Before the season started, we compared Nash to Kidd using last season's stats. Kidd was determined the winner because his strengths (steals and rebounds) carried with them more weight in terms of rotisserie than Nash's strengths (points, FG%, FT%). However, things might be different after a month and a half into the 2006-2007 season. Currently, Nash is ranked 7th on the Philthy's 100 list, compared to Kidd who's ranked 8th. Let's find out if the higher rank is warranted.

Today’s Matchup: Steve Nash vs Jason Kidd

Just a reminder, when you're talking about anything fantasy it's important to communicate how the scoring structure of your league works. For our purposes, I'm going to assume we're talking about rotisserie using Yahoo Fantasy Sport's default scoring system…the stat cats being points, rebounds, assists, 3's made, blocks, steals, fg%, ft% and to's.

In roto, you're looking to compare players stat-by-stat, since roto is really designed to level the playing field of statistics (for instance, by roto standards if a player gets about 2 steals per game, it's the equivalent in steals of a player scoring about 20-25 points per game).

Points Per game
Steve Nash 20.3
Jason Kidd 13.3

Rebounds Per Game

Steve Nash 3.0
Jason Kidd 8.7

Assists Per Game

Steve Nash 11.8
Jason Kidd 9.6

Blocks Per Game

Steve Nash 0.1
Jason Kidd 0.3

Steals Per Game

Steve Nash 0.9
Jason Kidd 1.6

3s Made Per Game

Steve Nash 2.3
Jason Kidd 1.0

FG% (and FG's attempted per game):
Steve Nash 52.8% / (13.9 attempts per game)
Jason Kidd 41.3% / (11.3 attempts per game)

FT% (and FT's attempted per game):
Steve Nash 90.8% / (3.6 attempts per game)
Jason Kidd 84.7% / (3.6 attempts per game)

Turnovers Per Game:
Steve Nash 3.6
Jason Kidd 2.9

Games Played so far:
Steve Nash 18
Jason Kidd 20

The Verdict:

Steve Nash wins.

So, why has it changed? Kidd's assists are up and he still turns the ball over less than Nash. He has a clear advantage in rebounds and a decent advantage in steals, so what makes Nash better than Kidd this year, where last year he might not have been?

First, Nash has closed the gap slightly in some fields that Kidd had a firm advantage in. Kidd's steals and threes are significantly down from last year, where Nash's have slightly increased, and Kidd is turning the ball over more, where Nash is turning it over about the same. Kidd's points also continue to decrease each year.

Kidd does have the triple-double advantage. He's passed Wilt Chamberlain with 79 n the list of most career triple-doubles, but because of his decline in other statistics, Nash's points and percentages carry more weight.