Sorry, Mavs -- sticking with the Suns to win the Finals

	The Suns' demolition of the Mavericks helped boost Steve Nash's MVP chances. John W. McDonough/SI

Also in the Weekly Quiz:
• Nash gains ground in MVP race
• More on future GM candidates
• The key to the Jazz's playoff run

1. Who do you like to win the NBA Finals?

ANSWER: In the preseason I picked the Suns over the Heat. I stayed with that pick in midseason and I'm riding it home now: Phoenix over Miami.

2. That's easy to say after watching the Suns destroy Dallas 126-104 on Sunday.

ANSWER: I don't want to change my mind now as I did last year, when I originally picked Miami to win the championship in the preseason. By February I'd talked myself out of it. Big mistake.

The Suns showed Sunday that they can beat Dallas without the lucky bounce of Dirk Nowitzki missing a free throw. I've had a feeling all along that Phoenix is going to find a way to steal a seventh game in Dallas, even though the evidentiary arrow is pointing the other way. Dallas can win with defense or at a variety of tempos, while the Suns have to run near full speed to beat the Mavericks.

It was a big win because the Spurs' ensuing loss at Indiana gave Phoenix a three-game lead over San Antonio with nine to play in the race for the second seed in the Western Conference. Thus the Spurs will probably have to deal with Kobe Bryant in the first round, the harshest opening assignment for any contender this spring. The last thing the elderly Spurs need is to be exhausted by the first round. Had they held serve against the swooning Pacers, they would have had a chance to make a move on the Suns by beating them Thursday in San Antonio.

"A pathetic, pathetic performance,'' coach Gregg Popovich griped after the 100-99 loss at Indianapolis.

The Suns will probably face Denver in the opening round, and if the Nuggets were able to choose an opening opponent from among Dallas, Phoenix or San Antonio, that's the one they would want. But the Nuggets play no defense and they have no home court advantage, which means they'll have to outrace Phoenix at the Suns' preferred pace. Phoenix will be hoping to turn that series into a five-game tuneup before meeting the Spurs (or Lakers) in the conference semis.

In other words, the results Sunday improved the odds that Dallas and Phoenix will reconvene in the Western finals.

3. Didn't Steve Nash improve his MVP chances?

ANSWER: He surely did after going for 23 points and 11 assists while conducting the Suns to a 64.8 percent shooting performance, the best in the league this season.

I still think Nowitzki deserves the award for leading the Mavs to a six-game lead over the next-best Suns. But the counterpoint has validity too: The Suns couldn't earn close to their current 55 wins without Nash. Plus Nash is just so easy to cheer for. He's the rare NBA underdog in a league dominated by intimidating athletes.

The same underdog case can be made for Nowitzki. Among the myriad stars at power forward he is the least impressive athlete, forcing him to compensate by scoring in unorthodox ways. But Nash has an unequaled flair: He rules the NBA in the same way that Doug Flutie used to command college football, and it's going to be interesting to see how the voters weigh the relative values of each player.