Personally, over the years I have been a huge proponent of how the Phoenix Suns play Basketball as a whole. Specifically, I have always believed that Steve Nash’s defensive liabilities are well compensated for by his amazing shooting ability and court vision to find the open man. However, it is becoming dreadfully obvious that in clutch defensive situations Nash should be a spectator on the sidelines next to Terry Porter.

On Christmas day, The San Antonio Spurs hit the game winning 3 pointer with no time remaining to beat the Suns. On the play, Nash and Richardson were completely confused and this yielded a wide open three by Roger Mason. One would expect that being confronted with the exact same situation they would learn from their mistakes. 2 weeks later, against the Indiana Pacers, exact same scenario and exact same result…another 3 pointer game winner this time by Danny Granger. (Who by the way is the best player you have probably never heard of).

I simply can not rationalize why Steve Nash at 6′3″ and 178 pounds is in the game with .9 seconds on the clock. He is easily picked due to his slight frame and his lack of length does not even disrupt shooter’s rhythm in the slightest. The onus here is on Terry Porter; supposedly a defensive minded coach. If the latter were true, Alando Tucker or Jared Dudley would have been in the game and could have at least contested the picks and shot far better than Steve Nash. Granted, Granger would not have had an opportunity to shoot, if Jason Richardson did not force a shot with time still remaining on the clock.

Last night two things became apparent to me, 1. Terry Porter is not a defensive guru and 2. The Suns need a backup for Shaq badly.  I hope they call down to the D-League and bring up former Michigan star Courtney Sims and at least have some semblance of offensive rhythm out of the Center position while Shaquille O’Neal is out. (Sims is averaging 22.7 PPG, 12.5 RPG and 2.7 BPG in 13 games with the Iowa Energy). Robin Lopez could be sent down and given some time to develop an offensive game!