Shawn Marion to Miss At Least Two Weeks (Hip)

Shawn Marion was supposed to be an important part of the Cleveland Cavaliers this season. He signed for the veteran’s minimum for a chance to chase a title with LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving. The long time defensive stopper and athletic playmaker was expected to backup James and provide the Cavs with an athlete to help defend the wing, so LeBron didn’t have to.

Instead, like we covered yesterday, Marion has struggled most of the season and now we know that it was his hip that has caused much of his issues. (Yes, there are a ton of “Old man, broken hip” jokes available.) According to the Cavs, and this report from the Akron Beacon Journal, Marion is now set to miss two weeks due to that achy hip:

"Shawn Marion has a strained left hip, an MRI revealed, and is expected to miss the next two weeks. Marion has been fighting the injury off and on for the last couple of months and returned to Cleveland on Monday for an exam.Marion said over the weekend his focus is getting healthy in time for the playoffs.“It’s about the bigger picture. That’s how I look at it,” he said. “The light at the end of the tunnel. I just want to get back to 100 percent healthy."

While things like hip injuries are concerning, him taking two weeks, or more, off now is perfect timing for the team. The Cavs have worked J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert into their roles, with Shumpert able to play some backup small forward, and now will acclimate Kendrick Perkins into the frontcourt that has learned to play with Timofey Mozgov. By the time Marion returns the Cavs will have comfort with Perkins role and have time to adjust to the return of Marion.

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A healthy Marion would give the Cavs the kind of depth that is needed to compete in the playoffs. With Marion backing up LBJ, the Cavs would be two deep at every position. Matthew Dellavedova, Shumpert, Marion, Tristan Thompson and Perkins is the type of starting 5 the Cavs would have loved to see the last few years. Now they come off the bench. Each supplies something unique: Delly is a backcourt pest on defense, Shump is a more athletic version who can also knock down spot of 3s, Marion has experience and length, Thompson is young and bouncy and Perkins is the enforcer.

If Marion is not able to return the Cavs will still be okay but limited in giving James rest throughout games and series. While Marion doesn’t have the offensive ability, and never has, his ability to move without the ball, slash, play defense and get out into the open court would be huge. Without him the Cavs are a lot smaller on the wing and could rely on Mike Miller or James Jones to fill those minutes.

Do you think Shawn Marion will return to form after two weeks off?

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