Chris Paul vs Steve Nash: Whom would you pick?

For some reason, the Suns always seem to have the Clippers’ number. Lately, the Clippers have been on a very hot streak, second only to the San Antonio Spurs in the league. And then the Clippers met the Suns.

Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns beat Chris Paul and the LA Clippers 93-90. The last five minutes of this game held the crowd breathless. One hard foul on Blake Griffin from Robin Lopez resulting in a Flagrant 2, automatic ejection plus two free throws and possession for the Clippers. That may have given some relief to the Clipper fans knowing the Suns thin frontline just got thinner, but the Clippers failed to capitalize and ended up losing. Blake Griffin started the first quarter on fire, he had 14 points in the first 12 minutes. But he went quiet after that, finishing with 16 points on 7 of 17 shooting and 11 boards.

The last five minutes featured a premium battle between two of the best point guards on the planet. Both had been relatively quiet up to this point. With the game on the line, and with a playoff spot on the line for the Suns, both PGs stepped it up.

The Suns needed a win to tie the Utah Jazz for the last playoff spot in the West. The Suns own the tie-breaker with the Jazz. With only three games to go, every win/loss could be the deciding factor between an extended season and going fishing. Chris Paul did most of his work on his own. Getting the opposition off balance through his crossovers and getting room to launch jumpers. Steve Nash got his own but he also got Jared Dudley a wide open look for a three pointer. Nash hit a long jumper, threw in a layup very high off the glass to avoid Blake Griffin’s block and then drew a foul to get to the line.

In the end, the Phoenix Suns led by Steve Nash pulled away.

Steve Nash vs Chris Paul

Both players are in the topmost echelon of PGs but their games are very different.

Take a look at their per game stats this year:

Points-

Nash-12.6Paul-19.3

Assists-

Nash-10.9Paul-9

Steals-

Nash-0.6Paul-2.45

While Nash is taller than Chris Paul by a couple of inches, he’s always been a liability on defense. Chris Paul may give up a lot of size at his position against many teams. He makes up for it by pressuring the passing lanes and the ballhandler to force turnovers.

Here is a Chris Pauly game, if that be a word

And here is a Steve Nashty mix. Nashty, I’ve read before, is a word. An adjective for Steve’s game.

Weirdness:

Steve Nash licks his fingers, then wipes them on his shorts. Licks and wipes. And repeats. Vicious cycle.Check out his Youtube channel. Hilarious stuff.

Chris Paul would hit his own mother if she played against him. What?

Steve Nash is one of the best shooters of all time. A member of the 50-40-90 club in many a season. Shooting over 50% from the field, 40% from the three point line and over 90% from the free three line. Chris Paul is none too shabby a shooter and in this season CP3 is among the league leaders in 4th quarter scoring this year.

Chris Paul has more of a shake and bake game, and he drives to the hoop a bit more than Nash does. When Nash drives, he often circles back out from the baseline like an Ice hockey player would go behind the goal. This pulls the interior defense a little away from the hoop and allows him to find a teammate for an easy close finish. Steve prefers to use the pick and roll over and over, while Paul creates his space with his dribble and quickness.

I would go with Steve Nash. Whom would you pick?