<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The name says he?s Shawn Marion. The numbers say he?s somebody else. The perennial All-Star who has been in the range of 20 points and 10 rebounds a game for years ? while having a play drawn up for him about as often as Steve Nash dunks ? hasn?t been himself lately. Since coming back from missing two games with a hand injury, Marion has averaged only 11.9 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 35 minutes per game. He has not scored 20 points since Feb. 27 at Indiana. Marion says he?s simply not getting many chances to shoot. ?The coaches and I were talking about that today,? Marion said Thursday. ?I?m not getting the opportunities.? At the same time, ?I understand how to compete and win. That?s what I?m about. It?s not about individual stuff. ?Of course, I feel I need to be involved at times.? Instead, ?I feel a little lost out there. That?s the way it is sometimes.? ?At same time. ? I?m going to do everything to help this team win, regardless of whether I get shots or not.? Suns coach Mike D?Antoni agreed, to a large extent, with Marion?s explanation, saying, ?It?s really been since the injury that his numbers have dropped off. ?A lot of it has been we haven?t been real sharp moving the ball. He?s not getting into the flow. That?s the team. And then maybe he?s pressing a little bit. ?But a lot of it is we?re not getting him the ball. We?ll do that as we go forward.? But the downturn in production goes even further back than the hand injury. Since the All-Star break, he?s put up 15.6 points (though he?s shot an outstanding 53 percent), plus 9.5 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 37 minutes per game. One team source said there is some thought within the Suns? front office that Marion may be quietly pacing himself to get ready for the playoffs. Last year, Marion mentioned that he was tired as the season wore on. This was a season in which he played 40 minutes per game (tying him for No. 7 in the NBA in average workload). This season, he?s averaging 38 minutes per game, which puts him well outside the top 10 in the league. What?s more, with his spotty play of late, D?Antoni has limited him to less than 30 minutes in three of the five past games. Marion?s scoring average has dipped to 17.3, just fourth best on the team. What?s more, his shot attempts sometimes have declined into the single digits lately. ?That?s not good,? D?Antoni said. ?We?d rather get him a lot more.? To some extent, this was expected. Last season, Marion was ? more or less ? the Suns? main option in receiving passes from Nash. This year, Amar? Stoudemire has returned. And then there?s been the rise of Leandro Barbosa. ?You?ve got L.B. coming in and he?s scoring like crazy. Everybody is pretty much scoring,? Marion said. ?Ain?t no shots left. If I get five, I try to make them count.?</div> Source
hopefully the hand will be right for the playoffs, Marion is the X-Factor/Energy guy that the suns need every night...and I love watching him play.
?You?ve got L.B. coming in and he?s scoring like crazy." is that a subtle dig? the suns don't need anybody complaining if they are to have ANY chance whatsoever this year.
^^naw I didn't see it as that, he understands that he doesn't get a lot of shots so he has to take advantage of his opportunities.
<div class="quote_poster">23MJordan23 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Marion had a good game today, just in time for the Suns.</div> 20 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks
Marion is a great GREAT complement guy for any team. I think he has a great attitude and purely just wants to win. His work ethic, production, and effort on the court is great from this guy. I'd love to him on the Lakers considering we can't rebound for ish. Marion is a great guy.
Yea, Marion is a great complementary guy. I kind of think that Marion might be a better fit for the Suns than some of the more offensively talented swingmen, as he is willing to be a 5th option on offense, or the 1st option and puts his energy on both ends.
here's what happened after Chris Palmer asked him if he'd rather be an MVP candidate and a 30-point scorer on a lesser team, or continue to do what he's doing on the second-best team in basketball. "Wow, that's interesting," he says thoughtfully, as if he's never entertained the prospect before. Marion pauses nearly 10 seconds to concentrate on the question. Only the muted sound of late-afternoon traffic outside the two-story living room breaks the silence. He fiddles with the remote as if it holds the answer. "I've never been asked that," he continues. "That would be an interesting situation to be in, to really show people what I can do. [Pause] But we'd be in the playoffs, right?" Guess who??
