Steve Nash — the league leader in assists per game with 11.3 at the ripe age of 38 — never asked or expressed any desire to leave the place that has turned him into a Hall of Fame level icon. Instead of asking out of Phoenix when the going was tough earlier this season, he believed in working together with the team at hand.
His faith is paying off as Phoenix (23-22) is just 1/2 game behind the eighth-seeded Houston Rockets in the Western Conference playoff race.
Nash and the Suns have been the hottest team in the month of March as they have won nine of their last 11 games — matched only by the Chicago Bulls, thanks to an advantageously long homestand.
However, the schedule becomes much tougher over the next couple weeks as the Suns hit the road for 12 of the next 15 contests.
The Suns will face the biggest challenge of their trip when they meet LeBron James and the Heat — the best home team in the league at 19-2 — in Tuesday’s best game.
Nash has led the NBA in assists in five of the last seven seasons and could join John Stockton and Magic Johnson as the only players with three straight seasons of 11-plus assists per game. He has had seven straight games of double-digit assists.
After a sluggish start to the season that forced Jared Dudley and Channing Frye to the bench, both starters have clicked on all cylinders as of late. Since the All-Star break, Dudley is averaging 17.2 points on 51.5% shooting and 6.8 rebounds while Frye is averaging 13.6 points — including 46.9% shooting from the 3-point line, 7.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks.
Miami (33-11) will look to extend its home winning streak to 14 games before hitting the road for five of the next six contests.
Defense has been key to the current home streak as the Heat have allowed just 88.6 points per game during the winning stretch.
Dwyane Wade shot just 43.1% in the month of January due to various ailments. Since then, he has shot a robust 55.7% in February, 52.1% in March and is averaging a career best 50.8% from the field.
James is also shooting a career high 54.3% from the field, including 40% from the 3-point line, and is third in the league in scoring with 27.4 points, just behind Kevin Durant’s 27.7 points.
I think it’s a reasonable assumption that, recent record notwithstanding, the Suns are going to get torched by the Heat tonight.
I also don’t expect them to make the playoffs, and that this summer, when Nash leaves, they will finally accept that they won’t be able to reload on the fly, but are in for a serious rebuilding process.