The Offical 'Marion, Stop Shooting 3's' Petition

[goldseraph]

Ok, I have had enough, Marion. I know you fancy yourself a do-it-all small forward who can shoot the 3 like most small forwards. The truth is that your shot is hideous, and it is a credit that you make as many as you do. However that total is still anemic for a player on the Suns who takes wide open 3s routinely. 06-07 3P % = 27% CAREER 3P % = 34% We Suns fans are tired of you lingering around the perimeter on offense, pitching the ball with two hands like a medicine ball from far outside of your range. We will no lnoger stand for cringe inducing threes where driving to the basket and occasionally being fouled and gosh, shooting free throws is a far superior option! Who is with me???

 

[phxrising]

Ok, I have had enough, Marion. I know you fancy yourself a do-it-all small forward who can shoot the 3 like most small forwards. The truth is that your shot is hideous, and it is a credit that you make as many as you do. However that total is still anemic for a player on the Suns who takes wide open 3s routinely. 06-07 3P % = 27% CAREER 3P % = 34% We Suns fans are tired of you lingering around the perimeter on offense, pitching the ball with two hands like a medicine ball from far outside of your range. We will no lnoger stand for cringe inducing threes where driving to the basket and occasionally being fouled and gosh, shooting free throws is a far superior option! Who is with me???

He shoots like that from ANY range, so you want him to stop all together?
or is that just there for color and fluff? or maybe it's his "80 IQ" he can't figure out a better way to do it?

 

[nurnay]

Marion has his hot streaks beyond the arc. I'm OK with him shooting the 3.

 

[msdundee]

Can't believe a boneheaded post like that after the game he had tonight. I know a great place you might store your petition......

 

[jbeecham]

Marion did have a good game tonight, but he did it by drawing fouls and slashing to the basket, not by shooting 3's. He had 11 fts attempts tonight, which he'll never get if he stands out behind the 3 pt line. He shoots horribly from 3 and I would love for him to stop taking them and concentrate on slashing to the basket and getting offensive rebounds.

 

[msdundee]

Marion did have a good game tonight, but he did it by drawing fouls and slashing to the basket, not by shooting 3's. He had 11 fts attempts tonight, which he'll never get if he stands out behind the 3 pt line. He shoots horribly from 3 and I would love for him to stop taking them and concentrate on slashing to the basket and getting offensive rebounds.

Still, anyone who says Marion is guilty of "lingering around the periimeter on offense" has got to be kidding. Who gets all those flying alley-oops? Kind of hard to do when you're on the perimeter.

 

[jbeecham]

If marion shoots three or four 3's a game when he's wide open from the corner (where he hits his best %) then that's ok, but not 6 to 8 3ptrs per game at 30%.

 

[goldseraph]

The post was overblown on purpose, the point is he takes too many 3's and he's shooting a terrible % this year. I would be fine if he never took another one is the point. I still like Marion of course, this one thing annoys me about his game.

 

[krispydude]

i cringe every time i see him take a 3 but sometimes they do actually go in and its a nice boost. id rather just see him go the hoop for put backs and dunks. 2 a game is good enough.

 

[brady_44]

Not everybody can shoot like Bell. If Marion is open though, regardless of how horrible his shot looks, I say he should take it. I've seen him go on some pretty mean shooting streaks.

 

[sly fly]

Can't believe a boneheaded post like that after the game he had tonight. I know a great place you might store your petition......

Just utterly amazing isn't it?

Did anybody out there actually watch the game last night? Or, do people just want to harp on the fact that the Suns barely beat an under-500 team?

Here's what I saw...

- A beautiful, beautiful basketball game. It had everything a fan of ball could want. The Bucks have to be demoralized. I don't think you'll see them play that we;; again all season long.... and they still got beat.

- People are still dogging on Shawn Marion? Give it up, already. So what, he takes a few meaningless 3's a game? People need to stop critiquing every damn play down the court. There's NO OTHER PLAYER LIKE HIM IN THE NBA.

- What happens if Stve Nash puts up better #'s... and leads PHX to the title? It would be a travesty to deny him a 3rd MVP.

- Stat is looking like a Beast again. I guess all you microfracture experts need to come out of the woodwork and explain why he's moving so good. His rebounding in traffic has suprised the hell out of me.

- Boris Diaw. Just let him play himself out of whatever funk he's in. But you know what... he's not forcing anything. And, that's what makes him a special player. He knows what he can and can't do right now. As long as he recognizes the mismatches he creates, then he'll be fine.

- Banks. Big disappointment so far. I expected a bit more.

- Rose. See above.

- This team hasn't even hit 2nd gear, yet.

 

[Chaplin]

If Shawn Marion is open at the 3-point line, why not shoot it? You know he isn't going to drive to the basket from way out there. I'm not a huge fan of his shooting out there, but this is the PHOENIX SUNS. If a player, ANY player, is open at 3-point range, they WILL take the shot. It's a statistical absolute.

Since Marion is never going to change his spots, maybe we should start the "Suns need to get more offensive rebounds" petition. That would help.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Everybody on this team has to shoot the 3 ball when open--Marion included.

 

[msdundee]

Everybody on this team has to shoot the 3 ball when open--Marion included.

On the coaching staff from Raja's blog, quoted on another thread but definitely appropriate on this one:

"It's good to know that if you miss nine 3s, they want you shooting the 10th."

I've noticed Marion's cut down on the 3 attempts over the last 6-7 games, probably because they aren't falling. If he gets the pass and he's open, he shoots. And we hold our collective breath. Everything else considered, it's not a big problem.

 

[Black Jesus]

I think Amare should start shooting threes... The guy has TOUCH

 

[msdundee]

Everybody on this team has to shoot the 3 ball when open--Marion included.

Even Pat Burke's shot 1 or 2. Now THAT'S a stretch ............

 

[cly2tw]

Everybody on this team has to shoot the 3 ball when open--Marion included.

So, the issue is that, given the bad touch for 3s he is currently having, he should not wait behind the line to shoot 3s to start with. In the Bucks game, his midrangers were much better. So, he should recognize his on-court advantages and disadvantages and exploit the former while avoiding the latter, for the benefit of the team performance.

At least, he is passing to Amare now and getting it back from him.

 

[TucsonDevil]

For the record, I agree with those that state,"when open at the 3-point line, shoot the ball". However, why is Marion always open on the 3-pt line? Well, because the Suns want to keep the lane free so Boris and Amare can do their thing down low... I don't want to see that changed anytime soon. However, if the line up includes KT and Boris - get Marion inside the Arc.

But what do I know - Coach D has more offensive scheming knowledge in his left pinky than I do in my body. His 'system' is just that - a system. Marion is generally doing what the system dictates. AND he is thriving! (see Marion's stats the past three years)

 

[JCSunsfan]

For the record, I agree with those that state,"when open at the 3-point line, shoot the ball". However, why is Marion always open on the 3-pt line? Well, because the Suns want to keep the lane free so Boris and Amare can do their thing down low... I don't want to see that changed anytime soon. However, if the line up includes KT and Boris - get Marion inside the Arc.

But what do I know - Coach D has more offensive scheming knowledge in his left pinky than I do in my body. His 'system' is just that - a system. Marion is generally doing what the system dictates. AND he is thriving! (see Marion's stats the past three years)

This is true. The additions of Amare and KT have shifted Marion outside more. Also, our system usually dictate 3 3-pt shooters on the court. We really don't have that additional shooter this year. Last year TT or House filled the role. Before that it was Q and JJ.

This year we either need Jalen Rose or JR to step into the shooter role. But both of them seem to be in a shooting funk, so it falls to Marion to move outside more.

That's why Marion is the ultimate complementary player. He seems to have the ability to fill almost any role from 2-4 (1-4 on defense).

 

[Covert Rain]

I don't mind Marion shooting from the side. He seems to make most of those. However, everytime he shoots from the top or side of the ARC I go




In this system it's so hard to pass up 3's but in Marion's case he needs to be more selective.

 

[jbeecham]

A new article on Suns.com basically says the team doesn't want Marion shooting so many 3's:

Phoenix Suns looking for bench boost

By Jerry Brown
East Valley Tribune
Dec. 4, 2006

Playing Kurt Thomas just seven minutes due to pace and matchup problems with Milwaukee, and still having problems working the rest of his bench into the rotation, Suns coach Mike D’Antoni gave his top six players all but 25 minutes of the playing time Friday during a 122-116 win over the Bucks.

It wasn’t a problem with three days off to recuperate from Phoenix’s six straight win and eighth in the last nine games. But it’s not a practice D’Antoni wants the Suns to continue moving forward.

“We won, fine, but we want to get other people in the game,” D’Antoni said. “We have seven people who are going to play a lot. That’s the way it is. But I also have a heart. I’m not that coldblooded. We want to get guys in there, and we should have some opportunities to get them some court time.”

Two problems have interfered with that. The reserves who have had opportunities (Marcus Banks, James Jones, Jalen Rose) have been inconsistent at best. Meanwhile, the Suns have blown a lot of big leads in the second half, forcing D’Antoni to stick with his top seven players instead of emptying the bench.

Jumaine Jones, who started 42 and played in 76 games last year for Charlotte, averaged 10.5 points a game last year. He figured those numbers might suffer a bit in Phoenix, but Jones has played in just one of the first 15 games, going 0-for-7 from the field in 12 minutes when the Suns blew much of a 34-point lead against Memphis.

Pat Burke has played in two games. Eric Piatkowski has made one appearance. Sean Marks? Not yet.

“We’re not turning on the jets and finishing off wins, so we’re leaving those out,” D’Antoni said.

THE LAKE SHOW

The Suns have moved into second place in the Pacific Division but remain 1 1/2 games behind the Lakers, who beat the Clippers Saturday to improve to 11-5.

If D’Antoni wasn’t impressed enough when the Lakers pushed the Suns to seven games in last year’s playoffs, he is now.

“They look really good; you have to give them credit,” he said. “They are playing well together. Luke Walton is shooting the 3 well, (Lamar Odom) is playing as well has he’s ever played and (center Andrew) Bynum has given them another player. They have good depth and versatility.”

The Lakers beat the Suns on opening night in Los Angles but due to a quirk in the schedule, the two division rivals won’t meet again until March 4 in Phoenix, the first of three meetings over the Suns’ last 23 games.

3'S NOT A CROWD

Raja Bell (44-for-92) and Steve Nash (31-for-66) are both hitting more than 47 percent of their 3-point shots, and Leandro Barbosa (29-69) isn’t far behind at 42 percent. But the Suns would love to have another player step up as a consistent 3-point shooter. Rose (9-for-23, 39 percent) and James Jones (6-for-21, 29 percent) are the main candidates.

That would allow Shawn Marion (19-for-70, 27 percent) to concentrate more on other aspects and get another player into the rotation.

“We’d love to get Jalen or James going. Then we’d really have something,” D’Antoni said.

http://www.nba.com/suns/news/tribune_bench_061204.html