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InsideHoops.com met with Phoenix Suns forward Shawn Marion about a week ago for an exclusive interview.

InsideHoops.com: Talk about the changes from last season to this season. Obviously you got some nice new help.

Shawn Marion: Well of course we got two big additions, with Steve nash and Quinton Richardson, but other than that I think we got a little older, a little more mature, and at the same time we got a lot more weapons. We got all these guys that can go get buckets out there at any time, and spread the court. It's kind of hard to guard five people out there who can score at any time. Most teams can't match up with that.

InsideHoops.com: You guys loaded up the offensive firepower. You went from a few key parts to a stacked lineup.

Shawn Marion: Yeah. We got some additions that will help us. We just got to go out there and play defense first. Playing together, sharing the ball the way we should share it, and stopping people.

InsideHoops.com: What have you seen from Nash so far?

Shawn Marion: Nash is getting everybody involved in spots where they can score; what more can you ask from a point guard. When he's open, he's knocking the shot down. That just sums it up right there.

InsideHoops.com: Did Shaq leaving the West open the conference up for pretty much any of the good teams?

Shawn Marion: It's open a little bit. We just got to go out there and take it one game at a time. Just because a couple of people got traded out of the West don't mean that everybody's going to fold and give it to you. We got to go out there and play each game.

InsideHoops.com: Is preseason basically a time just to loosen up and get in shape, for you and the other key guys?

Shawn Marion: I don't think I played no more than like 20 minutes a game, if that. We were just out there getting our chemistry together, everybody finding each other, playing hard and outrunning everybody. We were beating everybody by like 20-something points in the preseason.

InsideHoops.com: Did management actually consult you as far as the moves they made this summer? I mean, bringing in a Nash is a no-brainer, so maybe they didn't need to, but did they?

Shawn Marion: Not really. Management's going to make decisions on their own, whether they consult you or not. It's their team, the management and owners. It's their decision, regardless of what we think or what's going on. But we knew some changes were going to be made this summer. That's the way the business is. They want to win as much as we want to win. So they're going to try to do as much as they can to help us.

InsideHoops.com: Have you seen any rookies around the NBA this season that have caught your eye?

Shawn Marion: I've seen one that can jump out the gym, Josh Smith from Atlanta. He gets up, Lord have mercy.

InsideHoops.com: He can hit his head on the scoreboard.

Shawn Marion: Yeah. Man, he gets up. They told me he has like a 47-inch vertical. That's unheard of.