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[size=-1]By SCOTT BORDOW[/size]
[size=-1]East Valley Tribune (Mesa, Ariz.)[/size]
MESA, Ariz. - hawn Marion recently was on the cover of ESPN The Magazine, decked out in a pinstriped suit and playing the saxophone.
Since the Western Conference finals began, however, Marion has been blowing the wrong notes.
He's averaging 7.0 points and 10.5 rebounds per game against the San Antonio Spurs while shooting 35.3 percent from the field. Hardly the statistics of an All-Star or third-team All-NBA selection.
More alarming has been his response to those numbers.
Marion has been one of the NBA's most selfless, happy-go-lucky superstars. Although he has played the lack-of-respect card - which seems odd considering his $86 million contract, All-Star berth and leaguewide appreciation for his game - he rarely has popped off about his place in the Suns' hierarchy.
Until now.
After taking just six shots and scoring a playoff-low three points in Phoenix's Game 1 loss, Marion complained that his teammates weren't getting him the ball enough.
"We've got to do something," he said. "I've got to be effective. If I can't score and help this team, we're not going anywhere."
He has held to that line of thinking, blaming his drop-off in production not on the defense of San Antonio's Bruce Bowen but on the fact the Suns don't run any plays for him.
"You can look at the game and see how we're playing," Marion said Friday. "I can see if I went 5-for-25 or something like that. Then you could say he's doing a good job. But other than that, it shouldn't even be brought up."
Marion has a point. With Amare Stoudemire and Steve Nash averaging a combined 44 field goal attempts per game, he's not getting many scoring opportunities.
But here's the thing: How has that changed from the regular season, when Marion averaged 19.4 points and 11.3 rebounds per game and shot 47.6 percent from the field despite, as coach Mike D'Antoni often joked, not having a play called for him?
Answer: It hasn't.
"Everybody can believe what they want to," Marion said. "I'm doing what I can to help this team."
This is not the time or place for Marion to sound off. While his comments don't tear at the harmony that's existed in the Suns' locker room, personal agendas should be put on the shelf.
Marion, too, needs to understand that he's ill-suited to be the centerpiece of Phoenix's offense. He's a wonderful athlete but not a player who excels at creating his own shots.
Marion said Friday his comments only have been in response to questions about his ineffectiveness - "I ain't said nothing. You all bringing it up," he said - but the truth is, he went off after Game 1 without any provocation.
Hopefully, this is just a cloud passing over Marion's head. Unlike many professional athletes, he hasn't let riches or fame change who he is, and it would be a shame if one frustrating playoff series took root.
"He's fine," D'Antoni said. "I don't think he's upset."
The Suns better hope that's the case.
They have had, for the most part, a worry-free season, with the exception of Stoudemire's continued insistence that he doesn't want to play center the rest of his career.
But selfishness has a nasty way of worming its way into a good thing, and with just two words Friday, Marion sounded an alarm.
He was asked if he could be content long-term as a third or fourth option in the Suns' offense.
His response:
"We'll see."
Original Article
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[size=-1]East Valley Tribune (Mesa, Ariz.)[/size]
You must be registered for see images
MESA, Ariz. - hawn Marion recently was on the cover of ESPN The Magazine, decked out in a pinstriped suit and playing the saxophone.
Since the Western Conference finals began, however, Marion has been blowing the wrong notes.
He's averaging 7.0 points and 10.5 rebounds per game against the San Antonio Spurs while shooting 35.3 percent from the field. Hardly the statistics of an All-Star or third-team All-NBA selection.
More alarming has been his response to those numbers.
Marion has been one of the NBA's most selfless, happy-go-lucky superstars. Although he has played the lack-of-respect card - which seems odd considering his $86 million contract, All-Star berth and leaguewide appreciation for his game - he rarely has popped off about his place in the Suns' hierarchy.
Until now.
After taking just six shots and scoring a playoff-low three points in Phoenix's Game 1 loss, Marion complained that his teammates weren't getting him the ball enough.
"We've got to do something," he said. "I've got to be effective. If I can't score and help this team, we're not going anywhere."
He has held to that line of thinking, blaming his drop-off in production not on the defense of San Antonio's Bruce Bowen but on the fact the Suns don't run any plays for him.
"You can look at the game and see how we're playing," Marion said Friday. "I can see if I went 5-for-25 or something like that. Then you could say he's doing a good job. But other than that, it shouldn't even be brought up."
Marion has a point. With Amare Stoudemire and Steve Nash averaging a combined 44 field goal attempts per game, he's not getting many scoring opportunities.
But here's the thing: How has that changed from the regular season, when Marion averaged 19.4 points and 11.3 rebounds per game and shot 47.6 percent from the field despite, as coach Mike D'Antoni often joked, not having a play called for him?
Answer: It hasn't.
"Everybody can believe what they want to," Marion said. "I'm doing what I can to help this team."
This is not the time or place for Marion to sound off. While his comments don't tear at the harmony that's existed in the Suns' locker room, personal agendas should be put on the shelf.
Marion, too, needs to understand that he's ill-suited to be the centerpiece of Phoenix's offense. He's a wonderful athlete but not a player who excels at creating his own shots.
Marion said Friday his comments only have been in response to questions about his ineffectiveness - "I ain't said nothing. You all bringing it up," he said - but the truth is, he went off after Game 1 without any provocation.
Hopefully, this is just a cloud passing over Marion's head. Unlike many professional athletes, he hasn't let riches or fame change who he is, and it would be a shame if one frustrating playoff series took root.
"He's fine," D'Antoni said. "I don't think he's upset."
The Suns better hope that's the case.
They have had, for the most part, a worry-free season, with the exception of Stoudemire's continued insistence that he doesn't want to play center the rest of his career.
But selfishness has a nasty way of worming its way into a good thing, and with just two words Friday, Marion sounded an alarm.
He was asked if he could be content long-term as a third or fourth option in the Suns' offense.
His response:
"We'll see."
Original Article
