Sonics And Suns Receiving Credit Around The League

For the first time ever, a week-long series of games featuring regional contests, divisional games and historic playoff matchups highlight the NBA schedule as part of Rivalry Week, which runs through Wednesday, March 2. NBA.com asked current players, NBA Legends and WNBA players what they thought was the best team rivalry in the game today.

ALEX ENGLISH, Denver Nuggets Legend "Out west I used to say the Spurs and the Lakers. Now, I would say the Spurs and any of the top two teams: Phoenix and Seattle."

GILBERT ARENAS, Washington Wizards "Besides us and Miami? Me and Dwyane, we got our little thing going: buddies off the floor, warriors on the floor. I wanted to say Indiana-Detroit ... but it’s not a game without Ron Artest. When Ron’s there you can expect anything to happen. That’s the biggest rivalry. The Phoenix Suns against the Seattle SuperSonics could be the best matchup."

The Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers also received votes due to the ongoing fued between Kobe and Shaq.

Via NBA.com

Oklahoma City, Phoenix Suns

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Boston Defeats Suns In Overtime; Nash Remains In Street Clothes

Forget the controversial last shot the Mavericks took that careened out of bounds, Marion blocked Nowitzki; it was a feat of athleticism that only Marion could produce. The Phoenix Suns not only beat one of the top teams in the West, they did it without their slashing, scoring, dime-throwin point guard Steve Nash. They did it minus his league leading 11.45 assists per game. Previously the Suns were only 1-2 without Nash, their lone win coming against the Los Angeles Clippers. It can be agreed upon that in each game, the Suns did not seem the same.

So now we know the Suns can win without Nash. Now when is Nash coming back? His strained right hamstring continues to bother him, and while a half-speed Nash is still pretty solid, it does not come close to a Steve Nash who is at full-speed. At full-speed Nash dictates the tempo and runs the Suns. A full-speed Nash is vital if the Suns hope to advance far into the playoffs this season, great record or not. There is a lot of talk about the Suns making a run for Gary Payton provided the Hawks buy out his contract. Gary Payton would be a nice addition, but cannot, and will not replace Steve Nash. At this juncture, there is no player that can replace Mr. Nash. Remember, this is Nash’s MVP season.

Today versus Boston was a different story as the Suns lost a 120-113 heartbreaker in overtime. Newly re-acquired Antoine Walker torched the Suns with a monstrous effort scoring 33 points (on 33 shots), grabbing 13 rebounds and dishing out 6 assists. The good news was that the Suns managed to take it to overtime; the bad news is they were outscored 14-7 in that overtime.

Via Hunter Johannason/RealGM

Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics

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Suns To Pursue Payton As Insurance Against Nash’s Ailing Hamstring

If Atlanta buys out newly acquired Gary Payton’s contract, the Suns are likely to make a move to bring the veteran their way. Payton wants to play for a winner and Phoenix has certainly proved themselves to be a contender.

If Nash does manage to stay healthy, Payton would provided the Suns with much needed depth.

Payton spent last season with the Los Angeles Lakers in hopes of finally winning a championship. He led the Sonics to the Finals versus the Chicago Bulls, but were defeated in 6 games.

Via Arizona Republic

Phoenix Suns, Atlanta Hawks

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