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| Steve Nash has won the NBA MVP award two times in his career. |
The Phoenix Suns (0-1) are set to play their second game of the season this evening on the road against the Utah Jazz, but the Canadian born point guard and former two-time MVP winner isn't feeling very good about the Phoenix Suns chances this year.
"To be honest, if I was outside this picture and a betting man, I would probably pick us to be outside of the playoffs considering all the changes and the new guys," team leader Steve Nash said after Sunday's team practice.
The "new guys" really isn't what Nash meant, but instead, Nash was likely referring to the departure of power forward Amare Stoudemire to the New York Knicks.
The Suns tried to fill the void left by Stoudemire's departure by acquiring the talented, but confusing Hedo Turkoglu from the Toronto Raptors. The Suns also added Josh Childress to the mix to provide depth at the wing positions.
The Suns also return Grant Hill, Jason Richardson, and Channing Frye, who played so well down the stretch during last season's run.
But Nash is right. How could you like the chances of this team as they enter the season?
Stoudemire was the number one option on offense averaging 23.1 PPG and also led the team in rebounds with 8.9 RPG. Not to mention that offense is centered around the pick and roll, with Nash dribbling around a pick and Stoudemire rolling to the basket. All of that is gone!
Replacing that type of production is nearly impossible without the addition of another all-star and Nash realizes the Suns are in trouble.
"I spent four months this summer and a month this training camp feeling like I'm trying to get to the top," Nash said. It's hard as a competitor to convince yourself every day all summer and then through the preseason that you're going to get back to where you were and hopefully take the next step, and then you realize that camp is starting all over again and it's not quite as linear as you made it out to yourself all summer."
You can't help but believe that a player like Nash will have the Suns in contention later this season, but it certainly will be difficult without Stoudemire around and Nash knows it.
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