<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I am about to nominate Shawn Marion for Defensive Player of the Year! It is time to start hearing his name being mentioned, the same way we hear Nash in the MVP talk. First of all, who out there is dominating defensively? The usual cats in the running for that award are usually Ben Wallace, Ron Artest and Bruce Bowen. It seems that once the media falls in love with a couple of guys, they get the pick every year. The last 10 awards have gone to only 4 guys. And 3 of those 4 guys were centers who usually led the league in rebounding and/or blocked shots. In essence, they shutdown the middle. You don't really have anyone dominating like that this year. While Dikembe Mutumbo has had sort of a renaissance this year. In 15 starts, he has yanked down 12.3 boards a game, and blocked a little under 2 per game. Unfortunately, his games off the bench have been such a drop off that he is eliminated from the conversation. So then, we turn to Shawn Marion. We are talking about a Small Forward who is 11th in the league in rebounding at 10.1 per game. Yes, I know he plays the power forward, but Shawn is a small forward, make no mistakes. Yet, he snagged down 23 rebounds last night in the Suns' victory at Milwaukee. No that isn't a misprint. And it isn't a fluke because just three games before that, he pulled down 20. Including those two games, Marion has had 14 games of 12 boards or more! And this is from a guy who is routinely guarding guys bigger then him. It is also from a team that doesn't miss much so most of his rebounds are on the defensive end. As a matter of fact, Marion is 5th in the league in defensive rebounding pulling down 8.1. And what are we talking about here? Defense. Ben Wallace isn't having the kind of year he normally does have. It started off pretty slow, and Chicago was already a great defensive team last year. It isn't like he has come in and turned them into a quality defensive squad. You can't look at Ron Artest because his team is playing terrible ball right now. The same could be said for Jermaine O'Neal and Alonzo Mourning who are both 1 and 2 in blocks. In fact, we can just exclude anyone from the east in any kind of award hype because the east is just that weak. And in looking at the defensive players out west, Marion is the only one doing it across the stat sheet. He is second in the league in steals at 2.16, and he is in the top 20 in blocks with nearly 1 1/2 per game. You couple those facts along with the thought that nobody else has stepped up defensively all the while, their team is winning games! We are talking a Suns' team that just won a team record 16 games in a row after beating Milwaukee 98-90. This 16 game winning streak is following a then team record 15 game winning streak from a few weeks back. They have overtaken the Mavericks as the best team in the league, and they do play defense contrary to popular belief. Raja Bell is usually regarded as the Suns' best defender. He is certainly their most physical defender, mixing it up with the Kobe Bryants, Vince Carters, and the Ray Allens of the league. He is usually sent out to guard the opponents best shooting guard. But Shawn is asked to do everything. At times, he has guarded point guards, shooting guards, small forwards, and power forwards. Just watch on February 1st, when the Suns host the Spurs. While Raja Bell will spend most of the game guarding Ginobili, Marion will at times check Tony Parker, and at other times check Tim Duncan. He has the kind of range where you can stick him on nearly anyone and he will succeed. Marion did an outstanding job on LeBron James a few weeks ago, and looks to duplicate that feat tomorrow. While James did end up with his usual 30+, it wasn't until his team was down by 30 that he started making shots. It was a case of too little, too late. You may not see it in the box score, but in watching the game, you knew that it was Marion's defense that helped keep LeBron from lighting up the scoreboard. While teams normally score more than their average when they play the Suns' it is because there are more possessions. That is what happens when the Suns score quick and efficient. But, while the opponent does score more, it is the defensive rebounding of Shawn Marion that keeps the opponent from the second and third opportunities. It is also that rebounding that helps propel the Suns offense. Just because a team gives up 102 points per game doesn't mean they aren't playing defense. It is that 9 point differential that shows you that they are definitely getting the stops they need to win ballgames. And while Dallas is getting mad love for becoming a defensive team, remember that the Suns give up an 11th best .451 shooting %. That is just one place below, and 1/1000th of a % worse than the Mavs. So yes, defense and the Suns do go together. And it is time to tout Shawn Marion as the Defensive player of the Year!</div> Source Every year I think Marion deserves at least consideration, and although he does get votes, it's not very many. He actually had better defensive numbers the last 2 years than this year, but doesn't get much respect for it. Shawn is constantly top 20 in nearly every statistical category. I guess it's not out of the question this year as AK47 and Big Ben aren't playing well, but Shawn is always under-rated, so I still think the voters will overlook him.
I don't know why people always underrate Shawn Marion. He's a flashy player, scores, rebounds, defends, does everything. I remember a couple of seasons ago, he was the top rebounder / shot blocker / steals per game / player in the league, yet he didn't even make it onto any All Defensive Teams. I'm not the biggest Sun fan in the world, but I have always liked Shawn Marion. It sucks that nobody really gives him the attention he deserves
I think he doesn't get a lot of attention because the Suns rarely run plays for him. He seems to get all his points off hustle and broken plays.
<div class="quote_poster">durvasa Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I think he doesn't get a lot of attention because the Suns rarely run plays for him. He seems to get all his points off hustle and broken plays.</div> You are dead on, but I think because he doesn't have plays run for him, that is why he should get more respect. He is a 20/10 guy, purely from his own hustle; that's quite a feat.
<div class="quote_poster">Sir Desmond Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Got molested tonight.</div> Are you ok? Do you want to talk about it?
<div class="quote_poster">02civic Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Are you ok? Do you want to talk about it? </div>rofl
i love matrix but after the suns giving up 120+ to atlanta, the second worste scoring team, it just wont happen. lets be real here. wont freakin happen
<div class="quote_poster">SpeeJ Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">So you don't like Marion cause the Suns played bad defense? Weird.</div> i didnt say i dont like marion. i said i love matrix. i was making the point that defensive player of the year never ends up on a less than par defensive team. so saying he will get a few votes might even be pushing it, but even if he does its just a novelty act because he WONT win that award.
<div class="quote_poster">mechanix Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">saying he will get a few votes might even be pushing it, but even if he does its just a novelty act because he WONT win that award.</div> Marion received 3 points in 2003, 57 in 2005 (5th place), and 33 in 2006 (7th place). So he has gotten more than a few votes in the past 2 years; why then, in a year with less competition, would he not get even "a few" votes? I say he'll be in the Top 5 easy, probably Top 3.
