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#1
10-02-05, 09:00 PM
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IMO this is mixed news for the Spurs. On the one hand, fixing his left hand makes Amare even more difficult to guard, which is a scary prospect. On the other hand, learning that he's shooting corner 3's is excellent, since nobody on the Suns would benefit from having him at the corner. Plus he seems NOT to have embarked on the journey of becoming a truly great big man, which for him involves greatly improving his DEFENSE. ========================= http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns...esuns1002.html Paul Coro The Arizona Republic Oct. 2, 2005 12:00 AM The Suns officially get back to work Monday, when they go through a circuit of media duties and catch a bus to Tucson for a weeklong training camp. But Amaré Stoudemire really never stopped working since the playoffs. By his count, he took two weeks off this summer outside of his basketball training and his expanding off-court demands. You will see it when he drives to his left, pushes the fast break with the dribble, pulls up for jumpers and - gulp - shoots the corner three-pointer. After pickup games, Stoudemire's shooting drills now regularly include long streaks of made threes. advertisement "I'm ready to go," Stoudemire said. "I'm really trying to win a championship this year. That's what I'm striving for. There are a lot of new guys and there have been some huge changes, but I think it's all for the best to help this team become a champion. That's what it is all about." Stoudemire committed himself, whether it was occasional trips to America West Arena for workouts with Suns athletic trainers, or asking Phoenix assistant coach Phil Weber to come to Orlando for five days so he could continue the basketball development they did at the arena. "His mind-set is about as good as it gets," Weber said. "Because of how good he is, some other factors came up this summer that other people don't have to worry about. He did whatever I asked for as long as I asked. He just wants to be the best player he can be." The pair worked primarily on offense, leaving the defensive adjustments to come from assistant Marc Iavaroni via video lessons. Stoudemire and Weber worked on perimeter moves usually reserved for backcourt players. Suns power forward Brian Grant, signed this summer, carries the best perspective for Stoudemire's development as a former foe. He knew every scouting report on Stoudemire said to force him left. When he did that during one of last month's voluntary workout games, Stoudemire blew by him. "Oops," Grant told the coaches. "Guess you can't do that anymore." Stoudemire said he liked the team's summer moves, although he did make a push for the Suns to try to keep Joe Johnson. Any distaste seems to come from only Johnson's side. Stoudemire said they were "real good friends" and hung out away from basketball. "I can't hate him for the move he made because it was a smart move on his behalf," Stoudemire said. The additions of Grant and Kurt Thomas, two veteran post players, were especially pleasing to Stoudemire, who now won't have to guard opponents' top post players and may get more space to operate. He played frequently last month with the team's other additions, including the standout of them all, guard Raja Bell. "I'm impressed," Stoudemire said. "I think we're going to be even better, especially defensively, and we've still got the offensive game."
__________________ Whatcha gonna do when Huxamania runs wild on you?!!      |
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#2
10-02-05, 09:04 PM
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Another thing to consider is that he may be a little too intense. If he pushes himself too hard, it could lead to injury or mental blocks. Gotta love his commitment though. Also, hitting those three's in a practice situation vs a game is quite different. We'll see how many bricks he sends up before getting a rhythm. Last edited by kyleo; 10-02-05 at 09:18 PM. |
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#3
10-02-05, 09:14 PM
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his offensive isn't the problem, he should have worked on his defense or lack there of
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#4
10-02-05, 09:37 PM
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I look forward to seeing the new and improved Stud-amire.
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#6
10-02-05, 09:49 PM
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__________________ Whatcha gonna do when Huxamania runs wild on you?!! |
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#7
10-02-05, 09:56 PM
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Come on guys, the guy is flat out unbeleivable. He's SCARY. He's a joy to watch and how much he has improved his game is downright SCARY (USE THE WORD AGAIN). On defense, sure he has his moments where he's not there, but he's so young and that will come. BTW, its the system they play as well that makes it appears he's not that good on defense. The guy is amazing and is that GOOD. |
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#8
10-02-05, 09:59 PM
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I agree he did look amazingly scary during the WCF last year. Combine that sort of talent with that much determination and intensity, let's just hope the Spurs can contain everybody else on the Sun's roster cuz this guy is gonna get his 30 points a night, at least.
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#10
10-02-05, 09:59 PM
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http://www.nba.com/suns/news/tribune_050719.html
__________________ Whatcha gonna do when Huxamania runs wild on you?!! |
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#12
10-02-05, 10:19 PM
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Geez, last I recall, Spurs beat these guys as a team. Stud-mire can improve all he wants but he alone will not net the Suns a championship. Sorry, I don't see Grant, Thomas, nor Bell complimenting his game to beat the top teams in the league.
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#14
10-03-05, 12:14 AM
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i think stoudamire will be better than last season, but the suns won't be.
__________________ Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -- Albert Einstein - US (German-born) physicist (1879 - 1955) Dave McNulla Spurs Fan Tweet Me |
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#15
10-03-05, 12:20 AM
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"Amare expands his game" ... huh, Step 1. Become a 3-pt threat Step 2. Learn how to read Good Luck Big Guy!
__________________ TBNL SUCKS ASS and DIZZ is an FAG |
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#16
10-03-05, 05:34 AM
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I like Amare, but I still think the Suns will live and die with Nash's leadership and skills. IMO Nash is the head of the cobra, and while they have become better defensively, I still don't think as a team they can match the Spur's defensive intensity or the Pistons or Pacers where all 3 teams depend on a team system of defense. I think the Suns will continue to fall into defensive lapses that will eventually kill them in the playoffs. Stoudamire just amazes me everytime I watch the replays of the WCF playoffs, even when Nash wasn't there he still killed the Spurs down low. But he doesn't play very good team defense and he dissappears on the defensive boards, those two areas he really needs to work at with the team.
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#18
10-03-05, 08:22 AM
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__________________ Endut!!  Hoch, Hech!!
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#19
10-03-05, 08:53 AM
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Who cares if the Suns win more, I just want to see Amare torch people  |
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#21
10-03-05, 10:21 AM
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Amare is a stud and i give him 3 years and he will be the best big man on the planet...he is young and is bound to improve defensively with time. Which is his only real weakness. he is close to signing an extension which will put the suns in a great position for years to come
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#22
10-03-05, 10:56 AM
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If he can't or won't play defense, and he can't or won't rebound, he will never make his team a winning team. That was very obvious in the series against the Spurs. No one could be a better offensive threat than he was, but the Spurs simply came right back and scored against him. You can say exactly the same thing about Steve Nash. These are two HUGE holes in their defense which even the sometimes-offensively-challenged Spurs can exploit at will. This article makes me think that Amare still doesn't get it. He should be getting lessons from the Moses Malones of the world, not working on his offense. |
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#23
10-03-05, 11:43 AM
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the kid is 22 for godsake...it takes time to become an all-ound player when you are straight out of high school..as long as suns have amare they should keep contending
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#24
10-03-05, 12:10 PM
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There is such a huge difference in this league between "contending" and "winning". Getting to the NBA finals, and giving yourself a chance to win it all, is the gold standard. Both the Spurs and Pistons reached that standard last year. The Suns, frankly, came up quite a bit short -- they were spanked by the Spurs, badly. The hardest thing to figure out for a team like the Suns or Mavs is that they are not going to reach that final level just by incremental improvements within the basic framework. A team built around high-octane offense like that is simply a great regular-season team, not a winning playoff team. Maybe -- just maybe --- they really don't care. Maybe their owners are happy with making money and getting lots of hype in the regular season, and getting into the 2nd or 3rd round of the playoffs every year before being plowed under. Maybe that's why they keep supporting the coaches and front offices that build a system like that. |
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#25
10-03-05, 12:37 PM
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No it's clear the suns are commited to winning otherwise they wouldn't of tried to get defensive players. the mistake dallas made was overloading more offense a few years back when they came up short against the spurs in 6 games..suns are trying to become better by adding guys who can play D...bell, thomas, jones, diaw for example...most knew the suns weren't quite ready to step up and be champs last year..you need to lose in the playoffs before you can taste success. I don't think suns will win it all this year but they should be improved, maybe not total wins but for the playoffs they should be a tougher team...they added defense and depth, something they lacked last year..marion guarding duncan was never going to work for the suns...they added size and depth. they should be a tougher team to face. obviously some disagree but i like what they have done
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#27
10-03-05, 03:58 PM
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#29
10-03-05, 05:45 PM
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#30
10-03-05, 06:37 PM
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#31
10-03-05, 07:58 PM
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#32
10-03-05, 08:39 PM
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Amare is a stud, no doubt about it. But so far in his career, it has been all about one on one play. The question is, does he make everyone better the way TD does? The Spurs won last year because they were a team. One poster wrote earlier that Amare may be better, but the team probably won't be. That is a pretty accurate statement.
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#33
10-03-05, 09:11 PM
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This is not the Spurs of old. There is nothing that is similar. |
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#34
10-04-05, 12:44 AM
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I think it's a mistake for any big man with a dominant inside game to shoot from too far out on the floor. That's why I think Tim Duncan is a more important player than KG. Amare can do much more damage to a defense by attacking the inside and forcing double/triple teams. That improves the entire team's offense. Hitting 3's would not make his teamates better. BTW -- I think Amare is awesome, even if his D is mediocre. |
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#35
10-04-05, 12:52 AM
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#36
10-04-05, 01:02 AM
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it's the effort part i think Amare needs to impove on. |
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#38
10-04-05, 11:00 AM
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I will gladly let Amare run up the court and pop 3's. It was his defense that needed help, and we have yet to see if he has worked on that at all over the summer.
__________________ Joey Crawford T's me off!!  |
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#39
10-04-05, 11:23 AM
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Amare's defense will continue to be a problem that plagues him throughout his career. I think it's difficult to make an adjustment from HS to pros especially on the defensive end and especially for big men. It is about positioning, and footwork, and leverage and they just can't teach you that in HS and D'Antoni is clearly not capable of teaching it. He needs to spend a summer with Moses Malone.
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