Suns 125, Wizards 108: Three thoughts

Three thoughts on the Wizards’ 124-108 loss at Phoenix:

1. The Steve Nash master class in the Art of Point Guard Play really began after halftime. He had his way with the Wizards from the opening tip, but things went to another level in the third quarter, where the Suns outscored Washington, 31-17. As good as Nash was – and he absolutely deserves the gushing plaudits he’ll receive today – wow, the Wizards were utterly out of sorts every time Nash went into a pick and roll, as if it were the first time they’d ever seen offensive play that is used more often than any other in the NBA. John Wall, despite bouncing back from his disappointing outing against Portland on Friday with 12 points, 12 assists and three steals, seemed like a pawn in Nash’s plan every time he guarded him. For all that Wall does getting his hands into passing lanes and disrupting as a help defender, he’s always a bit resigned to let a screen completely take him out of the play. The problem is, while Wall was trailing Nash, the Wizards big men froze in front of him, whether it was JaVale McGee or Hilton Armstrong or Yi Jianlian. And rotation has been an issue on defense all season. It’s not that Nash wasn’t great. But the Wizards, who were easily baited into an up-tempo game that was always going to be difficult for them to sustain, looked like orange cones the way Nash ran through them. Phoenix probably gets fewer dunks doing shell work in practice than they did on Sunday night.
2. The Wizards lost by a lot on the road, again. At some point, there’s too much checking out going on, whether it’s the players or Wizards head coach Flip Saunders. It’s difficult to buy into the rebuilding that’s supposed to be going on with the franchise until the Wizards can start to avoid looking totally outcoached and outplayed in every other game. Blowout losses happen in an 82-game season. But the Wizards literally haven’t even been in their last four road games by the fourth quarter, and that is more notable than a gutsy, defensive win over a reeling Portland on Friday night.
3. At least the Wizards are getting healthier, but what will that do to the rotation? Nick Young’s thigh bruise proved not to be serious, and he was back with 20 points off the bench against Phoenix, while Yi matched his season-high with 13 points, and rookie Trevor Booker set his career-high with nine points. Not to mention, Saunders said last week that there’s been no limitations on Josh Howard in practice, and a return before Christmas seems pretty likely. But will moving Gilbert Arenas to the bench work over the long-term? Can Al Thornton get back to being the productive and energetic player he was at the start of the year? Playing the Lakers on Tuesday isn’t exactly the perfect set-up for more experimentation.