3 Phoenix Suns

"It's all in the past," says coach Mike D'Antoni. "Shawn's been great."

"Just time to play ball," says Marion, adding little else about it.

There is simply no predicting how this subplot will play out. Whether or not Marion is able to play through his stated dissatisfaction will probably come down to on-court issues; specifically, the time he spends at power forward. D'Antoni believes that Marion is most effective when he plays significant minutes at that position, where he is quicker and more athletic than most of his foes. Marion believes that he is most effective at small forward, where he is not constantly going against bigger and stronger opponents. With Hill on the floor at one forward, though, Marion will still be going against the big guys--which will either motivate him or add to his feelings of being overlooked and underappreciated.

One other factor: This is a contract year for Marion, who has a player option for next season. Which means that the Suns are running out of time to prove themselves a championship team and Marion is running out of time to prove himself a championship-caliber player.

ENEMY LINES
An opposing team's scout sizes up the Suns

Can the Suns win a championship without being an excellent defensive team? I love their style of play, but it's not built for the playoffs. And that's not a judgment call--I haven't seen anybody win a title the way they're trying to win it. . . . Steve Nash will turn 34 by the All-Star break, and they've got to find a way to limit his minutes. Any game in which they're up by a lot or down by a lot, they've got to shut him down. . . . The most interesting thing about the addition of Grant Hill is how he will fit into that offense. Usually they put four guys on the perimeter and one big guy inside; now they're going to have two guys inside the arc. . . . If Amar� Stoudemire is ever going to be an MVP candidate, he will have to become a help defender like Tim Duncan is for San Antonio. Stoudemire has the size and athleticism to be active defensively and to help cover the entire court, but it's obvious that he doesn't understand the game as well as Duncan does.

FAST FACT

The Suns made a league-leading 785 three-pointers last season, the third most in league history.

The only teams with more? The '04-05 Suns, who hit 796, and the '05-06 Suns, who set the record with 837.