Shave Nest and the ZZ Tops go for 13 in a Row
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by user Manny Stiles
Impending 3-time MVP Shave Nest and the fellas from the PHX have gone all baseball on us all and stopped shaving until their winning streak is over. The All-Star game might get hairy this year.
Well, actually it might not be so hairy, the Matrix, a perrenial All-Star has not joined in with the festivities because A) He thinks he's a pretty boy, and B) he says that facial hair makes him itchy. As a fellow male with poor beard producing genes, I can accept that. There's a couple other Suns players that either didn't join in or can't grow the scruff.
The whole thing started with uber-trainer Aaron Nelson. He brainstormed the idea (he probably forgot his razor on a road trip, or when he lost an infamous Suns poker game) when he didn't shave at the beginning of the win streak other guys bought in too, led by MV3 Steve Nash. Keep in mind, the Suns Franchise record winning streak coming into the season was 15 straight (by the '93 Suns that bowed to MJ version 1.0 in the Finals). The Suns are primed for their SECOND such streak this season!!!
After shaving the nest in the offseason, the Nash Rambler has been itching to grow hair. Stevie Wonder did admit that he doesn't like to grow beards but likes the spirit of the team joining forces and now he's singing Superstition. Don't you worry 'bout a thing, the next song will be Ribbon in the Sky when he takes the Sunsationals to higher ground and hangs that first Championship banner in the Purple Palace. Steve Nash, You ARE the SUNshine in MY life!!!
These Three Words - MOST Valuable Player!
Steve Nash isn't just playing better than the past two MVP seasons, he has changed the whole basketball culture of the Valley of the Sun. I play pickup basketball at the local gym and Steve Nash's influence is apparent! People RUN, the get the ball up court, they make passes!!! Everyone touches the ball and gets it to the open man. It's unbelievable. Guys who used to play black hole Kobe-style basketball are sharing, moving the ball, getting open shots, playing the two man game just like Nash, dishing off my picks. I'm getting more easy dunks than ever before!!! When the hell did I become Amare Stoudemire? I've always been more like Vlade Divac... (especially when I still smoked!)
Nevermind that the Pride of British Columbia is shooting his best yet (over 53% from the field, over 49% from 3pt land) or averaging his highest assist (11.5) AND points per game (19.4) totals of his career. I don't have the exact numbers, but his 4th quarter shooting percentage was stated as the best in the league (if I'm wrong, please correct me), and I know he HAS to be the league leader in 3pt % with less than a minute to go in the game. He DOESN'T miss when the Suns need him most. He is the MOST valuable player in the game, trophy or not. There is NO one else like Steve Nash.
It's a renaissance like I haven't seen in a sports community in decades. The last time I saw a movement on the playground courts is when everyone ran out to et Reebok Pumps and try to throw down like Dee Brown (which as enertaining as it was to watch people grab the rim like badasses, it wasn't good for game time). Winning is infectious and now we're headed for lucky #13 tonight vs the Timberwolves
The thing that gets lost in all the hullabaloo is how the Suns would be on a 30-game win streak if not for a CaptainQuirk end of regulation bankshot 3 (he did NOT call "bank"] and a Floppy Nowitzki last second shot.
Now take a look at the schedule coming up... WHEN will the Suns lose again? Ever? Good thing they're not sponsored by Schick or Gilette, eh? The Suns travel to Washington D.C. on Tuesday to exact revenge on the Wizards, then February 1st will be interesting against the Spurs, but they could in theory run the table on their way to the NBA Title. Conventional wisdom says a team will come along, play out of their minds, catch the Suns on an off night and I'll be yapping about how close we were to a 52-game win streak. But I won't cry.
Another important factor people keep indulging upon. Everytime I hear someone say it, they lose any basketball credibility they may have built up with me: "The Suns don't play defense".
If you can say that, you
- 1) Obviously you DON'T or HAVEN'T watched the Suns play or you don't know what you're watching if you did...
- 2) You look at the score and think that tells you something and clearly DON'T understand pace factor - they give up more opportunities to score, because THEY score more.
- 3) The Suns (the last time I looked) 6th in defensive efficiency,
- 4) Marion AND Stoudemire are defensive stalwarts, in the top 15 in rebounding, top 20 in blocks (and climbing), Marion is 5th in Steals; hard to play no defense with numbers like those. Raja Bell is a lockdown defender, Leandro Barbosa makes defensive plays routinely, Boris Diaw was known ONLY as a defender in Atlanta, James Jones contrinnbutes routinely and Jumaine Jones is Dr. Dirtwork. The whole team has become infected by the "Let's Gather Shot Clock Violations". Kurt Thomas's injury hurts a little, but they'll survive (23 year olds can run all day, every day)
- 5) GREAT defense isn't just blocks and rebounds. Ever heard of the "charge"? Raja Bell led the league last year, and I'm guessing (because I haven't found it) that he's leading the league again. I'm willing to bet the Suns lead in charge differential (charges taken vs charges given). That's D - fence. So is...
- 6) leading the league in point differential with a differential of +8.4...
- 7) And as Coach Mike D'Antoni says, there's a big difference between giving up offensive rebounds and giving up baskets. You can get a rebound and yet, not turn it into points against the Suns. You can get SEVERAL offensive rebounds and not get points
- 7) The Suns don't foul. Fouling stops the flow of the game. If the Suns were to muck the game up like the "Defensive" teams of yore, they wouldn't be playing the Suns style of ball...and finally,
- 8) GREAT Offense can make for a great defense - turning the ball over less times than your opponent IS great defense. Scoring fast, nailing threes these are things that deflate another team's will and confidence. You score a big bucket, and the Suns respond within seconds. That will affect your play, especially when it happens time after time. The Suns have had several 15-0, 18-2, 22-2, etc runs in games this season to blow games open. Do you think that happens with "No Defense"?
It's all about the "Eyes on the Prize". The Suns marketing program this year has pictures of Coach Mike D'Antoni staring fiercely and in the gleam of his eyes is Larry O'Brien's trophy. That IS what the Suns are here for this year. Steve Nash could give 2 rat's asses about winning MVP. Amare Stoudemire doesn't worry about his knee or starting for the All-Star game. Leandro Barbosa doesn't care if he wins 6th man of the year. OK, maybe Jalen Rose is probably a little pissed he hasn't seen minutes since November, but the Suns are committed. They are a team. And like I've been saying since BEFORE the season began (even though I might have been off on Marcus Banks, I haven't given up on him), I said it during the 1-5 start, the ONLY thing that can stop them is injuries.
The best thing you can do as a fan, don't hate. Even Bill Simmons woke up (maybe because the Clippers and Celtics suck this year?). Watch the Suns, they play basketball the way it SHOULD be played, as a team sport, as a flowing display of sport awe.
So I'm joining in! After playing ball yesterday like it was a Suns practice, I'm completely sold. Chucking the razor, growing the goat out, make that "chinstrap" I call a beard flow with winning goodness. Mrs Stiles (who is a a BIGGER Suns fan than I am) is cool with it and even joked she'd stop shaving her legs until they lost. At least I HOPE she was joking!!!
