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DALLAS --With the controversy surrounding Steve Nash?s MVP award finally starting to wane, it looks like another one is brewing in Dallas . According to a report on espn.com, several Mavericks players allowed Nash to run wild against their team just because he is white. While some players denied the report, others acknowledged that there may be some truth to it.
?I think you?d have to be pretty delusional to think that race didn?t have something to do with him torching us in that series,? said one Mavericks player, who asked not to be identified. ?It?s no secret that a lot of people around the league, and on this team, wanted to see a white player do well. Let?s just say that if he was black, things would have been a lot different. For starters, we would?ve made at least a token attempt to play defense.?
Mavericks coach Avery Nelson denied rumors that Nash?s race was a factor in the series, and instead praised Nash for his clutch play.
?To say that we would let someone score points because he?s white is unfair and offensive to me,? said Avery. ?Nash is a great player. He really knows how to run that offense. You think he?s easy to defend? He?s not. He reminds me a lot of myself when I played. I, too, was short and...well, that?s it, I guess. We?re both short.?
The report cited the fact that Nash averaged 30 points per game in the series, twice his regular season total. In game 4 he netted 48 points, a career high. For some, it was more than just a coincidence.
?Steve Nash is a tremendous player, but you have to believe his race had something to do with his performance,? said ESPN?s Stephen A Smith. ?When you look at his career numbers compared to his playoff numbers, it?s obvious that there?s more going on than meets the eye. There?s no way a white player could be that good. Not one from America , anyway. That just goes to show you that the race factor is always in play in professional basketball. Every situation is a racial powder keg. And if it isn?t, I?ll make it one.?
Perhaps the most damning testimony came from Mavs point guard Jason Terry, whose shoddy defense was one of the reasons for Nash?s offensive explosion during the series. Terry, an African-American, admitted even he was pulling for the white guy.
?Yes, that?s it. That?s the reason I got burned so bad,? said Terry. ?I just happen to be biased in favor of white players. You didn?t think I was that bad defensively, did you? If I wanted to defend the guy, I could?ve easily put my hand up while he was shooting or at least tried to distract him. Plus I never would?ve given him ten fingers so he could get closer to the basket. That was probably a mistake.?
When asked if he was just making excuses for his lousy defense, Terry responded angrily.
?Making excuses? I?m not one to make excuses,? he said. ?I?m just stating a fact, that?s all. I let Steve Nash score repeatedly because he is white, not because he?s better than me. And you know what? I would do it again. There, now I?ve covered my ass. in case we meet again next year.?
The allegations have added more controversy to an already controversial season for Nash. However, the 6?3 guard could care less what his detractors say. His only concern is bringing his team to the finals.
?I don?t really put too much stock into what people say about me,? said Nash. ?I just try to go out there and do my job and put my team in a position to win ball games. Although I have to say that in the Dallas series I was starting to have my suspicions. Things were coming awfully easy for me for a while there. It seems like there was always an open lane to run through or a wide open shot to take. And then there was that time in Game 4 when everyone on the Mavs laid down on the floor and curled up in the fetal position while I went in for an uncontested layup. I didn?t think it was because I was white, though. I thought it was because the Mavericks are pussies. I suspect it?s a combination of the two things.?