Not even a Suns fan, but both my choices are Suns. Weird.
Most overrated: Steve Nash
Nash won the MVP twice in a row (3? Still waiting to see if Dirk gets robbed this year), but has never been anything resembling a controlling force in the playoffs. The NBA's regular season is just around to determine where the 8 best teams play for the championship, and after that it's about your defense (which Nash doesn't play) and the dominance of your superstars (dominance which Nash lacks). I mean, the supposed "best distributor in the league" couldn't even make the NBA finals with Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley, Tim Hardaway, Juwan Howard, a bench with exceptional roleplayers and the hustle man Eduardo Najera...? You put Jason Kidd on that team and you can hand him his ring before the finals even start.
Most underrated player: Shawn Marion
A double-double every night and amazing defensive abilities from the 4 spot have kept the Suns in great shape despite having no ability to get a defensive stop and the smallest front 7 in the league. In a Western Conference crowded with marquee forwards (Duncan, Garnett, Nowitzki, Anthony, Boozer etc) Marion gets lost in the shuffle. If Phoenix is crazy enough to lose Marion this offseason for cap relief, they're throwing their playoff spot out with the bathwater.
Overrated honorable mention: Manu Ginobili
Great shooter, decent passer, terrible actor. I like Ginobili, but the man lives and dies with the flop rule. If they implement that next year, you might as well kiss the Spurs' run at a championship goodbye.
Underrated honorable mention: Marcus Camby
Runner-up to defensive player of the year award for the previous two years, Camby isn't even mentioned by most analysts as a candidate this year (Bill Walton picked Tim Duncan?! Still scratching my head on that one) despite leading the league in blocks with an ABSURD 3.3 blocks per game, and coming in second in defensive rebounds to the unreal Kevin Garnett. Camby is one of only a handful of players in the league that make marquee players think twice about attempting short buckets in the lane, and yet people talk about him like he's Shawn Bradley. All in all, it's a terrible injustice for the league's best defensive-stopper.
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