Phoenix's Setting Sun: Is Steve Nash Still a Top Five Point Guard?

Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash is 36 years old, but it's hard to tell considering he still runs the Suns high octane offense with the energy and stamina of a player 10 years younger.

Despite the loss of Amare Stoudemire in free agency Nash has the Suns at 6-5 in the competitive West, and his numbers have not fell that dramatically from last year.

Nash is averaging 19.3 points per game, 8.9 assists, 3.5 rebounds, while shooting 50 percent from the field and 42 percent from the three point line.

Those are pretty good numbers, but in this season of the point guard Nash's name has slipped behind the younger crop of lead guards that have dominated the early part of the NBA season.

Most observers would agree that Nash was already behind point guards Deron Williams and Chris Paul, who are universally regarded as the league's best, but some would agree that Derrick Rose and Rajon Rondo have also surpassed Nash as a player.

That would leave Nash right on the edge of the league's top five point guards, but there are even more players like Stephen Curry, Brandon Jennings and Tyreke Evans who are eager to make their claim as elite NBA point guards.

I have never been a big fan of Nash, and usually I would agree that each of the players named above are superior players, but after looking at each player's numbers compared to Nash's, it's hard to exclude him from the mix.

Rose and Williams are the only players mentioned in the first four who score more points per game than Nash, and Rondo, Paul and Williams are the only players who average more assists.

Paul is the only player mentioned who shoots a better percentage than Nash, and more importantly, Paul, Williams, Rose and Rondo all have the benefit of superior teammates.

Nash doesn't have a David West, Paul Milsap, Luol Deng or Paul Pierce, yet he still manages to keep his numbers consistent with players who are surrounded by much better talent.

The biggest knock on Nash has always been his defense, and in truth he lags far behind in that category, as opposed to the other players mentioned.

Rondo is arguably the best defensive guard in the NBA, and although Williams and Paul don't receive much credit for defense, it's one of the aspects that makes them the game's most complete point guards.

Rose has the tools to be a great defensive guard, but has yet to show the desire to excel in that area, and even still, Rose may be miles beyond Nash.

Some people have said that Nash gets a bad rap on defensive, and that he's not really as poor as he seems. This subject gets debated as much as Nash's consecutive MVP trophies, but while the MVP awards can be argued, Nash's poor defense can't.

Nash's defense has also been my main knock on his game, and maybe it would be easier to accept him as a great point guard if he had any concept of defense at all.

At times it seems that Nash's best defensive move is pushing the ball up the court after an opponent's made basket, and although it suggests that Nash has a very short memory, it wouldn't hurt to at least show some effort.

Some observers say that Nash's court vision, veteran leadership, shooting touch and experience compensate for his short-comings on the defensive end, and while I don't agree with that theory it is a compelling argument.

In fact, Nash's leadership and experience are the very things that make him a viable candidate for one of the league's top five point guards, but it's his amazing numbers against the back-drop of inferior teammates that makes the case.