Marion showing he’s a perfect fit with Suns

Victoria Sun

Wednesday, Oct. 27, 1999 | 10:26 a.m.

Deciding who to pick in the NBA Draft is a lot like picking a spouse.

You hope you've chosen the right person.

You hope you won't be let down.

But all you can do is cross your fingers and hope for the best.

It's early, but all indications are that the Phoenix Suns definitely made the right decision when they selected former UNLV player Shawn Marion with the ninth pick of this year's draft on June 30.

Marion made his return to the Thomas & Mack Center on Tuesday night when the Suns played the Los Angeles Lakers in the Suns' second-to-last preseason game.

In front of 12,128 fans including his mother, Elaine, former Rebel teammates and other family and friends, Marion scored a team-high 16 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds to help the Suns to a 95-73 victory.

Perhaps more telling is the fact that his performance was with one of the NBA's premier centers, the Lakers' Shaquille O'Neal, guarding the paint.

At 7-foot-1 and 325 pounds, O'Neal usually eats up opponents who try to go inside.

Not Marion.

The 6-foot-7 swingman was able to use his athleticism to drive when he had to for an easy layup, though O'Neal did swat him once or twice.

"That's a big boy," Marion said with a smile. "If he's up there he might get me, but if he's not I try to jump in there.

"I just gotta try and play ball no matter who it's against."

It wasn't the first time Marion handled the Lakers.

In the Suns' first preseason game against the Lakers last Friday, Marion scored 20 points off the bench and O'Neal didn't forget about the rookie.

"That (son of a gun) is nice," O'Neal said while nodding his head. "He can jump out (of) the gym and I'm proud of him."

O'Neal isn't the only one.

Marion's mom, Elaine, had a few things to say about her son's success.

She was one of the few thousand who gave Marion a standing ovation when his name was announced in the starting lineup.

"He's been practicing all year, during the summer he's always in the gym," she said. "I'm just a proud momma. Just a proud momma.

"It felt good (when people stood up to acknowledge Marion). It felt good that they didn't forget him. That they remembered him."

Those who had doubts that Marion shouldn't have declared himself eligible for the draft after his junior season can be quiet now.

Since Marion made his debut in a preseason game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, he's fit right into the Suns' system. And with All-Star guard Jason Kidd sidelined with a thigh injury, Marion has had even more chances to show his talent.

He scored seven of his 16 points in the first quarter, but the statistics leave out some important details.

The Lakers jumped out to a 6-0 lead before Marion hit a 20-foot jumper to put the Suns on the scoreboard.

He hit a nice five-footer to tie the game 9-9, then nailed a 3-pointer to spark the Suns' 6-0 run that put Phoenix up 20-14.

From that point on, though the Lakers tied the game twice in the third quarter, the Suns never trailed.

If Marion wasn't pulling up for a jumper or attempting to convert an alley-oop pass, defensively he was swarming the boards for rebounds and making it very difficult for Lakers guard Glen Rice to get off an easy shot.

"I have total confidence in him," said Suns guard Penny Hardaway. "I consider myself a go-to guy and I think Shawn is definitely a go-to guy.

"He's just so active. For just to be a rookie he can really score. He knows how to put the ball in the basket and he's the best finisher on this team."

Because this is only the preseason, Suns coach Danny Ainge doesn't want to get too excited about Marion just yet, though he did offer a few observations.

"He played tonight like he's played every night for us," Ainge said. "He does a lot of things on the court.

"I tried to compare him to somebody when we were drafting him and I really didn't know who to compare him to.

"He's a very unique player. He has the ability to become something special.

"It's like the same thing with Jason Kidd, I don't know who to compare him to because he's very unique."

That Kidd, he turned out to be pretty good and maybe so will Marion.

archive