Nash Annoying Habit

by soem on Feb 16, 2008 11:10 AM PST

Every time he did it, I cringed as Steve Nash jumped under our elevating players.

Nash doesn't get criticized for much, but it really annoys me when he jumps under our players who have already elevated toward the basket.

http://lh6.google.com/scottape/R7RPjRQAz0I/AAAAAAAAALI/oKRGfy6V8LU/a1796ce8d2d01dc4222e005b495fb3be- getty-76075922jj014_phoenix_suns_%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=512

Thankfully, the refs were not buying his flops in the last PHX-Warrior game.

Obviously, Nash knows that once a player leaps and leaves the floor, jumping under them at that point is a blocking foul, by rule. So why does he continue to make that move so often? Is it to injure more athletic players to slow them down? Is it to trade on his MVP reputation, in effect asking the refs to help him out by making charge-calls when they shouldn't?

It is such a dangerous move to jump under elevated players, that it just annoys me every time I see Nash make the move. But I guess nothing will be done until some player really gets hurt or paralyzed -- then the league might step in with a rule on that particular play.

This FanPost is a submission from a member of the mighty Golden State of Mind community. While we're all here to throw up that W, these words do not necessarily reflect the views of the GSoM Crew. Still, chances are the preceding post is Unstoppable Baby!

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everyone

does it in the NBA not just Nash. It also happens to Ellis a lot. Amare said that he was afraid of getting undercut by Pietrus on that last play.

Until we cut down on calling for offensive foul this stuff won't stop.

by saintdee on Feb 16, 2008 11:14 AM PST reply actions

and that's the problem with the NBA

look at Biedrins, he jumps straight up and he gets called a foul almost everytime. So even big men starts flopping because unless you have a good clean block, you have a better chance getting a call your way flopping than challenging a shot.

by lightz0ut on Feb 16, 2008 2:47 PM PST reply actions

Very true

It's not just the charge/block call, it's also the fact that they constantly penalize bigs for playing defense the right way.

by olympicmike on Feb 16, 2008 4:35 PM PST up reply actions

asdf

you really think it's only nash?

come on, everyone in the nba and their mama does it.

"TIMEOUT IN BARON'S HOUSE"

by the noTORious TOR on Feb 16, 2008 6:45 PM PST reply actions

Nash Doesn't Get A Pass

For those who dismiss Nash's one small area of foul play with the statement -everyone does it- , as soon as you say everyone you undercut your own statement (IMHO :)

Why are people willing to give Nash a pass, with the exaggeration, that everyone: a) waits for athletic players to get airborne, and then b) runs up under them -- making a dangerous play.
That's the one and only play I'm highlighting for Nash critique.
Everyone - definitely does not make that play. And Nash does it with regularity. Check the tape of the last game.

I'll go further and say something I respect about the Warriors. The Dubs on balance tend to go out of their way to avoid plays that would hurt other players. A lot of the tick-tack fouls the Dubs make (which frustrate me too at times) are the result of the W's laying off too hard fouls when players are airborne and off balance. That, I respect.

Former MVP Nash should help set the standard. Not succumb to a foul/thuggish play just because so many people may have the erroneous perception that -- everyone does it.

by soem on Feb 16, 2008 8:46 PM PST reply actions

let's make it clear

those ticky tack fouls are definitely not a result of the Warriors not wanting to hurt people. Like Barnett said once, it's become a habit.

I don't think Baron, on a driving Kobe, would think "oh I might hurt his pinky again so I'll just kinda swipe the ball but not do it too hard that I might injure him." What I respect (and I especially hate Barnes in this regard) is coming to a player after a hard foul/fall. Now that's respect. Saying a player would make a ticky tack foul out of respect is ridiculous

by lightz0ut on Feb 17, 2008 2:10 AM PST up reply actions

*Now that's respect

Not really respect... but good sportmanship and really the right way to do it. You play to protect your basket but you want to let you know that's what your intentions are not hurt the other player.

by lightz0ut on Feb 17, 2008 2:12 AM PST up reply actions

lol

dont make the dubs out to be saints about not hurting players.. remember baron's elbow last year on fisher? jackson's clotheline? barnes hit on turiaf this year? everyone in the nba is equally dirty.

What MVP Nash is responsible for is getting their too slow. The Dubs do it too. Whenever a blocking call is called outside of the cyclinder its usually the result of slowness. Dubs get called for it too. All teams get called for it. No one is saying its right but thats just the way NBA is played now. Defense is hard. Its easier to try and flop then it is to play lockdown defense.

by saintdee on Feb 16, 2008 9:17 PM PST reply actions

haha

nash's most annoying habit has to be licking his fingers like 25 times shooting free throws. it's grossssss

by ellibeans on Feb 16, 2008 10:00 PM PST reply actions

he's a Peyton Manning level finger licker...

...and it's not just on free throws. i saw him, wednesday, licking his right hand as he dribbled around a high screen with his left.

i am VERY glad someone brought this whole Nash subject up though. it absolutely KILLS me that the great white hope gets handed MVP awards without an ability to play on half the given floor. everyone's in love with offense, sure, but is it really a coincidence that we expose him as a minor liability every time we play them? does an MVP get exposed like that? granted, beside Nelson, the "geniuses" coaching NBA teams don't seem to understand this very basic tenet. they chalk Nash up as the "best point guard in the league," let him run around willy nilly without forcing him to do even minor work on the defensive end, and usually lose. he's already relegated to playing only 2/3 of every game because of his back, and then they give him a free pass while he's in to inflict the most damage possible.

it's very simple. yes, his kind of defense is positively reinforced by the league and its officials' obsession with the offensive foul. but equally true is that he wouldn't simply opt for some other strategy if the league were to improve their philosophy. he jumps in front of already committed players/flops because he has NO other recourse - he's not tough/strong/quick(moving backwards)/long/committed enough to guard anyone.

by 321 IN n OUT on Feb 17, 2008 10:52 AM PST up reply actions

it's a result of the rules

Think about it, Nash isn't trying to be a dirty player. If you're in his position with someone charging with a full head of steam at you, you can either:
a) jump up and try to contest
b) stand still and try to take the charge

If you try to jump up and try to contest, if you're Steve Nash in this league, 100% of the time you're going to get called for the foul and possibly give up a 3-point play. If you try to stay on the ground, you at least have a slim chance to draw a charge. In the split second moment, it's not like it's easy for them to gauge whether or not they'll get the charge call or not. As fans watching on broadcast, we get the luxury of watching things in extreme slow motion; it's alot different when they're playing in the game. Don't hate the player, hate the rules. What else would you expect him to do in that situation, just get out the way?

by jlagace on Feb 17, 2008 2:10 AM PST reply actions

asdf

stop complaining.

"TIMEOUT IN BARON'S HOUSE"

by the noTORious TOR on Feb 17, 2008 5:13 PM PST reply actions

Anyone See The All-Star Game

Not one of those foul/thuggish plays (jumping under someone already airborne) -- in the whole game, by any player!!

Not one. Even at winning time when the intensity picked up.

Why? Respect. They don't want any super-stars injured.

So tell me again why Nash resorted to it so much in the Warrior game, but not once in All Star game?

... just saying ... and now I'll leave it be :)

by soem on Feb 17, 2008 10:19 PM PST reply actions

asdf

sure it might be a tad of respect, but do you HONESTLY think the players give a s#!t about who wins the all-star game? is that anything to brag about? a game where there is no defense, tons of uncontested shots and no fouls called? the players would definitely rather win the all-star game compared to the nba championship, right? my point...they try to get calls in their favor in the games they actually TRY to win during the regular season and playoffs.

you're a little paranoid. no one is out to get you, don't worry.

"TIMEOUT IN BARON'S HOUSE"

by the noTORious TOR on Feb 17, 2008 11:03 PM PST reply actions