We believe Steve Nash when he expresses affection for teammates, coaches, training and conditioning specialists, fans, arena vendors and the city of Phoenix at large.
They add up to one reason the Phoenix Suns' point guard did not request a trade-deadline ticket out of town.
We also believe Nash when he reminds talk-show witnesses that re-enlistment during this summer's free-agent carnival will require the Suns to "improve the roster." Without identifying preferred targets for future duty as teammates, he did specify go-to scorer as a crucial need area.
Fans, reporters, coaches, franchise executives and, heck, even current teammates probably all agree.
Including whatever chunk of cash will be needed to sign Nash, the Suns may be able to muster around $30 million in cap space this summer. But that may require many of Nash's teammates -- currently pitching in during the team's Western Conference uprising -- to find work elsewhere.
I'm not suggesting that by winning 17 of 25 games since Feb. 19, the likes of Shannon Brown, Michael Redd, Sebastian Telfair and Robin Lopez have demonstrated the ability to transform the Suns into an elite team over an 82-game schedule next season.
But it's ironic that their recent salvo of (relatively ... and that's key) outstanding play has occurred during a marginally controversial time.
Going way back 10 days, Nash made the national talk-show rounds and went a bit more in depth on his free-agent future than he had when the subject was brought up locally. It hardly registered as a revelation, but it does make this prevailing run of playoff-seeking determination seem even more inspiring from the perspective of those who may be not return next season.
Having moved into the starting lineup during Grant Hill's absence, Brown has averaged 18 points per game over the last eight and is making 46 percent of his shots from the field. He erupted for 20 points in the third quarter of Saturday night's triumph over his previous team (the Los Angeles Lakers), bagging enough deep jumpers to hint that the only thing missing was two palms up and a shrug of the the shoulders.
His temporary departure from the second unit would have been damaging had Redd failed to resurrect memories of his glory days in Milwaukee. One quarter before Brown did in the Lakers, Redd led a Suns rally by working the L.A. defense for 17 points.
"We're seeing more consistency out of Mike because his body is getting better and better," Nash said of Redd. "I just feel excited for him that he feels better every night and he can do the things he's accustomed to doing."
After years of searching for someone capable of converting limited minutes behind Nash into productive time, Telfair has emerged as the second unit's spark plug. Although consistency and decision-making are works in progress, "Bassy" also puts in as much defensive effort as any point guard in the league.
While Nash and his pals on the starting unit rested, Telfair dropped 13 points, handed out four dimes and committed no turnovers in a 12-minute second quarter against the Lakers.
It will be interesting to see how Suns management flips cap flexibility into roster upgrades. The upcoming summer's roll call of elite, established players in their primes is nearly nonexistent, and most young players with star potential figure to be restricted free agents. Using cap space to bring back talent in a trade would almost certainly cost draft picks and prolong the franchise's age movement.
Will any of the cap flexibility be exercised to keep players not under contract for next season (Brown, Redd and Telfair included) or one on the last guaranteed year of his rookie deal (Lopez)?
Despite their current revival, these guys may not have a job in Phoenix next year, but they're improving their market value with every victory.
STATUS QUO
One area Nash hasn't targeted for an offseason upgrade is the Suns' coaching staff.
More specifically, he's offered a vote of confidence for head coach Alvin Gentry, whose current contract expires after the 2012-13 season.
"Alvin's an amazing coach," Nash said when asked if Gentry deserves an extension. "What he's done with this group ... not being picked to be in the playoffs the last three years and going to the Western Conference finals two years ago."
Gentry, it should be noted, was targeted as a possible candidate for Suns extinction last week by a New York columnist who thought Alvin's contract expires this year.
While a commitment to Gentry for an additional two seasons would keep him in Phoenix for the duration of the contract Nash is seeking for himself, it probably wouldn't clinch anything. But playing for a coach who understands Nash's capabilities within what remains of the Suns' much-discussed offensive system -- while also bestowing ultimate trust -- certainly doesn't hurt Phoenix's chances of retaining its point guard.
And now, more testimony.
"I think Alvin's a great coach," Nash said. "His performance this year as a coach has been phenomenal ... maybe as good as it's ever been."
PICK (YOUR POISON) AND POP
For the Suns to remain connected to the group of playoff-chasing teams during this week's four-game road trip, their defense must be close to pristine.
The obvious catalyst for creating stops is the prevention of dribble penetration. As first-year assistant coach Elston Turner has preached all season, just staying in front of an opponent with the ball is the best defense.
But the Suns also could do themselves a big favor by focusing on the coaches' strategy regarding help-giving situations. We recommended calling upon assistance from the over-help desk.
The over-help desk reminds Suns defenders -- especially power forwards in pick-and-pop situations -- that NBA snipers can be lethal. Coaches are brutally aware of this and remind players at every opportunity.
To be sure, the Suns' commitment to building a wall on the stong side of an opponent's set or formation has led to some pretty impressive defensive efforts. Unfortunately, wall-building execution has them ranked a dismal 23rd in the NBA at preventing points in the paint. They're also a relatively miserable 22nd in 3-point percentage defense.
The latter issue often is caused by weakside defenders straying too far into the lane during potential help situations. Even though the Suns have the aforementioned paint-points issue, they do check in fifth in blocked shots. This means they don't exactly frighten anyone inside, but it also suggests that wing defenders should spend more time staying attached to the more dangerous shooters in attendance and allow their bigs to try protecting the basket.
But Monday night's potential nemesis is not a wing-defender problem. This dangerous enemy is Minnesota Timberwolves power forward Kevin Love, who went 5 for 9 from 3-point range during a March 12 victory in Phoenix. The majority of those looks occurred in pick-and-pop situations, with the T-wolves taking advantage of the Suns' aggressive hedges, or "shows," on ball screens.
This aggressive tactic would be fine if:
1. the power forward guarding Love would get low in a stance, take a sharp enough angle to direct the dribbler off his line or stop him cold and close out like mad toward either Love or (depending on the rotational strategy) his next option. It's not easy, but the good defensive teams do it.
2. the Suns player defending the ballhandler forces the dribbler to use the screen, stays on the dribbler's hip, remains low to step over the screen and applies sufficient ball pressure to make it difficult to make a quick, rotation-killing pass.
It's up to the players to execute such techniques that coaches continue to put forth.
By the way, the problem isn't limited to 3-point shooters. In the Suns' win Saturday night over the Lakers, Pau Gasol made 9 mid-range jumpers -- and most of those occurred after pick-and-pop defense that featured late recovery (by Channing Frye or Markieff Morris) made worse by little or no pressure on the eventual passer.
Wednesday's date with the Memphis Grizzlies may not provide similar pick-pop danger from four man Zach Randolph, but the Suns will have to deal with Luis Scola (Houston Rockets) on Friday and Matt Bonner (San Antonio Spurs) on Saturday.
