<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Steve Nash marvels at Shawn Marion's ability to adjust to the game and impact the scoreboard in his own way. "Sometimes, we only draw one play for him, and he gets 20 [points] and 10 [rebounds]," Nash said. "He's just a phenomenal athlete." Marion's reply to such accolades? "You talk about that like it's a good thing," said the Phoenix Suns' do-it-all forward who just turned 27. Marion got a few plays called Friday night when Phoenix center Amare Stoudemire fouled out with 1:40 remaining in regulation. The result? The man they call "The Matrix" finished with 38 points and 16 rebounds. "If I would have drawn a play up for him," Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni joked, "he would have had 40." For Marion, his versatility is indeed a blessing. It has allowed him to average 18.2 points and 9.8 rebounds in his career. But his ability to adjust to any situation also allows coaches to maybe just a little under appreciate him. "He's been 20-10 all his life," D'Antoni said. "And I think he does it just by walking on the floor." Of course, he doesn't. Marion works as hard as anybody on the Suns and he does as much with intelligence and preparation as he does with natural talent. He shut down Dirk Nowitzki with an array of strong, smart defensive plays and created his offense while playing as a third option. Yet, he gets overlooked. On the Suns, Nash is the MVP, and Stoudemire is a future MVP. Marion? Well, he gets snubbed on the all-defensive team and is left to get no plays drawn up for him. "It's all good, it doesn't matter," Marion said. "That's just the way it is for us here." </div> Source
Marion played great against the Mavs and was a big reason the Suns won that game. Shawn has played well all year and will need to keep playing great if the Suns want to defeat the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals.
