The Official: Michael Finley: Thread

[Epitome22]

Quick question. What do Tracy McGrady, Allen Iverson, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen have in common?

Answer: They are the only other 2 guards by my estimate that are having a stronger season so far than the Flying Tiger. Even Kobe Bryant, though he will most likely return to expected form and finish the season with comparable numbers to hos others, is not having as strong a season as Finley is so far.

This is completely subjective on my part and not really based on hard objective analysis, but I think a thorough glance at the statistics of Mr. Finley and his contemporarys will lead to a similiar conclusion. Michael Finley is a strange beast. He goes from being the lone Mav superstar and perrennial favorite of most NBA fans' all-underrated team. With the emergence of the Mavs other players, he goes from leader of the big 3, to being questioned if he should be a big 3 at all. He is now the routine dog of many Mavs fans unoblivious to finger pointings and blame bearing. On his bad days, half the Dallas faithful would have him shipped off somehwere in exchange for a center. On his good days, he's not much more than invisible.

Nowadays, it seems he's more underrated than what he was supposed to be back in the late 90's. New blood rising out of the waters and forging out strong seasons from the 2 guard spot (I.E. Maggete, Redd) cannot claim to be having as strong a season as Fin Dawg. Yet we see no pieces about Finley. No interviewers picking his brain. He is the ever dependable invisible soldier. Like clockwork, 17-19 points per game, 4-6 boards a game, 2-3 assists, a steal, 83-85% of his free-throws, 40% of his threes.



This is not meant to be some championing of Mike Finley. There will be nothing about "The heart and soul of the team" or "leader of the franchise". This was not meant to be a piece to defend Finley from his would be detractors either. Just an acknowledgement that a Mav with a fairly long tenure who's put up quite a string of "pretty good" seasons, is having yet another "pretty good" season, and has been by far the most consistent player on the squad recently, during a stretch where the Mavs have strung togehter 8 in a row.

[dude1394]

Finley probably single handedly won that chicago game. And right now he is really getting it done. Wow.... Looking at his shots today he did it all, shot the three, faked the three and took a couple of steps in, hustled his rear off and rebounded.

Nellie is also making sure he gets him enough rest as well and it seems to be paying off. He's coming in and going....(excuse me) FULL THROTTLE!!

[Chiwas]

Quick question. What do Tracy McGrady, Allen Iverson, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen have in common?

That excepting Allen, all play for under .500 teams. And even Seattle is close to that.

Finley has been a huge factor to have seen a very competitive Mavs the last couple of weeks...and to get them away of the .500 zone.

[MavsFanFinley]

Notebook: Mavs' hot streak matches Finley's

By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News

The Mavericks always plan on two weeks of growing pains when Michael Finley comes back from an injury.

But when he fights through the rust and gets a rhythm going, he quickly makes them forget any tough times.

Finley missed five games in December with a big toe injury. He came back with lukewarm results for slightly more than two weeks.

On Jan. 12 in New York, he scored 25 points and has been on a tear ever since. Not coincidentally, the Mavericks are 8-0 since.

"He's on fire," coach Don Nelson said after Finley had 23 points Sunday against Sacramento. "He made some tough shots with a defender around. He's been a sensational player for several weeks now."

Finley had 14 of his points Sunday in the second half, when he hit 6 of 8 shots, including both 3-pointers he attempted. He has averaged 25.1 points during the winning streak and isn't surprised by the success the team is having now.

"I knew with the new personalities we had on this team, it would take time before we would start clicking," he said. "We wanted it to happen overnight. But we knew that wouldn't be the case. Now, we're all getting more comfortable and more confident."

[TheKid]

Just an acknowledgement that a Mav with a fairly long tenure who's put up quite a string of "pretty good" seasons, is having yet another "pretty good" season, and has been by far the most consistent player on the squad recently, during a stretch where the Mavs have strung togehter 8 in a row.

That's what makes me frustrated with posting on this board. The people who are SUPPOSEDLY true blue Dallas Mavericks fans and TRULY understand the game of basketball NEVER recognize the quality player the Mavs have in Finley. He is the ONLY guy who is still on the team or who has been with the Mavs in the past four to five years of their success who has been consistent EVERY YEAR.. He missed 13 games last year, about 13 the year before and five this year. In more than 200 games, in the last three years, he's missed approximately 31 games which is about 15%. However I have been hearing things like he's on the decline of his career (which he very well may be) and the Mavs should trade him because he doesn't bring what he use to anymore.

It's SO disheartening to hear that because this has been a man who has CONSISTENTLY given the Mavs right around 20 points a game his tenure with the Mavs, RARELY misses a game, has went from shooting guard, to small forward, back to shooting guard. Has changed his role with the team constantly and the most important factor, HAS NEVER ONCE COMPLAINED about it.

Then to hear fans want to ship him off for every single offer the Mavs get for a big man is downright appauling. He has been NOTHING but great to this franchise and there's a stretch EVERY SINGLE YEAR he reminds the fans of that. When his career is all done, Dallas fans will finally realize what they had in Finley. In this franchise history, they have not had a player who has been more consistent, durable and classy. In an era where players are more concerned with themselves, the Mavs have ONE of the very few in the NBA who are one of the good ones and they want to ship him off, it truly baffles me.

Epitome, I think your post was great and it's good that you have pointed out something that should be obvious to most but for some reason it's not.

[Drbio]

I love seeing Finley getting some props after all the hateful crap we had to put up with earlier. The man plays hard and with heart day in and day out and his level of play over the past couple of weeks has been stellar. Keep it up Mike!

[MavsFanFinley]

Fin was a nominee for player of the week, but Garnett won the honor.

I doubt Finley wins, but he's making a nice case for player of the month so far.

[ddh33]

This board is much more Pro-Finley than other I have visited. Thank God. I am really glad he is getting some credit for being the player that he is. Keep it up Mike!

And keep it up fans...

[Chiwas]

Finley is underrated certainly, cause his job, maybe the most important of the team, is kind of hidden. Like in soccer, always the scorers are the players who get the glory, rarely the half court payers, and much less the defenders. Finley is like a half court soccer player (I don't know the correct term in english), and very good.

[Murphy3]

I don't think this board is anti-fin by any stretch of the imagination. Sure, there are some that are constantly mentioning him in trades, but that is the vast minority.

Fin's had an outstanding run recently. However, let's not jump on the members of this board too much. Let's not forget that Fin was basically riding a year and a half shooting slump until recently.

I'm glad to see him breaking out of it. I'd love to see him as the Mavs second or third option (him and Jamison at the 2 and 3 options)

[Max Power]

Originally posted by: ddh33
This board is much more Pro-Finley than other I have visited.

Some of the sites are truly horrible in their treatment of Finley. This is the best site for accurately seeing the value of every player on the team.

[ddh33]

Originally posted by: Max Power

Some of the sites are truly horrible in their treatment of Finley. This is the best site for accurately seeing the value of every player on the team.

Agreed...

[TheKid]

Fin's had an outstanding run recently. However, let's not jump on the members of this board too much. Let's not forget that Fin was basically riding a year and a half shooting slump until recently.

A year and half shooting slump that he averaged 19 points last year, which includes 20 plus points in the playoffs and 18 points this year. All of that with being at best a number two option and in some cases a number 3 option. That just makes me even more bothered that the fact someone is able to produce like that while being in a slump and having a reduced role still is at the front of every trade possibility is beyond me.

There are not many two guards who would be able to handle the SAME situation as well as Finley and produce as well. Just my opinion.

[MavsFanFinley]

Healthy Finley firing up Mavs

By Art Garcia
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

DALLAS - It's easy to point out the offensive contribution from Michael Finley during the Mavericks' recent upturn. Can't ignore nearly 25 points per game over the past 10 games.

But it doesn't end there. Perhaps two plays as important as any timely 3-pointer in the fourth quarter or as breathtaking as any poster-inspiring slam over Ruben Patterson took place a long way from the Mavs' basket.

With the score tied at 116 in the waning seconds of Tuesday's game in Seattle, Finley found himself isolated on Ray Allen. The Sonics guard drove hard to the basket and released the potential game-winner, only to have Finley swat it off the backboard.

"Allen made a good move and he got real deep, and Mike recovered incredibly to block that shot," Mavericks point guard Steve Nash said Friday after practice. "I thought that was the play of the game."

Again, it doesn't end there. The block set up the Mavs' last possession, with Finley inbounding the ball at half court with 1.6 seconds showing on the clock. Finley delivered a 45-foot strike to Antoine Walker, who knocked down a baseline fadeaway at the buzzer to extend the Mavs' winning streak to nine games.

"It was a great pass," Walker said simply.

Walker used the same word to describe Finley, on a tear since scoring 25 in the overtime victory Jan. 12 in New York. The longest-tenured Maverick has averaged 24.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists over the past 10 games. The Mavs are 9-1 during that stretch.

"He's been playing great the last couple weeks," Walker said. "He's scoring at a very high level, he's defending and his all-around game has been great."

Though the Mavs' winning streak ended Wednesday at Utah, spirits remain at a high. The Mavericks (29-17) hope to add another to win to their total today with Denver (27-21) at American Airlines Center for the noon tipoff.

"It just feels good that we're winning," Finley said. "Winning cures all ills, and it's easy to go out there with less pressure on you when you have something positive going as a team. I think everybody else, the whole team, has a little bit of pep in their step, and I think it's because of the winning streak."

Finley would rather not talk about his impact on the team's improved performance. Pressed on the subject, he does relent. A little, at least.

"It just feels good that I did enough to contribute to the game," he said. "I made some shots down the stretch to help my team secure wins. That feels good. I'm the ultimate team player. I'm going to do whatever it takes for the team and take all the individual accolades second."

One of those accolades, according to Mavs coach Don Nelson, could include a trip to Los Angeles in a couple of weeks.

"Mike," Nelson said, "the last three weeks has played like an All-Star."

Considering the competition on his own team, not to mention the Western Conference, the chances for a third All-Star appearance for Finley aren't favorable. If only the odds were as good as Finley squaring up from beyond the arc.

Finley is knocking down a career-best 41.4 percent of his 3-point attempts this season. He came into the year a career 35.7 percent 3-point shooter. With 84 3s already, he's also on pace to shatter his previous high for 3-pointers (119) in a season.

And Finley's numbers have spiked even more during his hot stretch. Finley has knocked down 29 from downtown over the past 10 games at a 47-percent clip. It's 55.2 percent (16-of-29) during the past five games.

"He's playing incredibly," Nash said. "He's playing with a tremendous competitiveness at both ends of the floor. He's leading and he's making shots at a rate that's phenomenal. I don't know if we've seen him make shots, or anyone make shots at that rate, for a while. It's fun to watch."

Finley credits his play to good health and his teammates. He began the season nursing a quadriceps strain and missed five games in mid-December with a sprained toe.

"I started the season with an injured leg, so it was hard for me to get in a comfortable rhythm," he said. "Then, when I did get into a comfortable rhythm, I went down with my toe. It's just good to be healthy.

"As far as the shot, I think I've benefited from the overall ability of my team. They get so much attention, somebody has to be left open. Some of the time it's me, and I'm making those defenses pay for leaving me open."

Flying Finley

A breakdown of Michael Finley's season:

Games PPG FG%
1-7 10.7 33.8
8-21 20.6 47.3
22-26 Injured (toe)
27-36 13.7 38.0
37-46 24.7 47.0
Totals: 41 18.2 43.8

[OutletPass]

Nice stats MFF...Fin was really starting to play REALLY well before the "toe" bit him in the butt..he had 22 and 38 in the 2 games before that particular injury...and it's great to see him shooting "lights out" again now that he's got his legs back and can go "lift off"...in the most recent streak, that's what I noticed most....Fin's got the lift back on his jumper...

[sike]

found this on page 2....how sad for the Mav having the best overall personal year right now....

[dude1394]

And he shoots ft's really good.

[MavsFanFinley]

It's funny how many people had written Finley off. He was on his last leg, injury prone, declining each game before our eyes, his stats have dropped dramatically, so on...

It must be killing those that Finley has had the stretch he's had in the last 2 months. Only 11 people have come here to give a nod to him, but that first game he has 2-10 shooting and they'll bombard this thread with a Finley needs to be traded immediately.

[ReDIRKulous]

I was one of the ones piling on Fin... without a doubt. And it was deserved imo. He was choking horribly against the better teams. There is a thread showing how horribly. His stats against the elite teams were atrocious. That is why so many people said trade him and replace him with Josh Howard... funny how that works though... because I think that is precisely what made him start playing better. Sometimes you just need a wakeup call. I think Finley was waiting too much for the game to come to him. He needed to MAKE things happen. All the Josh Howard talk woke him up imo. It is just like when Nellie benched Dirk the other night... it pissed him off... but then he comes out the next half and dominates on offense AND defense...

Let's hope both continue.

[MavsFanFinley]

I don't think Howard had anything to do with it, but being healthy is what it was all about.

It's always taken Fin like 2 weeks to get into some sort of groove after an injury. He missed all of training camp and had only 5 games in preseason to work some of that rust off. He started coming around late November and was on fire in December. Despite the freak toe injury that kept him out for 5 games. And his numbers in January speak for themselves. He also has been pretty solid thus far.

We can only hope that Fin keeps up his steady play and remain healthy.

[ReDIRKulous]

He started coming around late November and was on fire in December.

YEs.. true... except against the elite teams. What really griped me about Fin... and put me over the edge was when he had sandwiched a horrible performance at home against the Lakers with 2 incredible performances against horrible teams. That really confirmed my suspicions that Finley's problems were more than just physical.

If the problem wasn't physical... and Josh Howard situation didn't fix it... then what caused this turn around MFF? It is possible it was Finley watching Walker coming on. Walker has been very clutch... maybe that inspired him. It seems that Cassell and Spreewell have had a similar impact on KG.

[Max Power]

then what caused this turn around

Or MAYBE it was the fact that the Mavs were floundering around and Dirk and Nash are both having subpar years made Finley decide to stop taking a back seat to those two and start exterting his will.

Maybe Finley realized that he had taken too far of a step back and the Mavs NEEDED him to force the issue.

[ReDIRKulous]

That is possible Max.

What ever happened I always wanted Fin to succeed. It wasn't as if I didn't like Fin... Clutch or not clutch Fin is still a great guy... like most if not all of the Mavs. That is why I want them to succeed.

[sike]

Originally posted by: MavsFanFinley
I don't think Howard had anything to do with it, but being healthy is what it was all about.

I would not say nothing......Howard has been drawing the tougher Defensive assignments and that gives Fin more energy for the offensive end and helps him look better at the defensive end...that is something.....but being healthy is certainly key...

[MavsFanFinley]

then what caused this turn around MFF?

I went back and looked at the numbers for the elite teams in the West. I'm not sure who you consider the elite teams so I used Lakers, Spurs, Kings, Portland, and Minnesota. I figure that covers who you're talking about.

(November)

Lakers, 30min, 2-8, 0-4, 8-8, 12pts, 4rbs, 1as, 1to (L) Payton-21pts

Spurs, 36min, 2-8, 1-3, 2-2, 7pts, 3rbs, 5as, 4stls, 1blk (W) Bowen-5pts

Portland, 44min, 10-20, 3-5, 2-3, 25pts, 7rbs, 4as, 1stl (W) Wells-14pts

Spurs, 44min, 5-17, 1-7, 6-8, 17pts, 2rbs, 1as, 2to's, 4stls, 2blks (W) Parker-9pts, Ginobli-12pts

Minnesota, 44min, 8-23, 5-12, 4-5, 25pts, 8rbs, 1as, 1to, 2stls, 1blk (W) Spreewell-14pts

Totals, 40min, 35%, 32%, 85%, 17pts, 4.8rbs, 2.4as, .8to's, 2.2stls, .8blks


(December)

Lakers, 43min, 8-24, 1-6, 2-3, 19pts, 3rbs, 1as, 2stls, 1to (L) Payton-17pts

Portland, 5-12, 2-4, 12pts, 1rb, 5as--2nd game back from toe injury (L) McInnis-14pts

Kings, 3-15, 2-6, 4-6, 12pts, 4rbs, 1as, 1stl, 2to's, 3blks--3rd game back (W) Bibby-23pts, Jackson-13pts

Totals, 39min, 31%, 31%, 66%, 14pts, 2.6rbs, 2.3as, 1stl, 1to, 1blk


(January)

Minnesota, 42min, 9-15, 6-9, 24pts, 3rbs, 1as, 1stl (W) Cassell-34pts, Hassell-5pts, Spreewell-21pts

Portland, 40min, 13-23, 3-7, 4-4, 33pts, 2rbs, 2as, 1stl, 2to's (W) Anderson-2pts, Stoudamire-11pts

Lakers, 35min, 11-18, 4-4, 5-6, 31pts, 7rbs, 4as, 1stl---no Kobe/Shaq/Malone (W) Payton-11pts

Kings, 42min, 10-17, 3-5, 23pts, 8rbs, 2as, 2to's, 1blk (W) Bibby-23pts, Jackson-18pts

Totals, 40min, 59%, 64%, 90%, 28pts, 5rbs, 2.3as, .7stls, 1to


Totals: 86-200 (43%), 31-72 (43%), 37-45 (82%), 240pts (20), 52rbs (4.3), 29as (2.4), 11to's (.9), 17stls (1.4), 8blks (.6)

[ReDIRKulous]

Portland isn't an Elite team anymore MFF.

But anyway... here are the stats theBac dug up...

Fin:

LAL, 2G, 73MIN, 10-32 FG, 1-10 3PT, 10-11 FT, 2ST, 0BL, 2TO, 7REB, 2AST, 31PTS
MIN, 1G, 44MIN, 8-23 FG, 5-12 3PT, 4-5 FT, 2ST, 1BL, 1TO, 8REB, 1AST, 25PTS
SAC, 1G, 38MIN, 3-15 FG, 2-6 3PT, 4-6 FT, 1ST, 3BL, 2TO, 4REB, 1AST, 12PTS
SAN, 2G, 80MIN, 7-25 FG, 2-10 3PT, 8-10 FT, 8ST, 3BL, 2TO, 5REB, 6AST, 24PTS

Total against contenders:
235MIN, 28-95 FG, 10-38 3PT, 26-32 FT, 13ST, 7BL, 7TO, 24REB, 10AST, 92PTS
39.2MIN, 29.5% FG, 26.3% 3PT, 81.3% FT, 2.2ST, 1.2BL, 1.2TO, 4REB, 1.7AST, 15.3PTS a game (on 15.8FGA, and 5.3FTA a game, he's struggling from the field, but he gets to the line)

overall:
38.8MIN, 43.9% FG, 40% 3PT, 81.8% FT, 1.3ST, .5BL, 1.3TO, 4.5REB, 2.8AST, 17.2PTS (on 14.9FGA and 2.8FTA a game)

[MavsFanFinley]

Portland may not be elite this year, but I'm not crossing them off my list. They still give fits to the Mavs and could be trouble if we meet them in the playoffs again. You can consider the Timberwolves elite this year, but they haven't been in previous years and have yet to prove themselves in the playoffs.

Must give credit to thebac for those numbers, but they're not updated. They're missing a Laker, Minnesota, Sacramento, and the 3 Portland games that I believe are as or near important.

Add those up and you get these numbers. Not stellar, but certainly not disaster numbers some make it out to be.

86-200 fg (43%)
31-72 3pt (43%)
37-45 ft (82%)

If you look at his totals in November, he did a decent job at getting to the ft line, was averaging over 2 steals a game while barely turning it over once a game. The rebounds and assists were barely under his season averages.

December was a disaster month across the board, but two of those games came right after his toe injury.

January he was on another level.

If we're going to base his play solely on shooting percentages then that's not looking at the whole picture.

(I'm going cross-eyed looking at all these numbers. Somebody start checking my work. I messed up on Fin's total fga. He had 200, not 202. He also had 72 (3pt) fga, not 74 which bumped him up to 43%. Also messed up on his fta: 45, not 43 which drops him to 82%.

[ReDIRKulous]

When you are supposedly a "scorer"... you are going to be judged on your FG%. If you are taking the number of shots Fin does you are going to be judged on your FG%.

How do you explain his horrific performance against the Lakers at home between 2 fantastic performances against terrible teams if it isn't mental? If you can do that then I might be able to have some understaning of what was going on... if not then I chalk it up to Fin just not being a big game perfomer until recently... which is fine... not everyone is. There are tons of great players that weren't big game performers. But for whatever reason Fin is performing now... I didn't want to bring it up and jinx it... if he starts stinkng now it is on you, MFF. lol

[MavsFanFinley]

How do you explain his horrific performance agains the Lakers at home between 2 fantastic performances against terrible teams if it isn't mental?

I don't think it's all mental. I think it's called going up against one of the best defenders in the league and not knowing you're own limits in situations like that. His line for that night: 43min, 8-24, 1-6, 2-3, 19pts, 3rbs, 1as, 2stls, 1to.

Lakers (3 games/1-2)

21-50 (42%), 5-14 (36%), 15-17 (88%), 62pts (21), 14rbs (4.6), 7as, (2.3), 2to's, (.6), 3stls (1)

Spurs (2 games/2-0)

7-25 (28%), 2-10 (20%), 8-10 (80%), 24pts (12), 5rbs (2.5), 6as (3), 8stls (4), 2to's (1), 3blks (1.5)

Kings (2 games/2-0)

13-32 (41%), 5-11 (45%), 4-6 (66%), 35pts (17.5), 12rbs (6), 3as (1.5), 1stl (.5), 4to's (2), 4blks (2)

Minnesota (2 games/2-0)

17-38 (45%), 11-21 (52%), 4-5 (80%), 49pts, (23) 11rbs (5.5), 2as (1), 1to (.5), 3stls (1.5), 1blk (.5)

Portland (3 games/2-1)

28-55 (51%), 8-16 (50%), 6-7 (86%), 70pts (23), 10rbs (3.3), 11as (3.6), 2stls (.6), 2to's (.6)

[grndmstr_c]

Fin not being a big game performer until recently? His playoff numbers do not lend any credence to the contention that he has not been a big game performer. His minutes, points, steals, blocks and rebounds are all up from his career averages, and his TO's are down. Only his assists have suffered and he's still averaged better than 3 per game. Furthermore, his overall scoring efficiency (taking into account fta's and ft%) is virtually identical to his career average. No, he's not Michael Jordan, but this myth about him playing poorly in big games just doesn't sort well with the facts.

[sike]

Originally posted by: MavsFanFinley
Portland may not be elite this year, but I'm not crossing them off my list. They still give fits to the Mavs.

....and the shakes and munchies....

[sike]

Originally posted by: grndmstr_c
Fin not being a big game performer until recently? His playoff numbers do not lend any credence to the contention that he has not been a big game performer. His minutes, points, steals, blocks and rebounds are all up from his career averages, and his TO's are down. Only his assists have suffered and he's still averaged better than 3 per game. Furthermore, his overall scoring efficiency (taking into account fta's and ft%) is virtually identical to his career average. No, he's not Michael Jordan, but this myth about him playing poorly in big games just doesn't sort well with the facts.

C I think most confuse not being a #1 option and not being a top performer.....Fin is not the Mavs #1, but he clearly still does his thing in the playoffs...and as you pointed out, most of his stats have usually gone up...
most people think of a few specific games where Finley sucked and then just assume does not perform....but I can see how that is simply not true....good point about him not being MJ, there are few who jump there game like he did....and one cannot expect that sort of game from Finley....just let him do his thing and he'll consistantly be a top 10 2 guard in this league....

[Max Power]

Originally posted by: ReDIRKulous
Clutch or not clutch Fin is still a great guy.

Who was the one player to step up in the WCF last year when Dirk went down? He single-handedly kept us from being eliminated in game 5. If stupid NVE had PASSED THE ROCK to Finley a couple of more times then we would probably have won the championship last year.

[dude1394]

Well let's see what are the aspects of michaels game.

Defense
Hitting 3pt shots?
FT's.

His defense has been pretty solid all year. Lapses sure, but very solid.

When he doesn't hit 3ptrs, he's not a lot of help. But boy oh boy if he would try to get to the line more, he would be a perrinneal all-star. He actually has great moves around the basket. A mind-set problem however.

but if he's shooting the 3ptr good, he's unbelievable. If not, please give it to someone else.

[ReDIRKulous]

This was after game 6 of the WCF:

Game notes
Finley felt he let the team down. "It was the biggest game of the year and I didn't play up to par,'' he said. "I made a plea for the crowd to make noise for 48 minutes. They held up their endofhe bargain, but I didn't.'' ... That plea was played on the main scoreboard before tipoff and at the start of the second half. ... Over the middle two quarters, the Spurs had as many field goals (13) as turnovers. ... San Antonio had 17 turnovers. In the others three wins this series, the Spurs had 16, 14 and 14. They had 11 and nine in their losses.

[MavsFanFinley]

Nash deserves a thread of his own, but I still want to compare his stats against the elite teams. I don't hear anyone calling Nash out for not performing big time against the elite teams.

Lakers (4 games)

21-50 (42%), 4-14 (29%), 17-18 (95%), 63pts (16), 10rbs (2.5), 30as (7.5), 2stls (.5), 10to's (2.5)

San Antonio (2 games)

9-21 (43%), 3-5 (60%), 6-8 (75%), 27pts (13.5), 11rbs (5.5), 13as (6.5), 1stl (.5), 6to's (3)

Kings (2 games)

12-22 (55%), 4-7 (57%), 7-7 (100%), 35pts (17.5), 3rbs (1.5), 24as (12) , 3stls (1.5), 4to's (2)

Portland (2 games)

5-16 (31%), 2-8 (25%), 6-6 (100%), 18pts (9), 12rbs (6), 18as (9), 1stl (.5), 5to's (2.5)

Minnesota (3 games)

18-50 (36%), 5-17 (29%), 19-19 (100%), 64pts (21), 8rbs (2.6), 25as (8.3), 1stl (.3), 7to's (2.3)


Totals:

65-149 (43%), 18-51 (35%), 55-58 (95%), 201pts (15), 44rbs (3.4), 110as (8.5), 8stls (.6), 32to's (2.5)

[ReDIRKulous]

Nash's primary role on this team isn't to be a scorer. That was my whole point about Finley... if he isn't going to score in big games then what is his purpose on this team? that was why I felt Jho would be better in his position because of his rebounding and defense... and he doesn't need as many shots.

[dude1394]

You are right MFF. Nash DOES deserve a thread of his own. I'll take those numbers any day of the week on any team.

[Max Power]

Originally posted by: ReDIRKulous
This was after game 6 of the WCF:

What was Finley supposed to say? The truth? NVE cost us the series because he never passed the frigging ball but was Finley supposed to say that? Was he supposed to call out Nash who also had a subpar series? Finley is the only player who didn't deserve the blame for losing the series and he stepped up and took the blame. Pure class.

Originally posted by: ReDIRKulous
Nash's primary role on this team isn't to be a scorer.

Completely incorrect. Nellie wants Nash to shoot MORE and score MORE. If the coach tells you that is your role then it doesn't matter what you OR Nash thinks of it - you do what the coach says.

[ReDIRKulous]

MAx... you know I don't like to argue... but I must correct you on this matter...

What was Finley supposed to say? The truth? NVE cost us the series because he never passed the frigging ball but was Finley supposed to say that? Was he supposed to call out Nash who also had a subpar series? Finley is the only player who didn't deserve the blame for losing the series and he stepped up and took the blame. Pure class.

So you are saying that the leader of our team was unable to tell Nick to pass him the ball? And as for NAsh... he takes the brunt of every defense. It is a known fact that every teams method of attack it to send waves and waves of defenders at Steve Nash. It is amazing he performed as well as he did under the circumstances.

Completely incorrect. Nellie wants Nash to shoot MORE and score MORE. If the coach tells you that is your role then it doesn't matter what you OR Nash thinks of it - you do what the coach says.

How much does Nellie want Nash to score? How do you know that Nash wasn't scoring sufficiently? So you are telling me that not only does Nash have to take care of all the ball handling duty... he is also expected to score at the same level as michael Finley? Yeah... right. Get real man. You are too funny Max. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]