Shawn Marion: “Give me some shots, baby!”
Shawn Marion
The Mavericks did everything they could this summer to acquire a power forward that would allow them the opportunity to not play Dirk Nowitzki the same 37.5 minutes per game he played last year. But every avenue they pursued fell through. Now, Mavs coach Rick Carlisle is saying that he loves the idea of using Shawn Marion (who’s only 6-7) as a power forward, and the Matrix appears to love the idea.
“It’s cool actually,” Marion told ESPNDallas.com’s Tim MacMahon. “Honestly, the 4 gets all the baskets and gets all the shots. So I’ll get in there real quick. Give me some shots, baby! Why not? I’ll take it.”
If you can remember back to Mike D’Antoni‘s Suns when Marion was in his prime, he was playing the 4. For example, his best year as a pro was the 2005-06 season where he averaged 21.8 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.7 blocks per game.
After last season, you can understand why Carlisle and Marion are ready for a change. With career lows since his rookie season of 12.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 0.9 steals and 0.8 blocks per game, something had to be done.
What do you think? Can the Mavs be successful with Marion at the power forward spot?
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October 4th, 2010 at 6:01 pm
Tes says:
Wow!
Shannon Brown’s awesome dunk over Pekovic (in London):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iLqX-xQSCw
October 4th, 2010 at 6:30 pm
Stunnaboy09 says:
@1
How is that over him, in front would be more accurate to say.
I’m all for Matrix getting some shots, hell if they can get him to any place near his Phoenix form they would be okay.
October 4th, 2010 at 7:51 pm
RC says:
I liked Marion before he asked for a trade from Phoenix. The guy became selfish and thinks he should be the franchise player for the Suns. Now he becomes a journey man with lesser shots than when was in Phoenix. Now he is in the mercy of the coach for shots. He used to be the leader in shot attempts in Phoenix.
October 4th, 2010 at 8:35 pm
jrav says:
He wasnt happy playing the 4 in phoenix but now its okay?
October 4th, 2010 at 9:04 pm
dagwaller says:
I assume he’d be playing the 4 off the bench? I can’t imagine Dirk playing the 3 (too slow) or the 5 (not rugged enough). Maybe Caron Butler as the starting 3?
October 4th, 2010 at 9:35 pm
Heckler says:
how can a player who cant shoot, bitch for more shots?!!?
i like shawn marion (i’ve always like his playing style), but he may have the ugliest jump shot form in nba history. and he aint even that accurate to deal with his ugly shooting motion.
and for those who say he was selfish–correct yourself. that is far from the truth. he played out of position in phoenix for years. he guarded the oppositions best player (from tony parker to tim duncan in the same series because steve nash was too much of a punk ass bitch puss to defend tony parker himself). against the lakers, he used to guard lamar odom. marion is 6’7, odom is damn near 6’11.
in one season (’06?) he led phoenix in points, rebounds, steals, blocks, double-doubles (more than nash who avged 11asts per game), minutes, ft attempts and offensive rebounds. and even with all that, nash was the mvp (which is fine, nash earned it), but i dunno how you can look at shawn marions game and what he gave phoenix every night and say he is selfish.
October 4th, 2010 at 10:11 pm
sh!tfaced says:
The only way Marion will be getting more shots in Dallas is from a bartender
October 4th, 2010 at 10:56 pm
ManilaFTW says:
@sh!tfaced – good one hahah.
Well honestly I think it would only work if he will be coming off the bench.
Or they could play Dirk at 5, as long as he’s not playing against real centers.
October 5th, 2010 at 12:36 am
jrav says:
Part of the reason Marion was so effective in phoenix was because he was out of position. He may have had trouble guarding other 4s’ but 4s’ had trouble guarding him.
October 5th, 2010 at 2:54 am
Mavs suck says:
The Mavs will suck with or without Marion playing the 4.
October 5th, 2010 at 11:56 am
Ekstor says:
@jrav,
I think Marion’s reasons for wanting to play the 4 now is reflected in his response… more shots. I recall an article where the journalist asked him if he’d prefer to be the top scorer for a lottery team or a core member of a championship team.
He couldn’t answer.
That said, unless the Mavs run the same open court system that PHX ran, I don’t see Marion succeeding. He’s one of the best open court players in the league… but is distinctly below average in half-court sets where he can neither create his own shot, nor shoot with consistency.
October 5th, 2010 at 2:04 pm
High Release says:
He used to be one of my favorite players, ’til he wanted out of Phoenix. That left a bad taste in my mouth. I understand he did a lot of things for Nash, but Nash did plenty for him as well. It’s still easy to run up a 20pt average on the Suns, not so much in Miami, Toronto, or Dallas. His strength is versatility, and not like LeBron. More like Grant Hill.
October 5th, 2010 at 2:16 pm
Ekstor says:
Nash did much more for Marion than vice versa. Phx could continue to win if Marion were out… and they proved they could win even without Stoudamire. Take out Nash though, and that team falls flat.