Shawn Marion: A Cleveland Cavaliers Season Preview
The Cleveland Cavaliers will be embarking on what many hope will be a historical season. The season kicks off on October 30th at home against the New York Knicks. The Cavs have added a number of big name players but, as LeBron James stated recently, this squad is all about team. So in preparation for the season we at King James Gospel will provide you a player profile and season preview for each of our Cleveland Cavaliers.
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Name: Shawn Marion
Position: Small Forward/Power Forward
Age: 36
Height/Weight: 6’7″ 220 pounds
Jersey #: 21
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Twitter Account: Follow Shawn Marion on Twitter (@matrix31)
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Last Year: (With the Dallas Mavericks) 10.4 PPG, 6.5 rebounds, 1.2 steals, 48% shooting, 35.8 3P% and 78.5% FT
Role On Cavs: Backup at small forward, some time at power forward, defensive specialist
Strengths: Versatile and effective player on both ends of the floor. Comfortable with his role.
Weaknesses: At 36 years old, a continued decline must be coming.
The Season Will be a Success for Shawn Marion if: He continues to be an effective player in the twilight of his career, giving the Cavaliers some needed defense and allowing David Blatt to manage LeBron James’s minutes
The Season Will be a Failure for Shawn Marion if: Father Time finally catches up with “The Matrix” and he is no longer able to be an effective contributor on either end of the floor.
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Narrative: The return of LeBron James and trading for Kevin Love were undoubtedly the biggest moves of the Cavaliers’ offseason, the addition of Marion is another important, if unheralded, move for the franchise. Like LeBron James, Marion is one of those rare players who can guard both threes and fours effectively and can even defend guards when necessary. On a team very few plus defenders, Marion’s skills on that end are greatly needed. While not the offensive player he once was, Marion still boasts a high field goal percentage due to his ability to finish around the basket in a variety of ways. He’s also a solid enough three point shooter that opposing defenses must respect him, particularly from the corners, which creates even more space for an already terrific offense.
Marion will likely serve as the fourth big man during many games this season. With his ability to play power forward, Marion will likely get some time at that spot and soak up the few minutes that Kevin Love, Anderson Varejao, and Tristan Thompson don’t cover. During the preseason Marion often saw minutes at the four in a smallball lineup that featured Love at center and that is likely to continue during the season. While he may not be a regular starter for the first time in his career, Shawn Marion will still play a vital role for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
What are your expectations for Shawn Marion this season?