Dear LeBron: Steve called, he wants his trophy back

For the past two seasons, Wednesday’s matchup between the Suns and Hornets would have been billed as a passing of the torch game.

Steve Nash, three months away from his 36th birthday, pigeonholed as the two-time MVP in the twilight of his career — chasing a ring despite a rapidly closing window.

Chris Paul, the future of the position, building a stronger MVP candidacy every passing year and leading his upstart team to the playoffs and beyond.

My how things can change.

Nash and his revitalized Suns ran the hapless Hornets off the court last night, burying 13 of 26 three point attempts en route to a breezy 124-104 victory. Registering 8 assists in the first quarter alone, Nash only needed to log 22 minutes total in the win, letting backup Goran Dragic drop 14-7-7 on the JV team wearing those New Orleans jerseys.

If you’re a basketball fan, does anything make you happier than watching the Suns throwing up 111 points per game? The seven-seconds-or-less era is like plaid — it isn’t just back; it’s back and it’s angry. Led by Nash’s ridiculous 18.3 points, 12.9 assists, 2.1 treys, 52 per cent from the field and 92 per cent from the stripe, Phoenix is mashing opposing teams like its personal. Kid Canada’s current numbers make his lines during those back-to-back MVP years look like chump change. If Amare “Don’t Call Me Horace” Stoudemire can stay healthy and maintain his newfound interest in playing defence, could this be the year Nash finally puts a crowning achievement on his resume?

This is not to say however, that a rejuvenated Steve Nash is necessarily better than Chris Paul. No, in terms of pure ability, Chris Paul is definitely still the number one point guard in the game — of this there can be no more debate. The real story was watching Paul have to play 1-5 every possession as his inept teammates fumbled, bricked and floated their way through 48-minutes of ass-whooping.

Paul finished with a respectable (and incredibly, routine) 25 points and six assists, but when the scoring options you’re passing to include Peja Stojakovic (0-8 shooting), David West (3-9, including two missed bunnies that my mother could have converted) and Emeka Okafor (no explanation needed), six assists starts to look more like the New Orleans equivalent of Nash’s 10 for Phoenix.

What the hell happened to the Hornets? Could Tyson Chandler have been that important?

In college at Wake Forrest, coach Skip Prosser used to give Chris Paul game-tape of Steve Nash to pattern his play and decision making process after. Seeing Nash orchestrate in person Wednesday night however, you can bet Paul was noticing the guys catching those passes more than the dude dishing them out.