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Shawn Marion figures to see plenty of time at power forward in 2005-06.
(Barry Gossage/NBAE/Getty Images)
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The Suns presented their basketball version of Bizarro World last season. Power forwards were centers, small forwards were power forwards, up was down, down was up and what made it even more bizarre was that it worked. Phoenix parlayed Mike D'Antoni’s unorthodox run-and-run-some-more style into one of the most exciting seasons in franchise history.
The initial plan for 2005-06 was to return, at least in part, to a return to small forward for Shawn Marion and a return to power forward for Amaré Stoudemire. After a knee surgery that will sideline Stoudemire for a minimum of four months, however, The Matrix will called upon once again to step up to the “four” and battle some of the bigger, yet slower big men in the NBA.
The addition of a couple of big men in Kurt Thomas and Brian Grant should ease the burden up front, but the task at hand will be daunting without the presence of one the most dominating big men in the game until after the All-Star break.
Amaré Stoudemire
Fans across the basketball world were looking forward to seeing the continued development of one of the most dominating and entertaining big men to come along in quite some time. No one was more anxious to see the fruits of his labors than Amaré Stoudemire himself.
The All-Star forward/center signed a new shoe deal in addition to a contract extension with the Suns in the offseason, in between working vigorously to improve his jump shot and ball handling skills. The former Rookie of the Year was primed to continue his ascension to the NBA elite before recurring knee pain forced him to undergo exploratory surgery on Oct. 12. As it turned out, microfracture surgery was needed and STAT will be sidelined for a minimum of four months.
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As hard as he works on the court, Stoudemire has vowed to be just as diligent with his rehabilitation. The process has already begun and the 22-year-old is confident he can return to his dominating form. Time will tell, but it is tough to doubt a man who has faced overwhelming odds at every turn, and overcome them through effort and sheer determination.
“What Amaré has shown is anything he puts his mind to he’s capable of accomplishing,” assistant coach Marc Iavaroni said.
Stoudemire has his sights set on an NBA Championship for his team and a run at duplicating teammate Steve Nash’s feat of an MVP trophy. He proved to the basketball world last season that he can be nearly unstoppable offensively and the coaching staff is confident STAT was doing what it takes to become a complete player before the surgery.
“I’ve seen him moving better without the ball, not standing and waiting to be fed,” Iavaroni said. “Defensively he seems more active. The next challenge for him is to go from being an offensive force to a true both-ends player who is going to help lead his team to a championship. He’s aware of it and he knows if he devotes that kind of focus and concentration like he has to his jumper and handling once again he will achieve.”
Shawn Marion
They call him… “Mr. Blur.”
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“You can’t pigeon hole Shawn,” Iavaroni said. “He’s a very big reason why we had such a great season last year, because he enabled us to match up well defensively while we put up tons of points. He rebounds like a power forward or center, runs like a small forward or shooting guard and can obviously stretch a defense being extremely athletic.”
Marion moved from small forward to power forward seamlessly last season. In doing so, he became one of the main reasons for the success of the Suns’ run-and-gun style of play that led to a 62-win season and a trip to the Western Conference Finals. With Stoudemire out until at least February, Marion will be counted on again to step his game up with the big men.
The Matrix was the only NBA player ranked in top 25 in points, rebounds, steals, blocks, and minutes in 2004-05, and became only the second NBA player ever to rank in the top five in rebounding and steals since the league started to track steals in 1973-74.
“He’s the guy that really kind of makes everything go for us,” assistant coach Alvin Gentry said. “Here’s a guy who’s undersized at his position, averaged 11 rebounds and is by far one of the most athletic guys at his position in the league."
The coaching staff openly boasts about Marion’s ability to fill up the box score even though no plays are specifically called for him. At 6-7, 228 pounds, he was the shortest and lightest player ranked in top 20 in rebounds last year while posting the highest rebounding average by a Suns player since Charles Barkley averaged 11.6 in 1995-96.
“Obviously he’s undersized so he gets beat up there,” Gentry said. “It’s one of those deals that’ll be good for him because we have other guys we can stick in there so he doesn’t have to have a steady diet of getting beat up by the bigger guys.”
Brian Grant
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His picks have had opponents remembering him long after games are over throughout his 13-year pro career and his defensive presence will be a welcome addition off the bench.
“Brian Grant is a pick-and-pop guy,” Gentry said. “He may be the best screener in the NBA. When you hit one of his screens you know you’ve been screened. He’s a very smart player, a very intelligent player. I think he’s going to be able to help us.”
Along with his ability to play and move without the ball, the Xavier product can also run the floor and shoot, which makes him a perfect candidate for the Suns style of play.
“He is a guy who is probably strictly a power forward who can shoot like a small forward,” said Iavaroni. “We really like him in terms of not designating a position. Sometimes we’ll have three guys on the perimeter, sometimes we’ll have four. We feel even when Brian is in the game he’s not necessarily a ‘big’ because he can play a perimeter game.”
Grant had a solid preseason in averaging 6.2 points and 4.4 rebounds in nearly 14 minutes a game.
