NBA Top 50: Shawn Marion (No. 35)

FanHouse's Tom Ziller argues his ranking of the top 50 players in the NBA.

Shawn Marion, he of simply otherworldly skills and a painfully shy persona, has landed outside Phoenix. That's old news, sort of: we saw him play about a month in Miami. It wasn't really real basketball. It counted in the books, but not in our hearts.

We've seen Matrix play a million minutes though, as Phoenix's undersung axle all those years, through Starbury and Steve Nash. Endless rebounds, steals like wine at a wedding in Yountville, that giggly threeball from the wing. He's been like a bottle of chloroform to the traditional worldview of a small forward, forcing us to expect more than just range, size and skills. Marion makes us dream of a League of LeBrons.

But now, with Nash so far away, has the feature film ended? Is Marion on the fast track to disappointment in Miami, and where ever he lands next summer? Let us peer into the mime's eye.

Before, during and after Nash, Marion does these things exceedingly well: rebound, get steals, get blocks. Unassailable in those sectors, really. You suspect the blocks and steals will taper once his body tightens up -- he turned 30 during the playoffs -- but he's probably got at least four seasons of weakside monster left in him.

But Marion is also renowned as a scorer, a second (Miami) or third (Phoenix) option on offense. His efficiency in this part of the game hasn't been nearly as consistent as his peripherals, though. Take a look.



Remember now: Miami never happened. But pre-Nash Phoenix? That did! And Marion was a far, far worse shooter back then. Matrix came into the league as a 21-year-old, so maybe you can attribute Year 1 to youth. But the difference between the pre-Nash era and the Nash Zone ... it's drastic. Marion basically went from a low-efficiency moderate scorer to a high-efficiency moderate scorer, and that's all the difference in the world for a team. If you have a guy taking a grip of FGAs, you need him to be pleasantly efficient, lest the bricks dilute the makes from your other weapons. Marion took plenty of shots under Stephon Marbury, and didn't get a league-average number of points out of them. With Nash making the passes, Marion came near the league lead in True Shooting. DRASTIC.

Is Nash a coincidence? Hardly. Marion had 60% of his makes assisted in 2003-04. In 2004-05, with Nash, that number leaped to 73%. In 03-04, 8% of Marion's FGAs were dunks. In 04-05, the figure was 13%. With Starbury, 48% of Marion's shots came in 10 seconds or less. With Nash: 53%. More assisted hoops, more dunks, more transition buckets ... that's an increase in efficiency.

Marcus Banks or Mario Chalmers is your opening day starting point guard for the Miami Heat. Dwyane Wade, a fine fellow, is the chief facilitator. Marion will be stunning in his efforts to alter the game from the corner of your eyes. But he will not be a bastion of efficiency, it seems, and that discredits his mystique enough to warrant this sullen position on an otherwise meaningless list.