Amare articles

[jbeecham]

Versatility is key to Stoudemire's game

Suns center can take it to hoop, score on perimeter

By Marlon W. Morgan
April 3, 2007

The last time Amare Stoudemire appeared in FedExForum, his hands became well acquainted with the rims as his array of vicious dunks burned the Grizzlies for 42 points and nine rebounds.

Last week, when the Grizzlies got another look at the Phoenix Suns center, Stoudemire only put down a couple of dunks. Instead, he took his game outside and buried jumper after jumper on his way to a 27-point night on 12-of-17 shooting from the floor.

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Stoudemire and the Suns return to FedExForum at 7 tonight. And with the versatility that Stoudemire has shown this season, it's uncertain how he'll attack the Grizzlies this time around. But it's a pretty safe bet to assume that one way or another, the 24-year-old center is going to get his points.

''Stoudemire is a player who has gotten nothing but better,'' Grizzlies interim coach Tony Barone Sr. said. ''I think that if people said, 'Would you rather give up the perimeter shot, or let him go down there and dunk on you every time?' the answer to that is make him shoot the perimeter shot.

''Now he can do that. Then, he puts the ball on the deck and he drives by you. He's a complete player.''

It wasn't supposed to be that way.

Not after undergoing microfracture surgery Oct. 11, 2005 on his left knee, followed by arthroscopic surgery on his right knee April 5, 2006. No way the 6-10, 245-pound center was supposed to come back this fast and be this good.

At least that's what the skeptics told him. You see, Stoudemire, who entered the NBA out of Cypress Creek (Orlando, Fla.) High School in 2002, had captivated the NBA world with an explosive game not seen by many at his position. In just three years, he had become one of the top centers in the league.

That was before the injury to his left knee just before the 2005-06 season. But instead of his game diminishing, it's just evolved and made him an even better player, not only offensively, but defensively, too.

''Everybody makes a choice about the way they're going to cover our pick-and-rolls,'' two-time MVP point guard Steve Nash said. ''He's consistently been able to do some damage against them.''

Stoudemire is averaging 20.6 points and a career-high 9.8 rebounds, while shooting a career-best 58.7 percent from the floor. While others doubted him, Stoudemire said he always knew he'd be back. But even he was a little surprised at how quickly his game came back, because during his rehab the only basketball-related thing he was allowed to do was shoot free throws.

''I'm never lacking confidence,'' he said. ''It's just the way I work on the basketball court. I feel if I put in the work and the dedication, there's nothing that can't be accomplished. So I took that and I made goals for myself. When I make goals, I definitely work as hard as I can to achieve them.''

One of those goals was to be selected to play in the NBA All-Star Game as he was in 2005. Not only did he make the Western Conference roster, but Stoudemire's 29 points and nine rebounds were nearly enough to snare MVP honors had it not been for Kobe Bryant's 31-point, six-assist, five-rebound and six-steal effort.

''There were a lot of naysayers that said I couldn't do it,'' Stoudemire said. ''It just shows that it was not hard to achieve. That's what I'm all about, just reaching my goals.''

Stoudemire got some advice and encouragement from New Jersey Nets point guard Jason Kidd over the summer that also gave him a boost. Kidd had the same surgery on his left knee in July of 2004.

''The biggest thing I told him was not to participate in the Olympic qualifying, to give the knee time to rest, and to do your rehab,'' Kidd said. ''Everything has worked out for him and he's back to where he was before the knee surgery.''

Stoudemire's play has made the Suns a viable contender in the upcoming Western Conference playoffs. The Dallas Mavericks may have the NBA's best record, but Stoudemire has let them know he's ready.

In their last two meetings, including Sunday's game in Phoenix, Stoudemire has put up 41 points and 10 boards, and 24 points and nine rebounds, to lead the Suns to a pair of wins over their rivals and even the season series.

''Even though I'm back, we still have to get better and we still have to maintain our defensive efforts,'' Stoudemire said. ''It's not just a given because I'm back. We still have some room for improvement and we're working on that.''

Taking the Suns to the NBA Finals is another one of Stoudemire's goals.

Anyone care to doubt him?

http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/grizzlies/article/0,1426,MCA_475_5460633,00.html

 

[jbeecham]

Amaré's jump shot alters strategy
Defenders must closely guard Suns center away from basket

Doug Haller
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 3, 2007 12:00 AM

The NBA's post defenders aren't believers. Not yet. You can see it every time Amaré Stoudemire catches the ball. They creep closer to the Suns center. But they give him space. More than enough to unleash his jump shot.

This always seems to surprise Stoudemire. Against Memphis last week, he took a pass near the baseline and waited for Pau Gasol to rush up on him. But Gasol never came, causing Stoudemire to almost shrug before pulling up for - and sinking - a 16-foot jump shot.

"That's just the way my game's developing," Stoudemire said after the game. "I'm trying to work on that jumper even more to get it a little more pure and to keep defenders off balance. They don't know whether to press up on me or stay back and let me shoot."

Stoudemire caused the same problems in Sunday's victory against Dallas and likely will become a nuisance tonight at Memphis (Gasol again) as the Suns try to build postseason momentum on a four-game trip that runs through Sunday.

"His form's unbelievable," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said of Stoudemire. "It's perfect. He gets the shooting down, you can't do anything with him. He's in the category of, 'Pick your own poison.' "

Stoudemire entered the league out of high school known as a dunker.

His jump shot?

"Awful," D'Antoni said.

Stoudemire wasn't so harsh. On a scale of one to 10, he gave his jumper a six with ample room to improve. He worked on timing with assistant coach Phil Weber during his first two seasons. Weber wanted Stoudemire to develop a stop point in his technique (think of Allan Houston about to release his shot at the top of his leap), but at first he couldn't find the right phrase for Stoudemire to understand.

"I said, 'Amaré, nobody's ever going to be able to take a picture of you if you don't get to a point where you stop,' " Weber said. "So our mantra became 'Jump up, take a picture, then follow through.' And he really worked hard on it."

By the time Steve Nash arrived in 2004, Stoudemire had developed a consistent mid-range shot. This season, Stoudemire - claiming his jumper has ascended to an 11.5 on the 10-point scale - said he feels comfortable firing from within 20 feet and suggests, with a smile, that it won't be long before he's launching three-pointers.

"I'll practice in the off-season," Stoudemire said.

Responded Weber: "If we can get him shooting threes, forget about it."

This is bad news for defenders such as Gasol, who actually learned from his mistakes the last time he checked Stoudemire. After watching Stoudemire shoot jumpers for most of the first half, Gasol finally popped out at the Suns center, forcing him to put the ball on the floor.

The result:

Stoudemire drove around him and dunked.

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/0403suns0403.html

 

[SactownSunsFan]

So true. Amare has developed an amazing jumpshot. I'm tired of the announcers on TNT or ESPN act surprised when Amare hits a jumper or two and then say "If he can start hitting that outside shot with consistency, he'll become unstoppable"... HELLO? Have you not been watching the Suns? He's been making that jumpshot all season long you tools!

 

[dreamcastrocks]

So true. Amare has developed an amazing jumpshot. I'm tired of the announcers on TNT or ESPN act surprised when Amare hits a jumper or two and then say "If he can start hitting that outside shot with consistency, he'll become unstoppable"... HELLO? Have you not been watching the Suns? He's been making that jumpshot all season long you tools!

He was also making them pre injury too. The last half of the year before he was injured, I thought he was the best shooter from 15' in the league.

 

[azirish]

It makes you wonder just ho much better he will become over the next few years. Seriously, he's got a chance to be one of the all time great offensive players.

What I would look for him to be working on:

1. Using both hands. He's going left a bit more than before, but not as much as he could.

2. Work on his handles. He gets stripped too often. With his speed and power, he should be able to break down any defender put on him; but he makes too many turnovers.

3. Work on developing a short hook. He has one, but it's not as big a weapon as it could be. Boris has shown how big a weapon it can be.

4. Add range on his jumper. If he's open at 15 feet, he's totally open at the arc. No one is ever going to follow him out there, so he will always be wide open.

5. Pass out of the double teams more quickly. He's light years better than two years ago, but he's still a bit slow on seeing the shooters and cutters.

Am I being picky? We are talking about become an all time great and Amare has that kind of talent to actually get there.

 

[CardNots]

He was also making them pre injury too. The last half of the year before he was injured, I thought he was the best shooter from 15' in the league.

Why do you think people can't remember that. I agree, prior to his knee surgery he knocked down that outside shot on a regular basis. I keep hearing how he has improved it. I do think when he returned from knee surgery it did take a while for him to regain the outside shot. At the first of this year the outside shot was not automatic. Before his sugery he was.

 

[jbeecham]

Amare's passing has really improved dramatically. The give-and-go play he's been running with Nash where Nash gives him the ball at the elbow area and then cuts down the lane and gets the ball back for a layup has worked almost every time they've run it and Amare's passes have been very good. Amare's also done a better job finding Shawn cutting to the basket while he's posting up or driving to the basket himself. If he keeps improving in this area then he will be completely impossible to guard or double team.

 

[ma_falaa_50]

I think Amare needs to improve his defensive rebounding. He shows flashes of good court vision. If he develops better defense (one on one) and better basketball IQ (passing out of double teams) maybe the suns will win a championship

the thing is I dont think he has fully recovered from micrfracture yet. His elevation is not as high. It took jason Kidd like 1- 2 yrs to get back to where he was before the injury. Zack Randolf took 2 yrs to recover. How amare is playing is a big step forward.

honestly, I think Amare has to play like an MVP for the suns to win the NBA championship.

 

[fordronken]

It's really frustrating, because if I was confident he could stay severe-injury-free for his career, I would say that he could very likely be one of if not the best power forwards of all time.