You Selfish Bastards

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BALL MOVEMENT?

Recently, two-time MVP Steve Nash made the most provocative and telling statements I've heard from the organization since Coach D'Antoni called the players "a bunch of cupcakes". And I hope it has the same effect. (As you remember, that comment by Mike D'Antoni directly preceded a stretch in which the Suns won 35 of 38 games, including the franchise record 15 and 17 game winning streaks.)

“We’re not playing for each other as much as we need to right now. We’re a little bit selfish, a little bit 'woe is me’ right now. We have to be unselfish, work for the team and not worry about ourselves.

“The ball is sticking because people are worried they’re not going to get it back. One guy gets selfish, and the next guy says 'Well, he’s not passing’ and he gets more reluctant to pass. That makes us not nearly the team we can be."

I have been waiting for him to say that for nearly two months. Except for last Sunday's game against Dallas, the fast forward, dizzying, neck-breaking ball movement of the Suns has been nonexistent in that time. I've noted it on azcentral, but never bothered to write down my research (and you'll forgive me if I don't do it now - it would take hours because no one, least of all the league, puts forth stats that I find remotely useable, so I have to do all my calculations manually...sorry).

I pride myself on being a stats guy, and I have a peculiar knack of looking at the oddest of ratios. When it comes to the Suns, one stat stands out more than any when analysing wins and losses. When the Suns are winning - the way they were in January, especially - they move the ball. (No shit, Sherlock.) How do we know when they're moving the ball well, Watson? (We look at their assist?) We take the number of assists the team makes and divide it by the number of made field goals. That's how we get our most magical of offensive stats, the assist rate. Pretty simple. If a team makes 40 baskets and has a total of 20 assists, the assist rate for that game is 50%. Got it? Good.

When the Suns were on their 17 game win streak, they moved the ball so well that they averaging around a 65% assist rate. That's an astonishing number, considering that most teams in the league average somewhere around 50%. For the season, the Suns are at a very nice 63.4% assist rate (26 assists per game, 41 made field goals per game). In the last game in San Antonio, 43.8%. The March 25th loss in Sacramento - 56%. Compare that to the January 23rd game in Washington - a whopping 72.9% assist rate.

Obviously, it's not just the assist rate. We do have to consider the number of baskets made, which gives us an indication of the score. But generally speaking, when the Suns get at least 30 assist, they win...handily. Lately, it's been sporadic, at best. They had 32 assist on 45 field goals against Golden State last time out, and we all remember what happened there. The Warriors dropped 45 points in the first quarter, and the Suns made it look closer than it was with a furiously futile fourth quarter rally.

But I read Nash's quote, and I understand exactly what he's talking about. For whatever reason, starting with the double overtime Mylanta moment that was the win in Dallas, the Suns have been playing more one-on-one basketball than they did in 2003. That is NOT the Suns game. Their game is ball movement, player movement, and unbridled unselfishness. It is a brand of basketball not seen in the NBA since Magic Johnson hung up his sneakers for T-cell monitoring.

So where is the movement?

Some would say that it came with the replacement of Boris Diaw (first by injury, then by necessity) by Leandro Barbosa.

I love LB. He's the best rising star in the league right now, and with his quickness - regardless if he's dribbling or cutting through the back door - he's a highlight reel waiting to happen. But the Blur is a scorer, not a playmaker. It's true that he's averaging a career high 4.2 assist per game, but that's icing on the roadrunner cake. His first option is scoring the basketball, not passing it. That's why he's the sixth man. He is (to coin a cliche) instant offense - just add agua.

Another possibility is Diaw's passivity. It sounds like the worst pun in basketball, but he is passive to the point that he'll pass the ball in the middle of a breakaway dunk. It's a breath of fresh air to find a player so unselfish and intelligent with Diaw's court vision, but he's unselfish to a fault. He will be in perfect scoring position, or even in the act of attacking the basket, and he'll pass. He'll pass to a player who is expecting Boris to score, which means the guy receiving the pass isn't in rhythm to shoot the ball!

I wonder sometimes if guys aren't sharing because they don't want the ball to go back into Diaw's hands. Maybe they figure that it's better to go for the score when they're ready than wait and receive a pass when they're not ready.

I don't know, but it's something that the team needs to address. I just hope that what Nash said publically is just the beginning of the healing for the team's chemistry. Something has got to give, or we're in for a very long summer - which means a short playoff run.