Shawn Marion Showers Himself With Praise

In my recap of the epic Suns/Mavs game from last night, I mentioned how two performers were going to be overlooked when the dust clears. The two men that I mentioned are Jerry Stackhouse and Shawn Marion. The latter is not going to just lie down and let you ignore him, no sir. From AZ Central.com comes this quote from Marion when discussing his defensive abilities:

"Defensive Player of the Year, hands down," Marion said

I'm rooting for Marion to get the recognition he so richly deserves (and desperately craves). If it means getting honored with a Defensive Player of the Year award, then so be it. His defensive numbers (10 boards, 2 steals, and 1.6 blocks per night) will definitely put him in the running this season.

The problem with Marion, you see, is that his game isn't loud enough. Sadly, Amare's super-humanity and Nash's overall brilliance overshadow him night in and night out. Yet, without his nightly heroics (like the huge rebound off the initial Nash miss at the end of regulation, then passing it back to Nash for the equalizer; the tough rebound and even tougher put back with a minute remaining in the final overtime that pretty much sealed the deal last night), Phoenix wouldn't be a championship contender.

We see you, Shawn.

(Tip O' The Hat: Can't Stop The Bleeding)