Times wires
Saturday, June 4, 2011
DALLAS — Of all the players on the Mavericks roster, Shawn Marion has been given the most difficult assignment in this year's playoffs.
It's not as tough as riding a raging bull. But by NBA standards, what Marion has been asked to do the past six weeks has been about as difficult as trying to contain Michael Jordan night after night after night.
Marion has gone from guarding Portland's Brandon Roy in the first round to defending All-Stars Kobe Bryant (Lakers), Kevin Durant (Thunder) and now the Heat's LeBron James. That's about as tough as it gets in the NBA.
The rugged defensive challenges, however, don't faze Marion.
"Somebody's got to guard these guys, and I'm going to take the challenge to do what I've got to do and make it hard as I can for these guys," Marion said Saturday. "All of them are different and all of them get a lot of shots, so it's just a matter of how many shots are you going to let them get.
"I'm going to contest every shot I can and keep them off the free-throw line. It is what it is."
The Mavs are hoping Marion will be at his defensive best when they host Miami in Game 3 of the NBA Finals at 8 tonight at American Airlines Center.
This best-of-seven series is tied at 1, and since the NBA went to the 2-3-2 format in 1985, the Game 3 winner is 11-0 when the series was tied after two games.
It's essential that Marion continues playing superb defense in order for the Mavs to win their first NBA title. His importance at the defensive end is unparalleled.
"We wouldn't be here without Shawn Marion's defense," Mavs backup center Brendan Haywood said. "His defense has been great, and that's probably one of the underrated parts of his game.
"He's really accepted the challenge to guard a lot of really, really tough offensive players in this league."
Other than defense, the Mavs also expect Marion to hold his own at the offensive end of the floor.
After Marion struggled and scored just seven on 1-of-5 shooting in Game 4 of the Western Conference final, his teammates challenged him to step up his offensive game. Marion responded by pouring in 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting in the Game 5 closeout contest while also holding Durant to 23 points on 8-of-20 shooting.
"That's why he or whoever nicknamed himself the Matrix," center Tyson Chandler said. "When you give yourself a nickname like that, I guess you've got to be able to do it on both ends."
Marion is averaging 18 points and nine rebounds in the two games against the Heat while almost playing James to a draw. Marion also surprisingly has more free-throw attempts — he's 6-of-7 from the line — than James.
By contrast, James is averaging 22 points and 8.5 rebounds and is 4-of-6 from the line.
"I think Shawn Marion has done a great job, especially offensively," James said. "His activity throughout the first two games has been pretty good."
James, however, refused to credit Marion for anything he has done on defense.
"I don't feel like there's one guy in this league that can stop me one-on-one," James said. "There's always a defense that's looking at me when I have the ball.
"He's the guy that's guarding me, but there's no one-on-one guy that can guard me."
HAYWOOD HOBBLED: Dallas center Haywood, who came out of Game 2 with a strained right hip flexor, spent much of practice riding a stationary bicycle. Other than that, he was limited to spot-up shots and free throws with no contact or full-speed work. His status for tonight was uncertain. Coach Rick Carlisle said well-rested Ian Mahinmi would be ready to play.
NBA Finals
Heat 1, Mavericks 1
Game 1: Heat 92, Mavericks 84
Game 2: Mavericks 95, Heat 93
Tonight: at Dallas, 8, Ch. 28
Tuesday: at Dallas, 9, Ch. 28
Thursday: at Dallas, 9, Ch. 28
June 12: at Miami, 8, Ch. 28 *
June 14: at Miami, 9, Ch. 28 *
* If necessary