Rumours of Nash's Demise Greatly Exaggerated

By Michael Grange

Like a lot of folks of a certain age, Steve Nash has been having trouble with his hip.

But a little rest in the dry desert heat can do wonders for a point guard of his vintage, apparently.

Nash proved that rumours of his playoff demise - stemming as much from his limpy outing in the Phoenix Suns' ouster of the injury depleted Portland Trail Blazers in the first round as from the Suns' second-round meeting with the San Antonio Spurs, the team that has eliminated Nash and the Suns in three of their last four postseason appearances - have been greatly exaggerated.

With three days of rest between series, Nash looked like a floppy-haired pup as he bounded through the Spurs' defence to post 33 points and 10 assists in leading Phoenix to a 111-102 win and a 1-0 lead in their second-round series on Monday night, with Game 2 set for Wednesday night in Phoenix.

"I was fortunate to get some opportunities early to be aggressive and try to put some life into the building," Nash said. "You never know what the game is going to present."

The only thing basketball was supposed to be presenting Nash at this stage was a gold watch and an armchair.

Even his believers doubted Nash would be dictating the flow of a playoff game at age 36. In a league full of players badly overpaid based on what they might achieve, Nash has always been paid as if he had an expiration date.

When then-Suns general manager Bryan Colangelo was flying to Dallas to meet with Nash as a free agent in July of 2004, the feeling on the plane was that even a five-year, $50-million contract was too rich for Nash, then 29 and just a two-time all-star with some history of injuries.

After all, even profligate Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban had balked at paying more for a productive employee unlikely to get more productive in his thirties. Cuban's pause allowed the Suns to swoop in as Nash came to Phoenix with a six-year, $66-million (U.S.) deal. But even that had a catch, reflecting the perception that Nash's genius was like sand in an hourglass: the final year of the deal was only partially guaranteed.

As Nash put up numbers that rivalled or surpassed those of his two most-valuable-player seasons in 2004 and 2005 - in 2009-10 he averaged 16.5 points and 11 assists while shooting better than 50 per cent from the field, 40 per cent from three-point territory and 90-per-cent from the free-throw line for the fourth time in his career (no one else has topped those thresholds in the same season more than once) - needless to say the final year of his contract was paid out in full.

"He just seems to get better as the years have passed," said Colangelo, who helped bring Nash from Dallas to Phoenix and is now president of the Toronto Raptors. "He's diversified his off-court activity to the point that some people would be distracted, but somehow he's managed to stay focused on basketball and maintain incredible physical and mental preparation. He's a unique package; he continues to amaze."

Even Nash finally seemed ready to acknowledge his limitations this past off-season. He had the option of playing out his contract and becoming a full-fledged free agent this coming summer. But with the NBA's economic situation clouded and the Nash-led Suns having missed the playoffs, he instead took the sure thing signed a two-year extension for $22-million that will take him to age 38 and through 16 NBA seasons.

At the time, it seemed Nash was perhaps letting his championship window close; content to enjoy his golden years in the gentle Arizona winters free of playoff pressure. But with the departure of half-court hulk Shaquille O'Neal for Cleveland, Nash had a throwback season as the Suns surged to an 54-28 record and a No. 3 seed in the hypercompetitive Western Conference, including a league-best 23-6 mark after the all-star break, and now he has a chance to take down the hated Spurs.

"It felt great to get out there and feel like I could do something," he said after his showing Monday night, sounding like someone aware the end is coming sooner than later.

Just don't try to predict when.