There are only three players left in the race: Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Steve Nash. That troika, in that order, is vying for the National Basketball Association's assists-per-game crown, a title many fans and analysts equate with passing savvy and on-court leadership. But good luck finding someone around the league who cares.

Assists in basketball are comparable to errors in baseball. They're decent indicators of performance -- but they're also splashed with a healthy dose of subjectivity. Fluctuations in the way assists...