Is This The Real Amare?

[George O'Brien]

The Kings have all star Brad Miller and Divac (called the heart of the Kings team), but they looked hopeless trying to deal with Amare. Amare's numbers were impressive enoug: 10-19 shooting plus 13-16 free throw shooting for 33 points AND he grabbed 17 rebounds while dishing ot 3 assists.

Amare struggled on defense (as did the rest of team), but this was an impressive performance against a team that might be the best team in the NBA right now. If anything, the Suns needed to do even more to get Amare the ball down low. The 17 rebounds was huge and reflects a new intensivity on Amare's part.

Is this sustainable? We talk about how great Amare will be someday, but is someday coming soon? If it is, this team will be a threat in the playoffs. If his defense improves, the Suns may become a longshot canddiate to compete for the title.

We'll see. He may struggle as oppoents adjust to him just as JJ is struggling a little bit. But we are getting a glimpse of what could become on of the top big men in the NBA.

A top big man on the Suns? Now there is something you don't see every day.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

I think this is the real Amare. However, I don't think we will see the continued consistancy on both boards and points until next season.

I am not to worried about defenses adjusting to him. Last season, after he blew up in December, teams looked for him. He was still able to get his job done on most nights, and that was with an injury and little formal coaching.

A promising part of tonights game (I only saw the 4th quarter though), was he was able to handle the double teams quite well. He passed out to JJ and to Z for some nice plays. He is gaining more patience, and not forcing his shot like he did earlier.

From what I saw, Amare didn't lack to much on defense. He was able to body up Divac nicely on a couple plays. Of course, like I said, I only saw the end of the game.

The biggest worry I have about Amare is his game relies so much on quickness and athleticism. Unless he becomes very sound fundamentally, his career could be much shorter than an average big man. However, with his ability to pick things up, I am not to worried about it.

 

[sly fly]

No, it isn't the "Real Amare"...

What you see now if NOTHING what his game will be like 2-3 or even 5 years down the road. An, that my friends... is scary!

- His body will fill out.
- He'll learn to play defense without looking like a human turnstile.
- He'll become a better passer (and, that's a part of his game that I think will really come out).
- He'll demand the ball more.
- His IQ on the court will make his tema better in the win column.


He's already...

- Hitting FT's at a good clip.
- Displaying a feathery touch around the hoop.
- Not trying to dunk everything.
- Becoming "THE" leader.
- Displaying a nastiness.
- Taking the 15 footer w/o thinking as much.

He may...

- Develop a turn around jumper (that would be nice!).
- Change the way the PF position is to be played.
- Be good enough to lead this team deep into the playoffs.

 

[Goldfield]

Amare showed soo much as a rookie. But I cannot believe how much better he is this year!

He is IMO the best PF in the game. OK maybe not yet, but he will be... He is for sure the most fun to watch of all the PF's!

He is the Shaq of PF's, but with more skill.



Although I woud be thrilled to have a guy like KOBE. I just dont think we need him. I would much rather add some big's like Dampier & a good backup PF.

 

[F-Dog]

The "real" Amare is going to be a lot better than this.

He's still just scratching the surface of his talent.

 

[slinslin]

I think Amare could average

28/12/2/1.5/2 next season if he gets the touches to score and stays healthy and keeps working hard.

Compare that to Duncan...

23/13/3/1/3

Garnett

25/14/5/1.5/2

 

[fordronken]

Originally posted by slinslin
I think Amare could average

28/12/2/1.5/2 next season if he gets the touches to score and stays healthy and keeps working hard.

Compare that to Duncan...

23/13/3/1/3

Garnett

25/14/5/1.5/2

So, are you saying that Amare will be better than KG and Duncan because the stats that you made up are better than the other people's?

 

[slinslin]

In scoring, yes.

That's the only statistic he would be better than Garnett and Duncan.

At the end of this season I think Amare will average more points post allstar game than Garnett and Duncan already.

 

[Chaplin]

Originally posted by slinslin
In scoring, yes.

That's the only statistic he would be better than Garnett and Duncan.

At the end of this season I think Amare will average more points post allstar game than Garnett and Duncan already.

Duncan being on the injured list has no bearing on that claim, does it?

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Watching Amare last night was an absolute treat. It reminded me of watching Barkley in his prime, not for the style of play, but for his absolute domination of the game. The drop step, spin and dunk over Divac was probably the best pure move I've ever seen Amare make. The agressiveness and anger with which he takes the ball to the basket is amazing, and the other guys will certainly start feeding off of it.

 

[scotsman13]

Originally posted by sly fly
- Displaying a nastiness.

while some might not like it, i loved it went i saw amare pound divac on the hip last night. the time will come with him that anyone that even thinks about getting in his face will have second and third thoughts about it.

 

[tommcnabb]

Originally posted by scotsman13
while some might not like it, i loved it went i saw amare pound divac on the hip last night. the time will come with him that anyone that even thinks about getting in his face will have second and third thoughts about it.

He's got the inside drive and the heart. Can't teach that.

And just think how little basketball training he's had.

Scary.

 

[scotsman13]

Originally posted by fordronken
So, are you saying that Amare will be better than KG and Duncan because the stats that you made up are better than the other people's?

i dont think that slin is saying that. but in a way amare will be much better then them. not that he will have all of the abilities that they have, but because of the way that he plays the game. garrnett is a great player who can do some many things well, duncan is a quite player who does anything at a very high level, but amare is developing into a force of nature. he is unstoppable in the paint, and will draw fouls like there is no tomorrow. if he was matched up with someone else who can draw fouls the other team would have to start to worry if their starting line up wouldnt be in foul trouble by the end of the first half. garrnet and duncan dont play this way and that is the one thing that may end up making amare a better player. think of shaq (but a little smaller) shooting 75 to 80% on fouls and then you have amare.

 

[Gee!]

Originally posted by George O'Brien
We talk about how great Amare will be someday, but is someday coming soon?

People didn't think Amare would be as good as he was his rookie year when he won ROY. I think Amare is a freak and this offseason he will work on defense and other things. making next year him unstoppable.

 

[SweetD]

Don't forget he didn't work on alot of stuff this offseason becouse of the surgry he had.

 

[George O'Brien]

Originally posted by SweetD
Don't forget he didn't work on alot of stuff this offseason becouse of the surgry he had.

I agree. At the start of the season it seemed like Amare had regressed before his injury. He seemed to have absolutely no recognition of double teams and tried to force everything.

Now he is getting some assists, does not always go straight to the basket, and shows touch. But most of all, he is beginning to rebound like he should.

How much better can he get? Right now the only PF's that are playing better are Duncan, KG, and J. O'Neal. All are much more experienced and all play on veteran teams.

I think it is safe to say that Amare is the only untradeable player on the team.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I still like the idea of Amare at center. Reasons.

No center in the league, outside of Shaq, is going to out play him physically. His combination of size and speed means that he's not going to wear down against the centers out there.

He creates a mismatch at center every night.

He's not too small to play the 5. His combination of size, speed, height and aggressiveness remind me of Mourning or Hakeem.

Its much easier to fill a pf hole in the lineup than the center. Okafor etc would make sense. Amare might be a better choice at center than Lampe. Lampe might be a better choice for pf.

I'm not completely sold on this, but I certainly can see the merits.

 

[SweetD]

I would give him some more years at PF before moving him. He just can't handle playing the West Coast C right now. Even Divac was able to get way to low in the post and use his body to get to the basket.

 

[Goldfield]

Originally posted by ASUCHRIS
Watching Amare last night was an absolute treat. It reminded me of watching Barkley in his prime, not for the style of play, but for his absolute domination of the game. The drop step, spin and dunk over Divac was probably the best pure move I've ever seen Amare make. The agressiveness and anger with which he takes the ball to the basket is amazing, and the other guys will certainly start feeding off of it.

I AGREE 100%

"The agressiveness and anger with which he takes the ball to the basket is amazing" -took the words right out of my mouth.

 

[George O'Brien]

Originally posted by JCSunsfan
I still like the idea of Amare at center. Reasons.

No center in the league, outside of Shaq, is going to out play him physically. His combination of size and speed means that he's not going to wear down against the centers out there.

He creates a mismatch at center every night.

He's not too small to play the 5. His combination of size, speed, height and aggressiveness remind me of Mourning or Hakeem.

Its much easier to fill a pf hole in the lineup than the center. Okafor etc would make sense. Amare might be a better choice at center than Lampe. Lampe might be a better choice for pf.

I'm not completely sold on this, but I certainly can see the merits.

Amare will get minutes at the #5 - the only question is whether it is 5 to 10 or 10 to 20. I'm not convinced that he is going to be effective playing center for 10 to 20 minutes.

The only way Amare can play serious minutes at center is if the Suns get another power player who can help on defense. It doesn't really matter if somelike Okafor is playing PF or C if Amare is also in the lineup.

But I am not convinced that using Marion at PF works for any length of time and Carbakapa is not good enough on defense.

 

[Joe Mama]

I just don't think Amare Stoudemire is big enough to guard a reasonably sized center in the NBA. He could handle some center duty against some of the smaller centers out there, but you wouldn't want him playing big minutes at the 5 every night.

The thing about Amare that really blows me away is that he scores on single and double team coverage at will when they are absolutely handing him the midrange shot. It's been said repeatedly, but if he can just get any sort of consistency with that midrange shot he'll be the best offensive weapon in the NBA.

I believe he will improve defensively, but I don't think he'll ever be a defender in the class of a KG or Tim Duncan. Each of those guys has a definite size advantage on him. I do think he has a lot of room for improvement on the boards though.

Joe Mama

 

[George O'Brien]

Originally posted by Joe Mama
I do think he has a lot of room for improvement on the boards though.

Joe Mama

He only got 17 boards against the Kings. Not enough.

Actually I agree, his rebounding has been well below what he is capable of. But this is all about effort and learning more about positioning -- he will get it.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

Joe, like I have said earlier, I don't think Amare will ever be a top notch man to man defensive player. However, from the weakside, he could be amazing. His quickness and jumping ability allows him to block almost anything in his area.

 

[slinslin]

Why shouldn't Amare be able to get to a Dennis Rodman/Hakeem Olajuwon type of defensive level?

Olajuwon was better than Garnett and Duncan. And he was much smaller than them.

Size isn't everything.

Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett are great defenders but that doesn't mean Amare can't, there are other players who are smaller than those guys but as good or close defensively.

 

[George O'Brien]

Originally posted by slinslin
Why shouldn't Amare be able to get to a Dennis Rodman/Hakeem Olajuwon type of defensive level?

Olajuwon was better than Garnett and Duncan. And he was much smaller than them.

Size isn't everything.

Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett are great defenders but that doesn't mean Amare can't, there are other players who are smaller than those guys but as good or close defensively.

I'm not sure Dennis was really all that good on defense after he left Detroit. He was so fixated on grabbing rebounds that he would leave his man to get in position to grab the board and give up easy shots.

I cannot figure out how big Olajuwon was. NBA.com lists him at 7'0", but it was widely reported that he was only 6'10". In any case, Mourning was only 6'10" and he played very well on defense so I guess I agree with your main point.

The problem is always the same - does the player WANT to play center. It gets so physical that many players get tired of it after a while. This is espcially true when it comes to guys that can score. Duncan, KG, and J. O'Neal all COULD play center but don't.