitimately get twenty any night.

I'll agree with Tibor on the "sexy" choice thing. I think he's "sexy" because he's white while running an exciting, uptempo offense. In fact, there was another white point guard a few years ago who put up better numbers than Nash, on teams with equally good win totals as the Suns, but he never really sniffed MVP consideration (one co-MVP in an all-star game was it). He just wasn't appealing to anyone but his fan base:

He averaged 13.1 ppg, 10.5 apg, 2.17 steals pg, 2.82 turnovers, and had a 51.5 fg % OVER 19 SEASONS in the NBA.

Steve Nash averaged 15.5 ppg, 11.5 apg, 0.99 steals pg, 3.27 turnovers, and had a 50.2 fg % in one season, and he wins MVP.

Somewhere, John Stockton is going ....

 

[WoodyWorshiper]

I've always felt that the major Sports leagues should recognize both a "Most Valuable Player" as well as a "Player of the Year." In baseball, you have the MVP and the Cy Young. The argument has always been that a pitcher should never be awarded the "MVP" simply due to the fact that the greatest only contribute in about 1/4 or less of their teams games,(many more for relievers however) and that the "Cy Young" is basically the pitchers equivalent to the "MVP." The argument about "Most Valuable" is completely subjective and open to any individuals perception of what the word "valuable" means. A "Player of the Year" award in baseball could be done regardless of the guys position, just vote for who had the best individual season. In regards to the Nash vs. O'Neal situation, let the arguing go on about "Valuable" and you'll get a real close vote between the two. Now, introduce the "Player of the Year" award and it could go to a variety of players, and would to me be a much more prestigious honor. And, to add more to it, let the players themselves vote on it.

 

[jlb1705]

I guess now's a good time to be a Canadian guy named Nash.

 

[OSUsushichic]

Blame Canada!

I didn't realize that no other non-Americans have received MVP....

Nash becomes first non-American to claim MVP honors

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian Steve Nash of the
Phoenix Suns was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player for the 2004-05 season on Sunday, edging out Miami Heats Shaquille O'Neal.

The 6-foot 3-inch point guard, who returned this season to Phoenix where he spent the first two years of his career, became the first non-American to earn the league's most prestigious individual honor.

He also became the first point guard to win the award since Magic Johnson in 1990.

In one of the closest votes for MVP honors, Nash received 65 first place votes and 1,066 points in balloting carried out by sportswriters in the United States and Canada while O'Neal totaled 58 first place and 1,032 points.

Dirk Nowitzki of the
Dallas Mavericks was a distant third with 349 points.

"I understand the people of Canada are fired up and that's great," said Nash. "I'm happy they're excited.

"There's no better feeling to make your whole country proud."

After six seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, Nash signed a five-year, $65-million deal with Phoenix and transformed the Suns into a championship contender and the NBA's most explosive and entertaining team, averaging over 110 points a game.

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

Is this a racially-motivated choice? I'm going to go out on a limb and say it: Yes. Steve Nash is nice and the Suns are greatly improved, but give me a break. He wears down, he's a defensive liability, they've learned how to win without him late in the season, his assists are inflated because he's got four or five great shooters on a team whose philosophy is to take a boatload of shots (and score a boatload of points) every game, etc...

Uh, didn't they team make something like a 40-something game turnaround this season? The team sucked without Nash, and now simply by adding Nash to essentially the exact same team, they are one of the best teams in the league. Nash should've got the award whether his skin was ebony black and he had a two-foot 'fro.

Then again, if he didn't win the award, it would've been nationalistic conspiracy against a Canuck.

 

[tibor75]

I didn't realize that no other non-Americans have received MVP....

Nash becomes first non-American to claim MVP honors.

I guess the NBA has a pretty loose definition of "American"

1993-94 - Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets

 

[BB73]

I guess the NBA has a pretty loose definition of "American"

1993-94 - Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets

Olajuwon became a U.S. citizen in 1993, prior to winning the award. I'm willing to call citizens Americans.