By John Hollinger

PHOENIX -- The underlying story of the upcoming Western Conference playoffs was plain to see tonight: health. With six of the eight participants having banged-up key players whose status is in doubt for the first round, the question amongst these mostly evenly matched teams may not be who’s better but rather who’s in uniform.

Tonight laid the story bare for all to see, as Phoenix’s 112-101 win over San Antonio came about largely because Steve Nash’s back was feeling a whole lot better than Tony Parker’s foot.

How those two guards maintain their faculties during the next few weeks will go a long way to determining whether either of these perennial powers can make a deep run in the upcoming Western Conference playoffs. Certainly both have earned the right to be taken seriously – San Antonio by knocking off four of the league’s best teams in a matter of a week, and Phoenix by posting the league’s best record since the All-Star break at 20-5.

Tonight, Nash owned the match-up, and it didn’t stop there. With backup George Hill also sidelined due to an ankle sprain while Phoenix sub Goran Dragic submitted a stellar fourth quarter, the Spurs had too great a deficit to overcome with the other four positions.

Parker came off the bench in his second game back since returning from a finger injury but it was his legs – and in particular a left foot that’s been plague by plantar fasciitis -- that seemed to betray him. His inability to turn the corner on drives to the basket stood in marked contrast to the way he normally plays at full strength; in a related story the Spurs had only seven fast-break points. While Parker finished with a decent box score line (10 points and five assists in 23 minutes), he only had one shot at the rim against an opponent he normally shreds like confetti.

Nash, meanwhile, had struggled with a bad back since the All-Star break but reassured the Phoenix faithful by dominating the first half with 16 points and nine assists. He finished with 18 and 12 despite sitting out the entire fourth quarter, as Alvin Gentry opted to stick with a productive Dragic to ride out a ten-point lead. (Both Nash and Gentry said Nash was fine physically and could have come returned).

“If we lose I probably get fired,” joked Gentry, “with a two-time MVP sitting on the bench.”

“Alvin’s been doing that lately” said Nash. “If we have a lead, not panic and put me back in, let the guys play it out as long as they can. Treat a 10-point lead like a 10-point lead, instead of in the past we’d treat a 10-point lead like a three-point lead and put me back in. It’s been really good for our young guys, and I think it’s probably going to help me come playoff time.”

Nash said he’d begun feeling better physically on the Suns’ last road trip, and it showed in his brilliant play in the first half. In particular, his five-point run in the final 30 seconds of the half gave Phoenix an upper hand that they never relinquished.

With 31.6 seconds left and Phoenix inbounding under its own basket, Nash “walked the dog” – letting the ball roll up the court next to him without picking it up to avoid starting the clock – nearly all the way to the San Antonio 3-point line, and then took one dribble and pulled up for a 3-pointer over Parker that drew all net. The clock still showed 27.3 when the ball went through, meaning Nash had forged a 2-for-1 opportunity with his quick shot.

He made it count, too, as he followed a San Antonio turnover with a full-court drive that led to a foul on Richard Jefferson just before halftime. After Nash hit both free throws the Suns went into the locker room leading by nine, after the game had been tied 90 seconds earlier.

“I just tried to see what they gave us,” said Nash of his unusually lengthy poodle stroll. “I didn’t have to pick the ball up until almost the 3-point line, and then I just thought let me see if I can get him on his heels and I did, and shot it.”

The win was a huge one for Phoenix, who is striving to get into one of the top four positions in the conference to have home-court advantage in the first round. Denver’s win at Oklahoma City did them few favors in that regard, as the Nuggets – whom the Suns can get a one-game advantage plus a tie-break against with a win at home next Tuesday – are the team they have the best odds of passing. For the moment they’re a half game ahead of Utah too, but the Suns visit Salt Lake City on the last day of the season in the opposite situation – with a loss giving the Jazz a tie-breaker edge.

As for San Antonio, Parker’s unimpressive return might have dampened spirits but the loss was hardly damaging otherwise. The Spurs basically lost any hope of winning the division, but are still in the No. 7 position in the West since Oklahoma City also lost; given that the Thunder and Blazers play each other next week they should be able to avoid the dreaded No. 8 position. (Although L.A. is struggling at the moment, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich used his pre-game talk to once again mention that every coach in the West should be terrified of falling to 8th and drawing the Lakers).

Moreover, the Spurs can take away several positives. They got any shot they wanted but just couldn’t convert them; San Antonio shot 6-for-25 on 3s and 17-of-28 at the free-throw line. The one exception, ironically, was Roger Mason, who had been mired in a horrific slump but made four 3-pointers and scored a team-high 18 points. Richard Jefferson was also extremely active, finishing with 17 points and six boards and drawing three basket-and-ones in the first quarter alone.

Unfortunately, the Spurs were done in by 19 turnovers and the Nash-fueled run at the end of the first half.

“That was definitely one of the keys,” said Mason. “They made a turn and turned the intensity up and we didn’t respond very well. That’s not what’s had us rolling lately.”

“We weren’t very sharp and they took advantage,” says Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, “but we played hard and that’s important.”

Playing hard will help, but playing healthy may be more crucial. While tonight wasn’t a great omen for the Spurs, as we heading into the final week of the season it’s still anyone’s guess whose roster will be closest to full strength come playoff time.