Does Steve Nash Really Qualify As a Top 10 Floor General?

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Hadarii Jones loves to pick interesting topics to write about. His most recent article was a slide show titled "Born to Lead the top 10 Floor Generals in the NBA " which I was intrigued to read.

His list in order went Jeff Green, Gilbert Arenas, Kevin Garnett, Dwayne Wade, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd, and Chauncey Billups. To me the weakest link out of the group was Nash.

I don't consider Nash a top 10 floor general. He maybe an exceptional passer and shooter, but to me in order to be a floor general you have to be a complete all-around player.

On the list, every single player except for Nash plays defense. Certainly not all of them on the same level, but it's good enough to be considered above average. That can hardly be said about Nash.

Let's look at the players that Jones has on the list.

Jeff Green —In actuality if you were to ask me, Green was the most improved player last year for the Oklahoma City Thunder and he's been a pleasant surprise for the young Thunder squad.

In fact, coming out of Georgetown I didn't think he was going to do much damage even though he was the fifth pick in the 2007 NBA draft. Adding Green to the mix with Kevin Durant is going to be a tandem that's going to be tough in the next couple of years.

Green is a rugged small forward who can rebound, shoot the ball, and play tough defense. You can definitely see why he could be picked over Durant as the leader of the Thunder because of his all-around ability.

Gilbert Arenas —When I first saw Arenas on the list, it was questionable thanks to, in part, him missing most of the last two years thanks to injuries. But when healthy, Arenas is a complete player.

I also believe his dedication to take smarter shots will also benefit the Wizards, and so far it's been paying off for him. He's on pace to have the best shooting percentage from beyond the arc.

Arenas is underrated defensively as well, and when healthy he is consistently among the leaders in steals.

Kevin Garnett —So far on the list, he's probably the best example of a player that leads by example. Garnett is one of the most intense players in the league and he puts out a maximum effort every night.

Dwayne Wade —Another maximum effort guy who gets it done at both ends of the court. I would say at this point in time he's ahead of LeBron James in terms of awareness of what needs to be done.

Wade's problem though is because he's so fearless at getting to the hoop, he has been injury prone. I think as Wade gets older he's going to improve his mid range jumper and start doing what Kobe Bryant does so well to get to the line, which is pump fakes that get the defender in the air and create the contact to get to the line.

Chris Paul —Paul just gets it done regardless of what end of the court he is on. The knock on Paul though is the lack of strength he has to defender a bigger guard and as well being a gambler on defense.

I don't know if the gambler on defense could be considered a negative towards him considering the fact he has led the NBA in steals. Sure, does that mean he could get beat? Yes, but I believe that Paul weighs the risk and if he feels like he's got the edge then he's going to go for the steal.

Offensively there aren't really many negatives in his game and at least this year he's shot the lights out from beyond the arc, currently hitting at 80 percent. It's not going to last, but he may have the best season of his career hitting threes.

Deron Williams —Fans rank Williams higher than Paul because of his strength. I personally believe that Paul is the better player, but it's hard to argue that you lose much with Williams either.

So, what it really means is that Williams doesn't tend to gamble on defense. Williams also plays in a system that has shown to be effective for years under Jerry Sloan. The pick and roll they run works to perfection.

Steve Nash —Nash doesn't belong on the list, end of story. There is only one thing that Nash is good at, and that is running the ball up and down the court. When he's forced to slow down, he can barely function as a point guard.

Kobe Bryant

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