Sports Radio Interviews

Steve Nash Thinks the Suns Still Have Work to Do Before They Are Considered a Championship Caliber Team

Right now, one of the biggest surprises in the NBA is the Phoenix Suns.  After finishing last season with a record of 46-36 and missing the playoffs for the first time since Steve Nash arrived in the desert in 2003, the Suns are off to a great start this season.  Phoenix is 15-6 and in third place in the Western Conference behind just the two teams that were in the Western Conference Finals a season ago, Los Angeles and Denver.  I’m certainly not ready to put the Suns in the category of “elite” NBA teams just yet and there is a long way to go in the NBA season before they get in the conversation of being a championship caliber team, but it certainly looks like the Suns are out to prove that missing the playoffs last year was more of a mirage than anything else.  One of the biggest reasons for their hot start and their big turnaround is the health and the play of Steve Nash.  Everyone knows all about Nash and his tremendous credentials.  He is a six-time All Star and a two-time NBA MVP.  He is also the engine that drives the Phoenix offense.  There is no question, that bringing Jason Richardson back and adding Channing Frye has helped the team.  And getting Amare Stoudemire back healthy has been enormous as well, but with the kind of offense that the Suns run, the most important player is the point guard and that is Steve Nash.  When Nash plays at an MVP caliber level and he is at the helm of the Suns explosive offense, they can be very tough to beat.

Steve Nash joined KTAR in Phoenix with Gambo and Ash to talk about the play of the Suns so far this year, what has contributed to the big turnaround, and playing many of their games on the road so far this year.

On whether he feels better about this team now than he did at the start of the season:

“I think obviously we feel a lot better about it with the record that we have and the wins we’ve gotten thus far.  It feels good; we know we are a good team, but how good?  I think we still have a lot to play for to understand really how good we are.  We’re not really a championship caliber team yet, but it’s something that we can strive for.  I think we’re a little bit small which is kind of the same old story.  Robin Lopez can give us a little bit more size as he gets more accustomed to what we’re doing and as he gets over his injury.  I don’t wanna say that we can’t do it, but I think for us, let’s just continue to build everyday, let’s be happy that were off to a good start and let’s realize that a lot of people picked us to not make the playoffs, so our first goal is to get into the playoffs.  If we can continue to improve throughout the year, I think we’ll win a bunch of games and put us into a position where we can re-evaluate where we are.”

On whether this Suns team has returned to the form it showed a couple of years ago under Mike D’Antoni:

“We are not exactly like we were.  We don’t necessarily have the same personnel and some of the same athletes as far as getting out on the break.  While we don’t score as many fast break points, I think we’re a little bit better in the halfcourt.  We still have a nice rhythm when the ball moves, we get penetration, we draw and kick, we share the ball, so I think the fans are happy because it’s fun to watch and it’s fun to play.  We are improving defensively, but we have a lot of work to do.  I think our defense has been improved and our defense has been good at times, but I think so many road games has killed our defense too.  We don’t get as much time to practice when we’re always traveling.  I just think that’s really hurt us.  We’ve had two or three times already where we’ve had a lot of slippage on our principles and what we’re trying to accomplish.”

On whether or not he is surprised by the team’s record right now:

“A little bit.  It’s been great, especially with all the road games.  We had a bunch of new guys.  Going back to a style of play that was similar to a style of play that we used to play I think was new to some of those new guys, it was a lot.  It was a lot to predict how we would respond and predict how our chemistry and cohesion would be and how we would be defensively.  I think we had a great camp, I think Alvin (Gentry) did a great job, we did  a lot of traveling in the preseason too but for the most part we stuck together and we found a way to get through it.  We gotta be pretty proud of ourselves and realize that it’s a process and every day we gotta try and get a little bit better.  If that’s the case we’re going to win 13, 14, 15 out of the next 20 games too.”

On playing so many games on the second night of a back to back and on the road:

“I don’t know maybe there should be a strength of schedule in the NBA.  There is nothing that we can do about it.  Even though we have played all those teams on a back-to-back, that’s okay, we just gotta fight through it and stick together.  If we have a great attitude, I think we’ll win some of those.  For our team, that’s the biggest thing.  Just trying to improve everyday and having a great attitude when we go out there on the court and feel really lucky and fortunate that we have good chemistry, we have a good coach that believes in us and we’re working hard together.  If you feel thankful and fortunate for those things and go out there with a good attitude, a lot of good things are going to happen for our group.”

Listen to Steve Nash on KTAR with Gambo and Ash here (Audio begins at the 15:30 mark of hour number 2)

Tags: KTAR, NBA, Phoenix Suns, Steve Nash, Western Conference