PHOENIX – Isiah Thomas has enough to worry about these days, so it may be nitpicking to come down on one of his weekend statements.
“In this league,” the Knicks’ president said, “you don’t turn around and go to the Finals in one year.”
Well, yes, you can. Offered into evidence: the Nets of 2001-02. With the addition of Jason Kidd, they went from doormats to NBA Finalists in one season. And now the Suns are trying to duplicate that feat following the addition of Steve Nash.
The Suns were the toast of the NBA world until their recent six-game skid, which pretty much coincided with the loss of Nash. The NBA’s assists leader at 10.9 per, played in the first loss, was injured (thigh bruise) in the second, sat defeats three through five, and returned for No. 6.
The Suns, still the NBA’s top-scoring bunch by far (108.0 per, Dallas at 103.0 was second) were determined to end their skid against the blizzard-weary Nets here last night. The Nets went home after a six-hour tarmac wait Saturday and then flew out yesterday at 6 a.m.
So Kidd and Nash, two point guards whose destinies are entwined with Stephon Marbury, formed perhaps the best marquee matchup last night. Kidd was traded by the Suns to the Nets for Marbury, who eventually was dealt to the Knicks by Phoenix. The Suns used money saved in the deal to sign Nash.
“They were teammates, but I think they’re different players,” offered coach Lawrence Frank, whose Nets carried a three-game winning streak into the start of a potentially brutal five-game trip here. “Steve is a phenomenal point guard. He hurts you in so many different ways. He’s a tough guard and he orchestrates everything they do, and you can just see from their scores that he’s another guy that makes others better. He shoots the ball extremely well, he can break you down off the dribble and he’s like those old-school point guards.”
Behind Nash, the Suns broke away from the league and raced to a 31-4 record; now they’re 31-10, and that’s with a six-game losing streak. Nash is the consensus MVP choice so far.
“He’s the head of that team. You saw that when he was out, they fell off a little bit. Right now he’s the best point guard in the game because of what he can do,” said Kidd.
“I have a lot of respect for him. He’s definitely the MVP at this point. It’s amazing how he can make [players] around him better,” praised Net Vince Carter, who noted the most striking similarity between Kidd and Nash in saying, “They definitely make their teammates better.”
As Kidd did coming back from knee surgery, Nash showed some effects after his hiatus. With the Suns short-handed after their trade for Jim Jackson, minutes were off the charts in an overtime defeat against the Spurs Friday. Nash went over 45 minutes, admittedly wore down and the Suns blew a 17-point, fourth-quarter lead.
“I was tired before the game even started,” Nash said. “I ran out of gas . . . I didn’t really have any legs to start the game and I certainly didn’t have any at the finish.”