Matrix on "Why SSOL Suns Never Won A Title"

[Kerrsed]

Watch on YouTube

The link below has the full Podcast where they go a bit more in depth. Very interesting to hear him say that he wasnt feeling it that year, but the year AFTER was when he felt we could have won the title (Raja agrees).

https://www.theringer.com/2021/1/21/22243109/shawn-marion-on-why-he-never-won-a-championship-in-phoenix

[Big NBA Fan]

Here is another long interview with Marion that was done 8 months ago that I don't think has ever been posted here.

Watch on YouTube

Matrix is a great guy, according to reporters and team-mates who have been around him.

[SunsRback4Good]

Thanks for the video Kerrsed. Watching the 5 min clip you can tell Marion was heated. Said we could've beaten the Spurs in 07 if we (the coach) made proper adjustments cause the Spurs let Anare/Nash feast while shutting down 3 other starters. Pop was the king of adjustments but unfortunately not Dantoni. Also mentioned our best shot to win was in 06 against Mavs. That was actually my favorite Nash/Marion/Amare year. We beat the Lakers after being down 1-3 and who can forget the famous Tim Thomas shot in game 6? The clippers played us tough next series and Raja's big three was insane to watch. But just not enough to beat the Mavs in conference finals. 0-3 in CF three outta six years. Wish we had a Thibs or even Jeff Bzdelik as a defensive coach but it was never meant to be. Anyways, good read and thanks for the video.

[Big NBA Fan]

I actually agree with Marion that MDA's lack of adjustments were a frequent problem.

MDA is a great coach, but he's very stubborn and refused to practice defense in Phoenix before ultimately embracing it to great effect in Houston.

[Big NBA Fan]

Thanks for the video Kerrsed. Watching the 5 min clip you can tell Marion was heated. Said we could've beaten the Spurs in 07 if we (the coach) made proper adjustments cause the Spurs let Anare/Nash feast while shutting down 3 other starters. Pop was the king of adjustments but unfortunately not Dantonis's. Also mentioned our best shot to win was in 06 against Mavs. That was actually my favorite Nash/Marion/Amare year. We beat the Lakers after being down 1-3 and who can forget the famous Tim Thomas shot in game 6? The clippers played us tough next series and Raja's big three was insane to watch. But just not enough to beat the Mavs in conference finals. 0-3 in CF three outta six years. Wish we had a Thibs or even Jeff Bzdelik as a defensive coach but it was never meant to be. Anyways, good read and thanks for the video.

Kerr actually interviewed Thibs to be defensive coach before Thibs went to Boston that summer, but MDA rejected the suggestion.

[Big NBA Fan]

Also, perhaps Matrix is a bit salty towards MDA for being the one who pressured Kerr to trade Marion away.

Kerr continues to get blamed for it even though its been confirmed by EVERYONE involved in the controversial decision that Mike pushed to get rid of Marion for Shaq as Mike said Matrix had become very unhappy and the team got stale and was worried about Tim Duncan after what Timmy did to the Suns in 05 WCF and there was no KT to guard him anymore.

Also, Duncan was still in his prime in 08.

The Shaq/Marion trade was a loser-lose for everyone. Shaq became a journeyman post-Miami, Marion was horrible in Miami, and both players would have been better off staying where they were as it was basically trading one malcontent for another.

To Marion's credit, he at-least didn't quit on the Suns the way Shaq quit on the Heat.

But Shaq had a strong year for Phoenix in 09 compared to Marion's bad season in Miami in 09.

Anyways, lose-lose for all involved.

[sunskerr]

I don't know. I feel like you have to look at how THAT series unfolded and I'm not sure how anyone can come away (at the very least) thinking the Spurs were clearly (key word: clearly) better when weighing these factors:

1) Amare and HIS 6MOTY BACKUP Diaw were suspended
2) Tim Donaghy said he and Tommy Nunez were officiating in favor of the Spurs

When you consider those two things, which impacted game 3 (Donaghy) and game 5 (suspensions) in the most heinous of ways, I don't think any honest person can conclude that the Spurs "would have won anyway". In fact, if you look at the way the games unfolded, with it being tied 2-2, you would think at the very least the teams were extremely close.

And if two teams are extremely close, OF COURSE the team that is essentially gifted two games is going to win. Let's assume a hypothetical here: imagine coming into a playoff series with a good team that the league gives them a handicap of 2-0 (I'm not saying the LEAGUE rigged the series against us, it's just a hypothetical handicap). You'd lose that series 9 times out of 10 and that's being generous, I think.

My personal take is that what we do know is that after four games, the series was 2-2, and one of those games was the infamous game 3. So even in spite of that, we had the Spurs tied. In game 5 we were up the entire game by double digits until the home stretch. Do you honestly think the Suns lose that game if Diaw and Amare play, when the Spurs could only manage to beat us by 3 after we played SIX PLAYERS? Good luck convincing people that.

The Spurs did win game 6- but we are coming off a heartbreaker game 5 and D'Antoni had to play six guys, meaning we are emotionally and physically exhausted. It's my opinion that we were the better team that series because of this sort of reasoning.

But again, to go back to my main point, at the very least I think it is basically impossible to conclude the Spurs were always a better team. Heck, I haven't even gotten into that unfortunate broken nose Nash suffered in game 1 which forced him out of the home stretch of that close game.

In summary, you have literally everything going wrong for the Suns (nose, Donaghy, suspensions) and breaking right for the Spurs...yet they only beat us in 6. How the absolute heck does any honest person conclude they are clearly a better team?

[Calvin Klein]

that's a **** up pinkie finger

[bwgood77]

He mentions "the next year" but means the previous year.

He just sounds bitter...at Nash, MDA and feels like he wants to bring Amare down a peg. It's funny he says he doesn't feel it that year but that we would have won that series without the suspensions. Well we certainly would have rolled through the Jazz and Cavs..that is the year the Warriors upset the Mavs in the first round 1/8 series so the WCF we would have played the 4/5 winner and avoided the 1 seeded Mavs.

2006 - I think he partly mentions this because there was no Amare. Anyway, that team was fun but not nearly as tough. We were lucky to not get knocked out in round 1 and got lucky the seeding was all messed up to where we got the Clips in round 2.

The Spurs and Mavs that year were like 60 win teams (Spurs 63) and we were a 43 win team but that was before they changed how they seeded things and the winner of the Spurs and Mavs division got the 1 seed and the 2nd place team was the 4 seed (because each of the division winners got the top 3 seeds). Both of the Mavs and Spurs were very tough that year. I think the Mavs/Spurs 2nd round series went to game 7 and maybe to OT to the last seconds and the Spurs lost on a missed tip by Manu or something.

We were the 2 seed with 54 wins, Nuggets were the 3 seed with 44 wins, Dallas was the 4 seed with 60 wins, Memphis was the 5 seed with 49 wins. https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2006.html

Anyway, we were probably lucky to even be in the WCF that year. With proper seeding we would have been the 3 seed and played the Clips in round one and the Mavs in round 2 and the Spurs in round 3.

Yeah, not sure how Marion bends his pinky like that. He could have used that to fake injury and stop the clock or something.

[Kerrsed]

He just sounds bitter...at Nash, MDA and feels like he wants to bring Amare down a peg.

Well here it is 13 (Or so) years later and Nash is Coaching what should be a Title Contending Team with both MDA and Amare right on his side......and where Marion? Whats he been up to? Exactly.

He definitely was throwing shade at MDA during that podcast. Also seemed like some was directed towards Nash and Amare too, like they couldnt get it done and Marion was the catalyst for the Suns winning.

And for the record, i miss Raja. One of my top 5 favorite Suns of all time.

[Mulhollanddrive]

He's been proven right about Dantoni.

[ryanball]

Marion is delusional and/or just bitter to offer up his lack of shots and overemphasis on Nash as a difference maker.

Any perceived lack of variety in the offense wasn't the problem. GSW won titles doing basically the same thing. But they had a guy like Thompson who was clutch and could reliably shoot over 40% from 3. Marion brought plenty to the team but his impact is way below Thompson, much less Nash or Amare. The unjust suspensions and possibly rigged officiating are also more substantial.

[DirtyDez]

Did he mention one of his many disappearing acts in the playoffs? Just asking...

[Kerrsed]

Did he mention one of his many disappearing acts in the playoffs? Just asking...

So did Paul George "Enter the Matrix" at the end of the bubble?