Or did he improve his teammates' play only in his 9th season when he started playing in Phoenix. I've been wondering about this question for a while. I don't think any of the Mavs' key players were better with Nash than they have been with Jason Terry as their floor general. It's very puzzling to me for a PG not to elevate his teammates' performance much for years 1 to 8, but then to do so at an MVP level in years 9 and 10. Maybe it's partly the system in Phoenix but I wouldn't buy the claim that it's completely due to the system he's in. There were plenty of players who could run and finish in a fast-tempo offense in Nash's years in Dallas--Josh Howard, Stackhouse, Finley, Dirk (to kick it out for a 3).

[Edited by - Bonn1997 on 03-24-2006 06:14 AM]

The thing is the Dallas players didnt need Nash to be the man or a leader. Phx was all kids or misfits - they needed a leader, someone to "elevate" their game / encourage them.

I agree that personnel has a lot to do with it. Nash and Dirk played a nice 2-man game but Dirk can create his own shot against anyone so he hasn't fallen off any without Nash. Finley was just a flat-out great player who could score on his own as well.

I think in Phoenix he had a couple of finishers in Amare and Marion who really benefitted from Nash's set-ups. Diaw I don't know what to say about because I haven't seen him play that much.

Is it possible that Nash also has been healthier or just improved his game? Possibly. But i think he's just the right guy in the right place at the right time to totally max out his skills, much like Kidd when he arrived in Jersey and had Martin, Jefferson and Kittles to run with.

nash was not that good in dallas i dont care wat anyone says

Posted by Andrew:

He is the perfect fit for the system they are running. Funny how Steph here wants to be a run and gun guy in NY but never bought into it in Phoenix.

I bet Steph didn't want to let go of the ball as early in the possession as D'Antoni likes.

Cuban has been quoted is he miscalculated Nash's abilty when matched with the right coaching system.

ONe can say the same about Marbury. Forget what we know, its what we don't know that makes going forward interesting. Can Marbury do it? AND, can it be done with the current roster?

I don't know.

I do know that the 20 and 8 is overratted is your not winning.

Its not fantasy where you take guys with stats and put it together.

their personalities play a huge part in why Nash works well for his team & Marbury doesn't work for his... if Marbury had a superstar's game, then his teammates might be more agreeable to his primadonna act... if you're gonna act like you're a superstar in the lockerroom, then you have to lead by example & prove it on the floor to gain your teammates' respect... otherwise, be a team player & don't rub people the wrong way...

Nash has become a superstar now because he's gelled perfectly w/his new team in Phoenix... he was still a very good player in DAL, but he's clearly elevated his game & he won all his teammates' respect & admiration in the process... those guys will run through hoops for him at this point because they all know that by doing so, he's going to get them the ball & help them all to raise their games in turn...

in contrast judging from the chemistry problems he's had on every team he's played on, Marbury doesn't give his teammates the same feeling when they're playing alongside him... they don't know whether they're going to get the ball or if he's going to look for his shot first & then toss them some bullet no look pass in traffic while they're not in the best place to make the shot, & then roll his eyes at them when they don't make the shot or mishandle the passes...

simple subtleties of personality, body language & facial expressions can do alot to make someone form an opinion of another person... it's the way people interact... Marbury's always been brought up to think he had to be the man on every team he played for... that's why he can't conform to a team game, & that's why he's a horrible fit for what LB is trying to achieve here.

I think it just illustrates that the downgrading from Nash to Jason Terry isn't so bad, but upgrading from Stephon Marbury to Steve Nash is huge.

For the record, I do think that Nash elevated the play of his teammates in Dallas also. They ran a different kind of offense, so his contributions weren't quite as noticeable. The fact that Dallas was still as good or better had to do with finding two suitable replacements for him, running a different style of offense, Josh Howard, and removing themselves of a cancer to the team (Antoine Walker).

You know you must be doing the damn thang when someone has to go back in your past in an attempt, although feeble, at exposing your "talents."

It's not where you're from, it's where you're AT!

I remember a quote from Dirk saying how he and Nash use to spend countless hours working on there games together in Dallas earlier in therer career.

Guys who work extremely hard with a good attitude usually see great results.

I think everything was getting to routine for Dirk and Nash in Dallas. But when they seperated from each other they got that extra motiviation.

If the knicks or anyone else in the NBA wants to start winning they need a system and they need players that fit that system. And that one stud player to make that system go. Larry Brown wants to have an uptempo team based on there ability to get defensive stops. So we need to bring in guys who shot block but are more talented that "Big Game" and guards with perimeter defense. Hopefully if Larry is truley going to be here for the long haul he can help build the team he wants because its gonna take a while.

to be fair, Stockton was playing alongside the greatest scoring PF of alltime throughout his career, & he was hardly ever injured... Nash has done a hell of a job this year even w/o Amare Stoudamire, who still has along way to go before we can rank him up w/the likes of Karl Malone...

i think Nash deserves all the accolades he's been getting... just my $.02