After winning back-to-back league MVPs, Steve Nash is having another stellar year. Nash makes all of the players around him better but certainly has some talented players to work with. Which player on the Suns makes Nash's job easier? In other words, who is the most valuable Sun other than Nash and why? Is there one?
Dan: It depends on the night. Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion and Leandro Barbosa can all make Steve job easier depending on who wants to take over the game. Leandro Barbosa's surge in the past few months has helped Steve get more rest and that can only help him come playoff time. Amare Stoudemire gets the crowd going by making monster dunks and getting to the line when he gets the ball down low. Both are valuable to the team. But in the end, the most valuable Sun other than Steve Nash is definitely Shawn Marion. He can run with Steve and can jump over almost any defender to grab passes that only Steve can make and that only Shawn can catch. That makes Steve's job a lot easier. Many times on an inbounds play, Nash will just throw the ball up near the basket and will know that only Shawn Marion can get the ball. There's not another player like Shawn and when you get both Steve and Shawn together, it's a combo that can win a lot of games.
Dave: I’m going to go for Shawn Marion, as he’s chronically underrated. People claim he’s a “system” guy but what is he supposed to do…play outside of the system to prove he’s good?
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