http://www.azcentral.com/sports/columns/articles/0106bickley0106.html
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 6, 2006 12:00 AM
Like oxygen, peanut butter and indoor plumbing, a certain member of the Suns is often taken for granted.
In national circles, his name may as well be Shhhhawn Marion.
Yet nearing the halfway point of a new season, the versatile forward is suddenly making a lot of noise. He's the best player on a winning team, and these days, the usually ignored Marion is starting to show up on another kind of list: the one reserved for NBA MVP candidates.
"I think you can definitely make a case," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "I don't know where we'd be without him, and we're pretty good. Shawn is already with two other legitimate MVP candidates when (Amaré Stoudemire) is playing, and you can make the case that what he does is more important than what the other guys do."
In his seventh year, Marion is certainly giving the Suns another All-Star season. He still runs faster, jumps higher and defends better than most everyone in the league. And he'll play all night if you ask him, and D'Antoni usually does.
"I live in Phoenix, so I get to see him play a lot," TNT analyst Doug Collins said. "I love guys with great energy, and Shawn just works himself into good games every night."
Yet there is also something different about Marion. He's scowling a little more. He's playing with an aggressive fury normally associated with the injured Stoudemire. And just the other day, with his team exceeding all expectations, Marion ripped into some unnamed teammates, the ones who don't want to run the court with reckless abandon.
It was the absolute truth and a nifty show of leadership. The kind of stuff normally reserved for team leaders and MVP candidates.
"I ain't even thinking about that, man," Marion said. "You can't control what people think of you, and most (MVP candidates) are forced on people. You know me. I'm just doing what I do, playing ball, having fun, doing whatever I can to help the team win."
Still, there are other noticeable differences, and Marion is clearly taking advantage of a bittersweet opportunity.
With Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson traded, many more shots are available. For the first time in a while, the Suns are actually running plays for Marion. And with Stoudemire rehabilitating from knee surgery, the role of leading man is wide open.
Surely it is but a temporary part, and only a matter of time before Marion heads back to the trailer for best supporting actors. But for now, he is making an unprecedented splash.
Marion leads the Suns in scoring (20.6 points per game). He is one of only five players to average more than 20 points and 10 rebounds a game. His rebounding average (11.9) and his field goal percentage (.516) are career highs.
One statistical analysis on NBA.com listed Marion as the most effective player in the NBA, ahead of LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, Elton Brand and Allen Iverson. And best of all, he picked a great time for a blow-up game.
When Marion scored a career-high 39 points Monday, playing 60 of 63 possible minutes, he did so in New York, on the floor of Madison Square Garden, and if you can make it there . . .
"He is the Matrix," Stoudemire said. "Any lob you throw to him, he's going to throw it down. He's blocking shots. He's defending. He's scoring the ball. I don't think you can ask for too much more from Shawn."
Thing is, D'Antoni always does. And here in 2005-06, in a dicey time for the entire organization, Marion has been a rock of stability. His 23 double-doubles - accomplished when a player has 10 or more in two statistical categories in a game - rank second in the NBA. His recent string of performances was done on the other side of the country, where the West Coast bias breeds and players from the Pacific Division usually attract a scoff.
"If I'm guilty of it, then I know everyone else who watches him part time is guilty of it," D'Antoni said. "I'll get upset with him during a game, and then I'll look at the statistics. I'll wonder what I was thinking about, and I'll feel like an idiot because he's already doing so many things.
"I'm telling you, the guy is amazing. He allows us to be little, he allows us to run. Shawn usually guards guys that can't guard him, and that creates instant mismatches. So sometimes, you feel like a hypocrite because you're asking him to do so much more. But you can mess up (coaching) Shawn and it's OK because he's such a good person."
And in a season in which there are no clear-cut MVP candidates - Kobe Bryant? Chauncey Billups? Dirk Nowitzki? Steve Nash? - it is nice to see the forgotten Sun finally getting his due.
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 6, 2006 12:00 AM
Like oxygen, peanut butter and indoor plumbing, a certain member of the Suns is often taken for granted.
In national circles, his name may as well be Shhhhawn Marion.
Yet nearing the halfway point of a new season, the versatile forward is suddenly making a lot of noise. He's the best player on a winning team, and these days, the usually ignored Marion is starting to show up on another kind of list: the one reserved for NBA MVP candidates.
"I think you can definitely make a case," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "I don't know where we'd be without him, and we're pretty good. Shawn is already with two other legitimate MVP candidates when (Amaré Stoudemire) is playing, and you can make the case that what he does is more important than what the other guys do."
In his seventh year, Marion is certainly giving the Suns another All-Star season. He still runs faster, jumps higher and defends better than most everyone in the league. And he'll play all night if you ask him, and D'Antoni usually does.
"I live in Phoenix, so I get to see him play a lot," TNT analyst Doug Collins said. "I love guys with great energy, and Shawn just works himself into good games every night."
Yet there is also something different about Marion. He's scowling a little more. He's playing with an aggressive fury normally associated with the injured Stoudemire. And just the other day, with his team exceeding all expectations, Marion ripped into some unnamed teammates, the ones who don't want to run the court with reckless abandon.
It was the absolute truth and a nifty show of leadership. The kind of stuff normally reserved for team leaders and MVP candidates.
"I ain't even thinking about that, man," Marion said. "You can't control what people think of you, and most (MVP candidates) are forced on people. You know me. I'm just doing what I do, playing ball, having fun, doing whatever I can to help the team win."
Still, there are other noticeable differences, and Marion is clearly taking advantage of a bittersweet opportunity.
With Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson traded, many more shots are available. For the first time in a while, the Suns are actually running plays for Marion. And with Stoudemire rehabilitating from knee surgery, the role of leading man is wide open.
Surely it is but a temporary part, and only a matter of time before Marion heads back to the trailer for best supporting actors. But for now, he is making an unprecedented splash.
Marion leads the Suns in scoring (20.6 points per game). He is one of only five players to average more than 20 points and 10 rebounds a game. His rebounding average (11.9) and his field goal percentage (.516) are career highs.
One statistical analysis on NBA.com listed Marion as the most effective player in the NBA, ahead of LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, Elton Brand and Allen Iverson. And best of all, he picked a great time for a blow-up game.
When Marion scored a career-high 39 points Monday, playing 60 of 63 possible minutes, he did so in New York, on the floor of Madison Square Garden, and if you can make it there . . .
"He is the Matrix," Stoudemire said. "Any lob you throw to him, he's going to throw it down. He's blocking shots. He's defending. He's scoring the ball. I don't think you can ask for too much more from Shawn."
Thing is, D'Antoni always does. And here in 2005-06, in a dicey time for the entire organization, Marion has been a rock of stability. His 23 double-doubles - accomplished when a player has 10 or more in two statistical categories in a game - rank second in the NBA. His recent string of performances was done on the other side of the country, where the West Coast bias breeds and players from the Pacific Division usually attract a scoff.
"If I'm guilty of it, then I know everyone else who watches him part time is guilty of it," D'Antoni said. "I'll get upset with him during a game, and then I'll look at the statistics. I'll wonder what I was thinking about, and I'll feel like an idiot because he's already doing so many things.
"I'm telling you, the guy is amazing. He allows us to be little, he allows us to run. Shawn usually guards guys that can't guard him, and that creates instant mismatches. So sometimes, you feel like a hypocrite because you're asking him to do so much more. But you can mess up (coaching) Shawn and it's OK because he's such a good person."
And in a season in which there are no clear-cut MVP candidates - Kobe Bryant? Chauncey Billups? Dirk Nowitzki? Steve Nash? - it is nice to see the forgotten Sun finally getting his due.
