The Matrix Comes to Miami

In a much more subdued press conference than the over the top PR move the Heat had when they acquired Shaq, Shawn Marion, along with new Heatian Marcus Banks, was introduced with a simple "Hello everyone.".

Marion's broad smile seemed appropriate considering the aftermath of the Shaq trade. Bitter words have been spun about regarding Shaq's departure and his relationship with Pat Riley. To get a quite smile in the middle of this is almost as bold and as loud as when Shaq rolled into town with a semi-truck and water guns.

"The sky's the limit," Marion said. "Can't get any worse. We can only get better now."

And like that, the Heat's season is summed up as well is the trade. Shaq was not fitting in with this team and that fact became painfully obvious once the Heat lost Kapono and Posey and failed to replace their shooting abilities. (Most will not realize, however, that Kapono's game thrived when Shaq was injured last season and that he actually played better with Wade - but that is another discussion.) Shaq became too crowded and like a bull in a china shoppe. And at $20M a season, the Heat need better numbers from him - 17 and 8 is not enough for a player who is eating up about 34% of the payroll.

With Marion, they get a quiet personality who does his talking on the court. His explosive athleticism allows him to create posterizing dunks and game changing blocks. He can defend any position on the floor and he also has an outside shot with very good range - despite his disturbing, unorthodox shot.

There are some who are not high on this trade and see this as a salary dump. Shaq's low numbers and inability to stay healthy is what the Heat were looking to drop. They could have added by subtraction - the Heat have played 115 games without Shaq over the last three seasons. That is practically the inverse of buy one get one free. Considering the Heat's record over these last three seasons, and how dramatically things have taken a turn for the worse, this move had to be made.

"The Matrix" is exactly what the Heat need. Shawn Marion can rebound, can score, can defend, can help defend, and has a track record of staying healthy. And he was doing it before Steve Nash showed up, and he will do it while playing in Miami without Nash.

For those of you who are cynical, let's look at the numbers. Before Nash arrived in Phoenix, in 2004-2005, Marion was averaging 19 PPG, 9.3 RBs, 2.7 ASTs, 2.0 TOs, 2.1 STLs and 1.3 BLKs. He shot 44% from the field, 34% from three point range, and 85% from the charity stripe. Once Nash arrived, Marion saw his FGAs go down (from 17.0 per game to 15.9 per game), his FG% go up slightly (44% to 47.6%) and his scoring rise marginally (19.0 to 19.4). In other words, Marion became slightly more efficient. In fact, the only real strong improvement was in rebounds where he went from 9.3 to 11.3 a game with Nash - perhaps due to increased possessions and shots taken there were more opportunities to rebound.

How about with the Heat? With Dwyane Wade, we could expect a more dynamic offense as Wade has the ability to penetrate into the paint almost at will but he also has the ability to set up his teammates - a role he seems more comfortable in. Wade can penetrate and kick, much like Nash does and that is something Marion knows how to play off of.

On the defensive side of the ball, Marion's great wingspan allows him to be a very strong help defender - something the Heat have been lacking since Zo went down: a consistent shot blocking presence to keep defenses honest.

He is a hard worker, an ideal member of the community, and can help this team win now. Which actually, might not be a good thing considering the Heat are in an ideal situation for drafting one of the top 2 picks in the draft. Considering the Heat still have very little financial flexibility going forward - assuming Marion stays - getting a franchise player in the draft would put the Heat back into serious contention almost immediately. Now we will have to sort out who is going to coach this thing...Spoelstra?