Updated: June 2, 2005, 6:03 PM ET
The next step for Stoudemire
John Hollinger
Congratulations to the San Antonio Spurs, who closed out the Phoenix Suns Wednesday night to advance to the NBA Finals for the third time in seven years. But before we close the book on the Suns' magical season, we have to recognize the awesome talent of Amare Stoudemire.
The 22-year-old man-child finished his season with an absolutely incredible conference finals series. Despite Phoenix's defeat, Stoudemire was unstoppable. He scored at least 30 points and shot at least 50 percent from the field in all five games, culminating in Wednesday's 42-point, 16-rebound explosion.
So dominant was Stoudemire that in the second half of Game 5, Phoenix's offensive strategy was to get him the ball and get out of the way. The Suns isolated him one-on-one against Tim Duncan – an eight-time All-Defensive Team selection – and Duncan couldn't stop him, with Stoudemire's 17 fourth-quarter points keeping Phoenix in the game.
In the five games, Stoudemire accomplished two impressive firsts. By averaging 37.0 points for the series, he broke Allen Iverson's record for the highest scoring average by a player whose team lost a best-of-seven series in five games or less, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He also had the highest scoring average ever for a player in his first conference final, a record previously held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Stoudemire's output for the playoffs as a whole are nothing to sneeze at, either. He averaged 29.9 points, 10.7 boards and shot 53.9 percent during the Suns' playoff run. In fact, he had the highest PER (Player Efficiency Rating, my measure of per-minute productivity) of any playoff performer to make it past the first round, narrowly surpassing the Spurs' Duncan and Manu Ginobili for the honor.
Offensively, Stoudemire is like a hybrid of Shaquille O'Neal and a young Karl Malone. Like Shaq, Stoudemire is an incredible finisher with remarkable athleticism for a man of his size. When he goes up for a dunk, opponents just get out of the way because they have no chance of blocking it. But he's also similar to the slender, athletic Malone who entered the league two decades ago. Like the Mailman, Stoudemire runs the floor at every opportunity, dominates with superior quickness and repeatedly cashes in on feeds from a great point guard.
Stoudemire is similar to Malone in another important respect: his work ethic. He could be a good player without ever taking a jump shot because he's so incredibly athletic, but he took things to another level this year by rounding out several rough edges in his game. Defenders used to be able to lay several feet off Stoudemire because he had no jumper, but Stoudemire repeatedly burned San Antonio by shooting 15-footers Wednesday night. As the Spurs' Robert Horry said after Game 5, "I never respected his jumper until this series."
With another summer of work on that foul-line jumper, Stoudemire should be even more difficult to guard next season. Even with defenders laying off him, most had trouble staying in front of Stoudemire when he took a quick step to his right and powered into the lane. This season he added a viable move with the left hand to keep defenders honest. Throw in the jumper, and it's an embarrassment of riches.
It's easy to forget that he's only 22 because his abilities belie his youth, but Stoudemire still is likely to improve in several areas. The two most important, from the Suns' perspective, are defense and rebounding. Stoudemire's defensive growth has been hindered by the Suns' system, in which he plays an undersized center instead of at his natural power forward slot. Additionally, Phoenix's lack of depth discourages Stoudemire from fouling, which means he sometimes concedes a layup rather than challenge a shot. Nonetheless, an athletic dynamo like Stoudemire should do better than 1.6 blocks per game.
The biggest puzzle, however, is Stoudemire's rebounding. Stoudemire is 6-foot-10, jumps as quickly as any player in the league and has great hands, yet his rebounding average of 8.9 per game is very modest for a big man. And he's shown no improvement in this area since he entered the league.
Here is where the comparisons to Shaq and Malone break down. Shaq pulled down more than 13 boards a game in his first two seasons, while the Mailman grabbed more than 12 by his third season. Stoudemire's average of 9.9 rebounds per 40 minutes ranks just 32nd among centers. Even softies like Raef LaFrentz (10.1), Rasho Nesterovic (10.3) and Michael Olowokandi (10.7) topped him.
Stoudemire had plenty of opportunities, too. Because the Suns play at a breakneck pace and rarely foul, Phoenix led the NBA by a wide margin in missed field-goal attempts by its opponents. Unfortunately, many of those misses ended up in the hands of opponents. Phoenix ranked 29th in the NBA in defensive rebounding percentage, with only the lowly Blazers rating worse. That same weakness killed the Suns against San Antonio, with the Spurs gathering 14 offensive boards in Wednesday's clincher.
Stoudemire's board woes are even more baffling considering most players' rebound levels stay fairly constant from the moment they enter the league. However, the few exceptions all have something in common with Amare. Two examples are players who came to the NBA directly from high school and were thin, athletic types like Stoudemire. And they saw their rebound rates explode in their fourth seasons.
The first is Kevin Garnett. The Timberwolves' star is now among the best rebounders in the game, but he didn't average double figures in boards until his fourth season as a pro. The other is Chicago's Tyson Chandler, who was allergic to rebounds as a rookie but gradually improved until, like Garnett, he was among the game's best rebounders this season.
The Suns will need Stoudemire to make a similar improvement in his fourth season. If so, the MVP trophy might be moving a few lockers down next season. Stoudemire's explosion against San Antonio showed he can be the game's next dominant scorer, dropping 37 a night against one of the best defensive teams in NBA history. If he combines that with a nose for the ball on the glass, it's hard to imagine how anyone in the league could be better.
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The next step for Stoudemire
John Hollinger
Congratulations to the San Antonio Spurs, who closed out the Phoenix Suns Wednesday night to advance to the NBA Finals for the third time in seven years. But before we close the book on the Suns' magical season, we have to recognize the awesome talent of Amare Stoudemire.
The 22-year-old man-child finished his season with an absolutely incredible conference finals series. Despite Phoenix's defeat, Stoudemire was unstoppable. He scored at least 30 points and shot at least 50 percent from the field in all five games, culminating in Wednesday's 42-point, 16-rebound explosion.
So dominant was Stoudemire that in the second half of Game 5, Phoenix's offensive strategy was to get him the ball and get out of the way. The Suns isolated him one-on-one against Tim Duncan – an eight-time All-Defensive Team selection – and Duncan couldn't stop him, with Stoudemire's 17 fourth-quarter points keeping Phoenix in the game.
In the five games, Stoudemire accomplished two impressive firsts. By averaging 37.0 points for the series, he broke Allen Iverson's record for the highest scoring average by a player whose team lost a best-of-seven series in five games or less, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He also had the highest scoring average ever for a player in his first conference final, a record previously held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Stoudemire's output for the playoffs as a whole are nothing to sneeze at, either. He averaged 29.9 points, 10.7 boards and shot 53.9 percent during the Suns' playoff run. In fact, he had the highest PER (Player Efficiency Rating, my measure of per-minute productivity) of any playoff performer to make it past the first round, narrowly surpassing the Spurs' Duncan and Manu Ginobili for the honor.
Offensively, Stoudemire is like a hybrid of Shaquille O'Neal and a young Karl Malone. Like Shaq, Stoudemire is an incredible finisher with remarkable athleticism for a man of his size. When he goes up for a dunk, opponents just get out of the way because they have no chance of blocking it. But he's also similar to the slender, athletic Malone who entered the league two decades ago. Like the Mailman, Stoudemire runs the floor at every opportunity, dominates with superior quickness and repeatedly cashes in on feeds from a great point guard.
Stoudemire is similar to Malone in another important respect: his work ethic. He could be a good player without ever taking a jump shot because he's so incredibly athletic, but he took things to another level this year by rounding out several rough edges in his game. Defenders used to be able to lay several feet off Stoudemire because he had no jumper, but Stoudemire repeatedly burned San Antonio by shooting 15-footers Wednesday night. As the Spurs' Robert Horry said after Game 5, "I never respected his jumper until this series."
With another summer of work on that foul-line jumper, Stoudemire should be even more difficult to guard next season. Even with defenders laying off him, most had trouble staying in front of Stoudemire when he took a quick step to his right and powered into the lane. This season he added a viable move with the left hand to keep defenders honest. Throw in the jumper, and it's an embarrassment of riches.
It's easy to forget that he's only 22 because his abilities belie his youth, but Stoudemire still is likely to improve in several areas. The two most important, from the Suns' perspective, are defense and rebounding. Stoudemire's defensive growth has been hindered by the Suns' system, in which he plays an undersized center instead of at his natural power forward slot. Additionally, Phoenix's lack of depth discourages Stoudemire from fouling, which means he sometimes concedes a layup rather than challenge a shot. Nonetheless, an athletic dynamo like Stoudemire should do better than 1.6 blocks per game.
The biggest puzzle, however, is Stoudemire's rebounding. Stoudemire is 6-foot-10, jumps as quickly as any player in the league and has great hands, yet his rebounding average of 8.9 per game is very modest for a big man. And he's shown no improvement in this area since he entered the league.
Here is where the comparisons to Shaq and Malone break down. Shaq pulled down more than 13 boards a game in his first two seasons, while the Mailman grabbed more than 12 by his third season. Stoudemire's average of 9.9 rebounds per 40 minutes ranks just 32nd among centers. Even softies like Raef LaFrentz (10.1), Rasho Nesterovic (10.3) and Michael Olowokandi (10.7) topped him.
Stoudemire had plenty of opportunities, too. Because the Suns play at a breakneck pace and rarely foul, Phoenix led the NBA by a wide margin in missed field-goal attempts by its opponents. Unfortunately, many of those misses ended up in the hands of opponents. Phoenix ranked 29th in the NBA in defensive rebounding percentage, with only the lowly Blazers rating worse. That same weakness killed the Suns against San Antonio, with the Spurs gathering 14 offensive boards in Wednesday's clincher.
Stoudemire's board woes are even more baffling considering most players' rebound levels stay fairly constant from the moment they enter the league. However, the few exceptions all have something in common with Amare. Two examples are players who came to the NBA directly from high school and were thin, athletic types like Stoudemire. And they saw their rebound rates explode in their fourth seasons.
The first is Kevin Garnett. The Timberwolves' star is now among the best rebounders in the game, but he didn't average double figures in boards until his fourth season as a pro. The other is Chicago's Tyson Chandler, who was allergic to rebounds as a rookie but gradually improved until, like Garnett, he was among the game's best rebounders this season.
The Suns will need Stoudemire to make a similar improvement in his fourth season. If so, the MVP trophy might be moving a few lockers down next season. Stoudemire's explosion against San Antonio showed he can be the game's next dominant scorer, dropping 37 a night against one of the best defensive teams in NBA history. If he combines that with a nose for the ball on the glass, it's hard to imagine how anyone in the league could be better.
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