Marks ready to make NBA playoffs count

BY MARC HINTON

It's playoff time in the NBA, and for Kiwi pioneer Sean Marks in the past that's meant his only chance of breaking a sweat was from getting too carried away waving the towel. But not this year.

Marks, in his ninth season in the world's greatest basketball league, has finally found himself in a position to make an impact in the playoffs. And that has the 33-year-old, North Shore-raised, former Tall Blacks star pumped to make the most of his belated opportunity.

Marks has worked his way into the playing rotation of the New Orleans Hornets through a career-best regular season where he featured in 60 (of 82) matches and logged lifetime highs in pretty much every statistical category.

And now with his Hornets facing the Denver Nuggets in the opening round of the playoffs starting Monday (NZ time), Marks is fair bursting at a chance to finally log some meaningful minutes when it really matters.

Previously he has been part of San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns sides at playoff time. But he never made the Spurs' playoff roster and saw token time in only one game for the Suns last season.

This year that looks set to change, with coach Byron Scott favouring the 2.08m Kiwi among his backup big men and Marks likely to see the chance to bang bodies against Denver's imposing front-line of Brazilian star Nene, Kenyon Martin, Chris Andersen and Linas Kleiza.

"It is certainly unchartered waters for me," said Marks ahead of the best-of-seven opening round series that will tip off in Denver.

"It's different from the role I've had in the past. Usually it's been a practice player and basically a cheerleader. This year I've got to be ready. It just depends on the match-ups, I don't know how much I'll play. I don't know if coach will lean on me to play 10-15 minutes, or maybe I'll get five.

"Whatever it is I've just got to be ready to make sure when my name and number is called I go out there and do what I've been doing, which is helping the team in any way I can and bringing some energy there.

"It's going to be important for the bigs on our team to play well since Denver are stacked in that position. We've got our hands full keeping those guys off the glass and trying to limit how much Nene, Kenyon Martin and Chris Andersen contribute."

Marks has impressed pundits this year with the effort and enthusiasm he's brought to the Hornets whenever he's been called upon. Three times he's topped the double-figure mark in scoring (including a career-high 18 points in a February win over Minnesota) and his season totals of 838 minutes, 192 points and 187 rebounds have easily eclipsed anything he's achieved previously.

"It's been great," said Marks on a conference call with New Zealand media today. "It's been really good to be out there and contributing for the guys. Coach has given me an opportunity, and stuck by me which has been great.

"I definitely don't want to let him down. He said I'd get the opportunity coming in at the beginning of the year... it did take me a while to get into the groove here, but it's been a great year."

The Hornets have rather limped into the playoffs in a tight Western Conference, losing six of their last eight games to slide to seventh in the final standings. That's seen them draw the second-seeded Nuggets, though in the highly competitive wild west it's not a matchup that will hold any extra fears for the men from New Orleans.

The Nuggets have plenty of firepower, including Redeem Teamer Carmelo Anthony who averaged 22.8 points a game, but have a reputation as being soft on defence and not exactly clutch performers in the playoffs, having gone 4-20 in five straight first-round exits.

But this year the Nugs have home court, plenty of momentum and enter the series against the Hornets, led by the league's best point guard Chris Paul and the consistent power forward David West, as most people's pick to advance.

Marks acknowledges his side has plenty to do, but he's buoyed by the late return of centre Tyson Chandler who came back from an ankle injury to appear in the season finale (an overtime defeat to the Spurs).

"Everybody's a little banged up, a little sore," said Marks of the fitness of his team heading in. "Our big piece has been Tyson who missed something like 35 games this year. He's been able to come back and though he's not 100 per cent we'll take him at 90. It will be great having him out there because he adds a lot to our team."

And Denver?

 "They're a tough team, they play really well at home, they're deep and physical. It should be a great matchup. Our strength is obviously in Chris Paul, and when you've got the best point guard in the league he makes everybody else better.

"It's going to be up to the rest of us to try to help out as much as possible since they're obviously going to be really focused on Chris and taking the ball out of his hands as much as possible."

Most are tipping the matchup between Paul and the Nuggets' own star point man Chauncey Billups as being the defining one of the series.

But, who knows? Maybe New Zealand's lone NBA representative might come in and make a key play or two in what shapes as a tight series.

"Anybody can definitely win," added Marks. "That's the great thing about the playoffs. It's a totally new season. The 82 games you've just had only count for home court.

"Anyone can come out of the West. The [Western Conference champion] Lakers are the favourites  but in the past there have always been a couple of upsets so hopefully this year the seventh seed can upset a few teams."

That really would cap a dream year for Sean Marks who's certainly due a highlight or two to cap an honest if not yet remarkable NBA career.

NBA first round playoffs: West: LA Lakers v Utah Jazz; Denver Nuggets v New Orleans Hornets; San Antonio Spurs v Dallas Mavericks; Portland Trailblazers v Houston Rockets. East: Cleveland Cavaliers v Detroit Pistons; Boston Celtics v Chicago Bulls; Orlando Magic v Philadelphia 76ers; Atlanta Hawks v Miami Heat.

 

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