Nash sucker-elbowed by Dallas PG and resident bitch Jason Terry…

Draft Trade Rumour: Raptors trade the No. 1 overall pick to Portland for their number 4 and draft UConn PG Marcus Williams...allowing Portland to draft local boy Gonzaga SFAdam Morrison.

Regular Trade Rumour: Pacers send PF Jermaine O’Neal to the Warriors for PFTroy Murphy and either SG/SF Michael Pietrus or PF Ike Diogu.

The Mavericks defeated Phoenix 95-88 last night to take a 2-1 lead in the series…the Diggler was fantastic with 28 points, 17 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks while SF Josh Howard added 22 points and 12 rebounds….the Suns were flat nad had no depth without Raja Bell…in fact, the bench was atrocious with Eddie House and James Jones combining for just 6 points on 1-of-8 shooting including 0-3 from downtown…Leandro Barbosa, who had 17 points filling in for the injured Bellwas a spark along with PG Steve Nash, who had 21 points and 7 assists and SF/PF/C Boris Diaw who had 20 points…

Meanwhile, the Miami Heat easily on Game 3 at home Saturday 98-83, and went up 2-1 in the Eastern Conference finals...how? Well. They shot 35 of 58 from the floor (64%!!!) outscoring Detroit 50-16 in the paint…Dwyane Wade was bananas scoring 35 points while Shaq-fu added 27 points and 12 rebounds…together the dynamic duo combined to shoot 24-for-32 from the floor for the Heat…As for the Pistons, the main culprits were Tayshaun Prince who went 1-for-7 for 3 points, Rasheed Wallace who only had 11 points and Ben Wallace who was 0-1 from the floor and 2-10 from the line for 2 points…these horrible performances wasted great efforts from Chauncey Billups, who was 11 of 17 from the floor for 31 points and Richard Hamilton who had 20 points before fouling out and …by the way, the Heat outrebounded the Pistons 40-27…

Ricky Williams an Argo? Wow…there must be considerable joy in places like the Friendly Stranger and other local TO hemp stores…

Did you know this? At a Blues practice, apparently Jamie McLennan, the St. Louis blue’s backup goalie a few years ago took an Al MacInnis slap shot squarely in the groin, shattering his goalie cup and rupturing not one, but BOTH of his testicles…oh my God…

1) Chad Ford with his draft workout update:

Now that the lottery is over and the draft process is in full swing, I'll be on the road for the next month at draft camps and gyms across the U.S. (and Italy) to watch some of the most interesting prospects. I spent the weekend in Chicago watching prospects work out at Tim Grover's A.T.T.A.C.K. Athletics. Here's who I saw:

Rajon Rondo: Rondo's a conundrum for NBA talent evaluators. Some NBA guys love him. Some hate him. But few have seen him in the right environment to make a fully informed decision. Rondo has earned positive reviews for his workouts in Phoenix, Houston and Boston. The word is that his shot has improved and his athleticism ranks near the top of the draft. One big question remains, however: Is he a point guard? It's almost impossible to determine that in an individual workout. And it was difficult to discern the answer at Kentucky this year. Kentucky coach Tubby Smith played a slow-paced, half-court offense, while Rondo is a rev-it-up, super-quick guard who thrives in the open court. I asked Grover and Rondo's agent Kevin Bradbury to give me a better feel for Rondo's point guard skills by arranging a five-on-five game on Saturday morning in Chicago. Also partcipating were Mustafa Shakur of Arizona, Denham Brown of Connecticut, and one of the draft's mystery men, Brad Newley of Australia.
Rondo has put on 10 pounds of muscle since we saw him last at Kentucky, and his shoulders and arms are noticeably thicker. His hands are freakish as advertised -- the guys in the gym jokingly call him "E.T." because of his long fingers. At 6-2 (in shoes), Rondo can palm a basketball off the dribble. Very few players his size can do that. Guarded by Shakur for the whole game, Rondo was stellar. He pushed the ball up the floor at a breakneck pace, made a number of pinpoint, dropjaw passes and got to the basket at will against Shakur. Rondo showed off his nuclear athleticism and uber-quickness in the open court. He changes directions in a split second, explodes to the basket and pushes the ball relentlessly in the open floor. His ball-handling is one of his best attributes. His huge hands give him maximum control over the ball. He never bobbles or loses it, no matter how heavy the traffic. On three occasions, he drew oohs from the spectators after delivering a beautiful pass. Defensively he was also rock solid, causing frequent problems for Shakur and picking off a number of passes for fast breaks on the other end. Rondo showed a style that scouts haven't seen from him since he played for Team USA's junior squad in Argentina last summer. He came out of that camp rated as the top point guard in the draft and a potential top five pick. In Chicago, he showed why. What about his jump shot? He didn't take a jumper in the game. Afterwards I watched him in drills for about 45 minutes. His form does look a lot better than what we saw in Kentucky. He hit more shots than he missed, especially from the NBA 3-point line. But more than likely Rondo's never going to be a great shooter. Hitting shots without a defender on you is one thing. Hitting them in the course of a game is another. His free throw shooting is also going to need a lot of work. He actually missed more free throws than 3s in the workout I saw. That's going to be a problem for a guy who's going to draw a lot of fouls in the NBA with his penetration. Teams don't draft a player like Rondo because he can stroke the ball. Rather, they'll look at his athleticism, quickness, defense and point guard skills. Put him on the right team and let him run and he's going to be a great point guard in the pros. Put him in a conservative, slow-down offense and it's going to get ugly. Based on what I saw on Saturday, I think he's the best point guard prospect in the draft. Along with everyone else, I have been calling UConn's Marcus Williams the best pure point guard. The implication has been that Rondo is more of an athlete than a pure point. From what I saw, I no longer believe that. I think Williams is craftier and a better scorer, but Rondo's court vision is excellent and he is a much better athlete and defender than Williams. Given what we've been hearing about Williams' weight (up to 220 according to the Celtics) and his obvious off-court baggage, Rondo might end up ahead of Williams at the end of the draft. I sat down with Rondo after the workout to get his take on his critics and the draft process. Rondo said he realized by midseason that the style of play at Kentucky was hurting his draft chances, and so making the decision to jump to the NBA was relatively easy. "Coach agreed that the style we were playing probably wasn't the best fit for me," Rondo said. "I knew after this summer that I could play with everyone, but I'd do best in a Phoenix Suns style where the point guard is really allowed to push the ball and create." Rondo said that his early feedback in the draft process gave him a better idea of what he had to work on. "I've been working real hard with Tim to put on some strength, work on my NBA moves and of course my shooting," he said. "From the feedback I got in the workouts, I think it's going pretty good." Rondo said that he thinks his game most resembles that of Tony Parker, another super-quick point guard who has also struggled with a suspect jump shot. Rondo's main frustration in the draft process is that he hasn't had a chance to go up against Williams. "I want to work out against the best so that I can prove that it's me," Rondo said. "I think teams would want to see us against each other." They do. I talked to three GMs who said a Rondo-Williams workout would be ideal. They think the problem is that Rondo's and Williams' agents -- both affiliated with BDA Sports -- won't allow it. Not so, according to Rondo's agent. "No teams have asked, so it hasn't happened," Kevin Bradbury, Rondo's agent, said. "We tell all of our guys when we sign them that if teams want them to work out together or compete against each other, they need to do it. If a team wants to see them against each other, we'll try to make it happen."

Other prospects in Chicago:

Brad Newley: Newley, a 6-5, 21-year-old shooting guard from Adelade, Australia, has been the best young player in Australia the last two seasons. He won an NBL All-Star MVP award his rookie year and dominated the Commonwealth Games last fall. A former teammate of Andrew Bogut, Newley is known as a tough player and big-time scorer who attacks the basket and sticks the J. He averaged 19 points per game, five rebounds and four assists in the NBL last season. I watched him in workouts on Thursday and Friday and saw him play in the five-on-five game on Saturday, matched up against Denham Brown, one of the better defenders in college basketball last season. When I first saw him in workouts, I assumed he was a jump shooter like many European two guards. But in the scrimmage, Newley showed he is very aggressive putting the ball on the floor and taking it to the basket. His game resembles Manu Ginobili's more than it does that of most Euros. He doesn't have the quickness or creativity of Ginobili, but he's a good athlete, and he actually likes contact. He held up well against a very physical Brown. Those who remember how Danny Ainge used to play would recognize some of the same feistiness in Newley. "He's one tough S.O.B." one of the players scrimmaging said after the game. International scouts say Newley isn't known for his jump shooting over there, but his shot was falling in the game. He hit several NBA-distance 3s and a couple of midrange shots. That confirmed what I saw in workouts. I wouldn't call him a pure shooter, but he can get it in the basket. His jump shot form needs a little work (he has a slow, low release), but it isn't really broken either. Newley also is a good passer and with a feel for setting up his teammates. Defensively he was pretty good. He moved his feet very well and showed he is stronger than he looks. He told me his coach always put him on the Americans playing in Australia, so he has some experience defending against quicker players. On the down side, he hasn't totally adjusted to the speed of the game. He had a number of turnovers because of bad crosscourt passes. Rondo picked him off several times, and Newley admitted afterward that he's going to have to get used to how quick and long the players are here. He's going to play in the Orlando pre-draft camp, and it will be very interesting to see what he does there. Given his great feel for the game and his aggression on the offensive end, he could be an Orlando pre-draft camp sleeper, just as Beno Udrih was a couple of years ago. Only three NBA teams -- the Clippers, Pistons and Rockets -- have gone to see him play in Australia, so he's a bit of unknown.

Mustafa Shakur: Shakur was up and down in the scrimmage. Against Rondo he was pretty shaky at both ends of the floor. He couldn't stay in front of Rondo on the defensive end, and Rondo forced him into a number of wild shots. He also became so engrossed in his individual matchup that he missed several opportunites to find open men in the workout. After Rondo was moved off him, Shakur's game opened up. He had a number of good drives to the basket and showed the ability to finish around the rim. He also got more comfortable running his team and made a number of excellent passes, setting up Newley for some easy scores. Shakur's biggest weakness right now is his jump shot. His form is pretty ugly. He releases the ball in a sort of heave motion from his chest. It's going to take a while for him to work out what looks like a fairly serious kink.

Denham Brown: We've seen enough of Brown at Connecticut to know what he does and doesn't do well. He's an excellent scorer who can get it done with the jumper or by driving to the basket. Defensively he's great on the ball. He's physical and committed to shutting his guy down. He has a good NBA body and always plays hard. Athleticism is his biggest issue. He's not a terrible athlete, but on the NBA level, he's going to struggle in that area. He just doesn't move as quickly, up or down or laterally, as most NBA athletes. He's been working on his explosiveness with Grover, but it isn't there yet.

While some NBA general managers are conducting workouts for draft prospects, other GMs are traveling the globe gathering information. Here's a look at what's happening around the league. The Celtics had UConn's Marcus Williams, Michigan State's Shannon Brown, Rutgers' Quincy Douby and Northeastern's Juan Jose Barea in on Thursday. Once again, Brown shined. He shot the ball well, showed his excellent athleticism and strength and was solid on the defensive end. The biggest question with Brown remains his handle. His struggles dribbling the ball could be a problem at the next level. Williams was a disappointment for the second straight workout (including his previous workout with the Raptors). His shot wasn't falling, he wasn't in the same league athletically with the other guys in the workout and there was a concern that he might be out of shape. I was told he weighed in at 220 -- that's about 15 pounds heavier than Williams needs to be. Despite all the negatives, Williams still displayed his excellent court sense and ability to run a team. Douby shot the lights out, but struggled with the more physical Brown and Williams defensively. Barea was impressive, showing grittiness and scoring ability. I overheard one Eastern Conference scout call Patrick O'Bryant the top prospect in the draft. While that may be one lonely opinion, it does appear that O'Bryant's stock is on the rise. He's long, athletic and the only legit center in the draft. He might have a big draft drive in his near future. Spanish point guard Sergio Rodriguez has been fantastic in the Spanish playoffs, generating significant interest from NBA teams. Rodriguez is a Jason Williams-type point guard with lots of flash and just so-so substance. After a slow start to the season, Rodriguez has looked brilliant of late, and some of the international scouts are sold. He'll be here as early as next week and has workouts scheduled with the Suns, Bulls, Celtics, Grizzlies and Rockets. Rodriguez's agent, Herb Rudoy, told me that Rodriguez will stay in the draft as long as he has a guarantee to be drafted in the first round. Another international man of interest is Senegal's Mouhamed Saer Sene. Scouts and NBA executives say that his stock has risen into the late lottery to mid-first round. Why? Because they've been going to Belgium the last few weeks to see him play and come away impressed. Gonzaga's Adam Morrison will likely schedule only four workouts before the draft, his agent, Mark Bartelstein, told me today. The Blazers, Bulls, Bobcats and the Raptors look like the lucky four. Most people who have read my column over the past few years know that I'm not a fan of mock drafts, especially this early in the process. A mock draft is just really our best guess at what a team will do with the pick. Considering there's still five weeks to go in the draft process, that means we're trying to figure out what a team will do even before it knows. Only the other hand, one of the benefits of doing a mock draft is that my cell phone starts going crazy. I got calls from half the teams in the league offering and seeking info. But it's very dangerous for the next five weeks to take teams at face value. Teams have a lot of incentive to put out half-truths this time of year. As I sifted through what I heard the past 24 hours or so, I found a few notes I think are worth passing on:

Toronto Raptors: It seems as though everyone is predicting LaMarcus Aldridge as the Raptors' pick at No. 1. The thinking I hear almost every time is that Aldridge fits a need at center, so they have to take him. I think that's wrong. GM Bryan Colangelo will likely fill his needs via trade, with the $13 to $15 million he has in cap room this summer as an important part of the bargaining. And he'll likely use his draft pick to get the player he wants. All of the evidence points to Andrea Bargnani. For those who wonder why Colangelo would take Bargnani when he plays the same position as Charlie Villanueva, here's a thought. Colangelo could package Villanueva and a player like Alvin Williams for a center. Two decent prospects look as though they'll be on the block this year -- Jamaal Magloire and Samuel Dalembert. Magloire would be a local favorite. He is from Toronto and would give the Raptors a physical big man to put beside Bosh. But Dalembert is a better prospect. He's younger, more athletic and a better shot blocker. Neither guy has a great contract. Magloire is looking for a big extension this summer and Dalembert has five years, $55 million left on his contract. Would the Sixers or Bucks pull the trigger on that deal? I think so. Villanueva's stock is very high around the league right now and both teams could use the move as a bit of a salary dump, as Williams' contract is only partially guaranteed, starting this summer. The question is whether Colangelo is willing to spend that amount of cash to solve the Raptors problem in the middle? I think getting the No. 1 solves some of that. The team can draft Bargnani to play the three, put Dalembert at the five and still have a boatload of cap room to either pay a free agent point guard (Jason Terry and Speedy Claxton will be available) or find a team willing to trade one (Marko Jaric or Jamaal Tinsley, perhaps) for cap space or another prospect. And don't count out the Raptors' 2005 second-round pick, Roko Ukic. Colangelo is a fan and could try to bring him over from Europe this year.

Portland Trail Blazers: It appears there's going to be a fire sale in Portland this summer. Multiple league executives say that just about everyone, with the exception of Martell Webster, will be available this summer as Nate McMillan and company try to clean house. Zach Randolph, Darius Miles, Theo Ratliff and even Sebastian Telfair can be had. The 30th and 31st picks in the draft are also for sale. The price? The Blazers want another top-10 draft pick to go along with No. 4. The targets? They'd like to get a scorer like LaMarcus Aldridge or Adam Morrison with one pick and Brandon Roy with the other one. The Timberwolves at No. 6, the Celtics at No. 7, the Rockets at No. 8 and the Warriors at No. 9 could all be potential trade partners. All four teams are looking for more immediate help than the draft can provide. Speaking of the Blazers, check out the studs in this big-time workout scheduled to go down in Portland on June 15: Morrison, Rudy Gay, Roy and Randy Foye. Will be interesting to see, with the Blazers falling to No. 4, whether they can still get all four of those guys in.

Atlanta Hawks: The Hawks could also be in the Samuel Dalembert running this summer. They seriously considered making him an offer last summer but were fearful the Sixers would match. Sixers GM Billy King told me on Tuesday it was unlikely he'd be willing to trade Allen Iverson to Atlanta, but Dalembert might be another story. Al Harrington, via sign and trade, could be the bait.

2) Chris Eckstand of SI.com with an opdate on the Eros:

The old world is new again - Bargnani, Splitter have NBA eyes focused on Europe

Andrea Bargnani and Tiago Splitter have some important things in common. They are tall, athletic and immensely promising basketball players who play key roles for two of the best teams in Europe. Both reportedly are under contract to their respective teams through the 2007-08 season. Both have been heavily scouted by NBA teams. And both will eventually have to make the transition from European prodigy to high NBA draft pick, with all the inherent pressures that status represents. The good news for Bargnani, the 6-foot-10 Italian forward from Benetton Treviso of Italy, and Splitter, the 6-foot-11 Brazilian-born center from Tau Ceramica of Spain, is that when they come into the NBA, they will be joining a league that has evolved dramatically over the past two decades thanks to David Stern's vision of becoming a global sports brand. NBA teams today are better equipped than ever to guide international players through the gauntlet of cultural, linguistic and lifestyle adjustments that await them. In places like San Antonio and Phoenix, players with international backgrounds have flourished in systems that are similar to the brand of basketball they grew up with in Europe. Those teams demand that players big and small be able to pass the ball, shoot the ball with range and put team goals first. And that involves more than just feeling comfortable in a drive-and-kick offense as opposed to one relying on the pick-and-roll as the main course. It's about embracing a basketball philosophy that celebrates group achievement rather than individual expression. And it's about integrating the fundamentally sound games of well-schooled Europeans with the explosive, flamboyant style favored by most American players.
Longtime NBA people chafe at the idea that these are "European basketball values." They would argue, correctly, that five-man basketball at its highest level was taught and practiced by American coaches such as John Wooden, Red Auerbach, Red Holzman, Pete Newell and Clair Bee for decades before any European player found his way to the NBA. San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told USA Today just this week, "The Euros and foreign players and coaches are doing things in some ways we have forgotten about and used to do." It's amazing how quickly the NBA landscape has changed. A scant decade ago, a basketball scout describing a player as "European" would most likely be criticizing him as lacking in athleticism and being soft defensively. Today, if a scout says a player plays "like a European," he's more likely complimenting his perimeter shooting or overall fundamental play. What has been the catalyst for this change? It's simple, really. The achievements of two generations of European stars have pulled NBA scouts, coaches and general managers in the direction of the new-old approach to the game. The success of early 1990s pioneers such as Sarunas Marciulionis, Vlade Divac and Drazen Petrovic paved the way for the second wave of European superstars to gravitate to the NBA in the mid-'90s: Toni Kukoc, Dino Radja and Arvydas Sabonis. When those stars, who were already established European veterans in their mid-20s, met with similar success in the NBA, the next logical step in the continuum was achieved: NBA teams started drafting unproven teenage European prodigies with the same breathless (and in some cases mindless) anticipation as they did young Americans. By 2001, a 20-year-old Spaniard with one good season in the ACB (Spain's top league and the best in Europe) was deemed good enough to be chosen with the third pick in the draft. In five seasons, NBA All-Star Pau Gasol has been everything the Memphis Grizzlies could have wished for. And no one needs to be reminded that Dirk Nowitzki of Germany, already a five-time NBA All-Star, is a perennial NBA Most Valuable Player candidate. But not every player born outside the United States has been a success in the NBA. If current Hawks GM Billy Knight is to be commended for wisely trading for the rights to Gasol when he was running things in Memphis, Denver GM Kiki Vandeweghe has to take his lumps for selecting Nikoloz Tskitishvili with the fifth overall pick in '02. And though Hedo Turkoglu, Vladimir Radmanovic and Nenê (a Brazilian player whose draft rights Vandeweghe slickly acquired from New York on draft night) have already validated their high selections in the draft, Bostjan Nachbar and Jiri Welsch have yet to do so. And then there's Darko Milicic, who had to endure hearing what a bust he was in Detroit while never being given any playing opportunity. As his late-season performance after a trade to Orlando suggested, Milicic just might turn out to be a top-flight NBA player after all. He doesn't even turn 21 until June. This track record proves only that there are hits and misses when choosing European players in the draft, just as there are hits and misses when drafting players from the United States. And for all the hopes attached to Bargnani and Splitter, it's not certain that either will keep his name eligible for the '06 draft or, even if they are drafted this year, that they would join their NBA teams right away. Once drafted, both players will have to negotiate buyouts of their contracts from their clubs. While NBA teams can now contribute up to $500,000 to an international player's buyout from his team (the maximum before this year was $350,000), the player must pay the rest from his own pocket. To that end, it behooves Bargnani and Splitter to make sure they will be drafted high enough that it won't be prohibitively expensive to leave comfortable situations in Europe for the NBA. Just a year ago, the Orlando Magic spent the 11th overall pick on promising center Fran Vazquez of Unicaja Malaga in Spain. Vazquez didn't feel he was ready for the NBA limelight, however, and left the Magic at the altar by signing a lucrative contract with another Spanish team, Akasvayu Girona. Orlando retained his NBA draft rights, and the Magic rebounded nicely with the acquisition of Milicic, who might benefit from Vazquez's decision to remain in Spain. Bargnani and Splitter both have attributes that would make them attractive to any NBA team. Bargnani, who has earned increased playing time as his season has progressed, has the skills of a small forward despite his height and length. He is quick off the dribble and loves to take the ball to the basket. In addition, he's a high-percentage shooter facing the basket and has improved his three-point shooting to a respectable 37 percent. On a team blessed with scorers such as former college stars Drew Nicholas (Maryland) and Marcus Goree (West Virginia) and respected Lithuanian Ramunas Siskauskas, Bargnani has carved out a role providing instant offense off the bench. He is a big reason that Benetton (23-7) is tied for first place in Lega A with four games to go in the regular season. Splitter is a completely different type of player, but his list of attributes is just as long. Tau Ceramica (21-9) is a powerful team that for the second straight season has reached this weekend's Euroleague Final Four, the pinnacle of European basketball. It's the culmination of a season of play among the top teams in all the major basketball-playing countries in Europe, played outside of the teams' national league competitions. Despite his youth, the 21-year-old Splitter has already made his bones by playing well in many important European competitions, and he'll add two more highly scrutinized games to his portfolio this weekend in Prague. Splitter starts alongside Luis Scola, an '02 draft pick of the San Antonio Spurs and arguably the best power forward in Europe. While Scola gets most of the post-up opportunities and shots, Splitter is an opportunistic offensive player who can score by beating opponents to offensive boards and with an improving hook shot. He is averaging a solid 10.4 points in ACB play and 10 points per game in just 22 minutes against Euroleague teams. But it's on defense where Splitter really excels. He gets great position in close and uses his length to block and bother shots. He also plays exceptional help defense, with enough athleticism to switch out and challenge a perimeter shot. Bargnani and Splitter aren't the only international players that NBA teams will be looking at leading up to the draft in New York on June 28, just the ones with the best chance to be chosen early in the first round. In a change from recent years, a number of interesting international guards are in the mix this year. Rudy Fernandez, an athletic scorer from DKV Joventut in Spain, Thabo Sefolosha, a Swiss guard playing for Biella in Italy, and Yotam Halperin, an Israeli point guard playing for Union Olimpija Ljubljana in Slovenia, all are being carefully evaluated by NBA teams. For each of these players, receiving serious consideration from NBA teams is expected, given their attributes and potential. If NBA talent evaluators should describe them as "typical" European players, they can hold their heads high and smile. They are on the receiving end of a compliment from the architects who are reshaping the new-old NBA.

3) Marty Burns of SI.com reports on the sudden star that is Boris Diaw:

The Sun also rises - Diaw develops into a star on NBA's playoff stage

You might say Suns center Boris Diaw, the hero of Phoenix's Game 1 victory at Dallas, was born to make big leaps in basketball. His mother, Elizabeth Riffiod, is considered the best center in women's basketball history in France. His father, Issa Diaw, is a former Senegalese high jump champ. But even longtime NBA observers are amazed at the 6-foot-8 Frenchman's meteoric rise from obscure part-time player in Atlanta for the past two seasons to key starter on a team making a serious bid for the NBA Finals. "It is remarkable. I don't know how often you see a player in his third year come out of the shadows quite to the extent Boris has, particularly on this kind of stage," says Celtics GM Chris Wallace, who has been in the NBA 15 years. "It's like that Bill Parcells line: 'After awhile you are who you are.' But in this case who Boris Diaw is is a lot more than he was a short time ago." Diaw, who won this year's Most Improved Player award, basically has accomplished the NBA equivalent of jumping over the Grand Canyon. In two enigmatic seasons in Atlanta he averaged 4.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists. He was so lackluster that the Hawks agreed to package him along with two first-round draft picks into last summer's sign-and-trade for Joe Johnson. Given the chance to play with Steve Nash, however, Diaw has blossomed. Despite often playing out of position at center, he averaged 13.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists during the regular season. Only two other players averaged at least six boards and six dimes this season: LeBron James and Jason Kidd. A gifted passer who can handle the ball and make plays, Diaw often initiates the Suns' offense. Playing center, he can pull his man out and drive right around him. Or he can beat him down the floor for easy layups and lobs off Nash feeds. His versatility is so impressive that Lakers coach Phil Jackson earlier this season cited Diaw as the player who most reminded him of Scottie Pippen. In the playoffs Diaw has emerged as a legit star, joining Shawn Marion as one of Nash's main supporting weapons. He is averaging 17 points, six boards and six assists while shooting 53 percent. He had 25 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in Phoenix's Game 5 win over the Lakers, and 21-7-8 against the Clippers in Game 4. But that was only the warmup for his heroics Wednesday night in Dallas. On the road against the favored Mavs, Diaw scored 23 of his career-high 34 points in the second half to lead the Suns to victory. He even hit the game-winning shot, a 10-footer over Jerry Stackhouse, with 1.5 seconds left.
"Boris was amazing," Nash said afterward. "I'm very, very proud of him. He's just getting better and better. And he's doing it on a big stage now."
Diaw, who was drafted by the Hawks in the first round in 2003 (No. 21), showed signs of being a good player in his first two seasons. He was a solid defender with size and quickness who could rebound, handle the ball and create off the dribble. But he was a reluctant shooter, almost too unselfish, and his jumper wasn't very accurate. Of course, Diaw might have been stunted as well by Atlanta's famous organizational instability. After playing for Terry Stotts his first season, Diaw found himself under a new coach in Mike Woodson the following season. As Mavs guard Jason Terry, a former Hawk himself, recently told the Dallas Morning News, "It's all about the system. There was none [for Diaw] in Atlanta. Now he gets to Phoenix and plays freely, handles the ball and uses all his God-given talents." Diaw, 24, grew up in France, where he became close friends with Spurs point guard Tony Parker. He spent five years playing professionally in his native country before coming over to the NBA. Diaw says the chance to play for a coach like D'Antoni, who has vast international experience, has helped him come out of his shell as much as playing alongside Nash. "I think maybe the fact that the coach has been playing and coaching in Europe [and] kind of knew the way I was playing and what I was looking [for] on the basketball court," Diaw said after Game 1, "[he] just gave me his trust and his confidence and also ... my teammates. And just the way we play. I like the way we play. [We're No. 1] in assists in the NBA. [We're] a very unselfish team." In some ways, Phoenix's unselfish team approach fits Diaw's personality. In addition to being a talented player, he is known as a genuinely nice person off the court. It is possible that he simply deferred too much to teammates in Atlanta. "You know, at one point there was a label on him that he was a soft, non-competitive player," D'Antoni said after Game 1 of the Western finals. "That's who we got from Atlanta. And I'm telling you what, he's just the opposite. "It's easy to put labels on people, and a lot of times it's definitely not even close to the truth. He's one of the best competitive guys we have, and just an intelligent basketball player that knows how to play. And it couldn't happen to a nicer guy, that's for sure."