Severe Rockets Fan, I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but I seriously doubt you've ever watched him play. He's not good at D. Obviously he's not, what 20 year old is good at D? I'm telling you the guy is NOTHING but a physical specimen today. But in a few years, he will be unbelievable.
Kemp was a baby making, pot smoking, fast food eating man child. That is very different from Amare. To me, Amare is similar to Clyde Drexler in that both were freakish athletes that only needed a jump shot to reach stardom.
BTW, the hard work I'm talking about INCLUDES offseason. Listen, I think Yao ing is amazing, but Amare wil have the edge at the end of their careers. That's what I think.
That is an utterly ridiculous statement. After 1/2 a season, Amare Stoudemire is a harder worker than Kobe Bryant. If you belive this, you have 0 credibility. There is nobody right now as good as Kobe Bryant and he's 24 years old. You think in 4 years Amare Stoudmire will be pulling in 40 points per game? To say that now when he has no fundamental skills other than dunking is ridiculous. A hard worker is more than just body building and dunking.
It's okay...I highly doubt you've seen anything but amare's highlights. Did you see the game versus toronto? I saw most of it. Amare looked bored and lethargic on Defense...far from someone who's SOOO unbelieveable, sooooo freakishly athletic, so driven with desire. Its funny when people want to give props to Amare for coming out of highschool(at 20) and being as 'dominant' as he is, but when you talk about his defense, everyone resorts to the ol' ...oh but he's so young. It isn't the fact that he's young...that isn't the problem. Its not some technical aspect of this defense that is atrocious and he'll learn it when he gets older...its his lack of desire when playing it. He's so tough in the paint when he has the ball, but just plain doesn't give a damn when he doesn't have it. Thats an attitude problem and thats why he won't be your 'best pf' ever. You think he's going to 'learn' to have desire on Defense? He doesn't need the strength or speed because he definantely has those...but if he's a rookie and doesn't have the drive now, when do you think he's going to have it?
RIET, Please, stop being ridiculous. Just because Joe Smith works harder than Steve Francis, doesn't mean he'll ever be the better player of the two (Just for example). Kobe is just more talented than Amare. Hard work isn't only about body building, your'e absolutely right. But Riet, it's so obvious you know so so little about Amare Stoudamire. I'm not going to sit and look up 15 or 16 articles that I've read about the guy just to prove it, but once you have better knowledge on the subject, I'll debate it with you. Right now, you know Yao Ming, inside out, while you've only seen a few Phoenix games. There's no way you can pass judgement. Oh, btw, I sincerely believe that in 4 years, Amare Stoudamire will average 25/12/2. BTW, when was the last time a high schooler came out and was physically ready to bang in the NBA? Why do you people completely discredit that? The guy was an absolute genius to have his body where it is today. He worked for it, he wasn't just born this way.
Statistically, both Amare and Yao are close. In the future Amare will dominate when he learns to shoot the basketball...he is currently a one dimensional offensive player (a rim player). Yao will dominate when he becomes more aggressive. Which is more difficult to learn? I think that is the question.
Shaq is 25.8-10.6-2.3. So Amare is going to be another Shaq in 4 years? He is going to be better than Duncan, KG and Webber in their prime.
Severe Rockets Fan, Trust me, i've seen more than a few Amare games. I've even seen whole high school games of his. Let's get it straight: His desire/fire is unbelievable, he WILL be dominant in the future, and he IS freakishly athletic. No one is saying he is anything close to dominant at the moment. The defense is an attitude problem, you're right. But it's not like a Charles Oakley attitude problem. The guy has never had to play defense, so he's not used to it. He wants to play D. I know this. It's well-documented. it's just an adjustment for him. If you're telling me that rookies without D are never going to have D, then I have to tell you you're mistaken. If he doesn't have the drive when will he? Who knows, maybe when he's old enough to drink? Fact is, teenagers have never played Defense early, but the indication is that it definitely has a chance of showing up later, despite it being unimportant to them early (Kobe, Garnett). I'm going to stop arguing right here, because it's getting nowhere. But I'll leave you with a question: Which #1 player in any draft came out with a tag that said "can play excellent defense"? Which one did? Exactly, no one. because defense is a way of life, and just like a diet, you adjust to it over time.
How many Phoenix games have you guys watched this year? I like how all these people are bashing Amare Stoudamire even though they've probably BARELY watched him! One move? Well, if you consider consistently penetrating to the basket "one move" then I guess so. But don't confuse him with Mo Taylor or Kenyon Martin! He reminded me of the way David Robinson used to just drive to the basket with that quick step and then the explosion. And remember, he's right out of high school! Would I take him over Yao? Probably not. But will he be a great player? I definitely think so.
Im being ridiculous? Saying that a 20 year old rookie is the hardets worker in the entire game and Im being ridiculous? And how many games have you seen Stoudemire play? At most 55, and youve already concluded that he's the hardest worker in the game. Oh yeah I forgot about the 15 articles youve read which of clinches it. As far as Kobe being more gifted, what do you think Amare is relying on? Oh yeah, all that hard work. When someone beats you to the hole based on pure quickness, that's called natural ability. He's pretty darn gifted in my opinion. You want to see hard work. When you see Amare Stoudmire taking 500 shots in practice like Larry Bird did day in and day out, then you can say something I find it incredible that you can call a rookie who relies solely on his athleticism to be the hardest worker in the game when theyre already other players who have worked their way to an elite level. As far as the old high school mambo jumbo - here's a question - how many high school kids go into the NBA at 20. He is the same physical equivalent of a junior in college.
Sane, He's not a teenager...if you know so much about him why are you saying that he is. His b-day is Nov. 16, 1982. that makes him 20 years and 3 months now. He's had 2 years of training over anyone 'normal' player coming out of highschool. THats a hell of a lot! BIG difference between someone 17-18 than 19-20, don't you think?
Very good point. On what basis are Kobe and Shaq stating that Amare is so great? It can't be in his games against the Lakers. Yao has much better numbers vs. the Lakers than Amare. I think really has to with jealousy. Shaq and Kobe are better than Yao now, but as popular as they are they have tons of people that don't like them for their personalities. Yao has his haters, but it's not for his personality. Overall, Yao is getting lots of press and publicity and I'm sure the Fakers' stars aren't too pleased.
To score 25/game for Amare, this is what he needs to do: .50 FGP, 9 /18 for his field goals, 7/10 for FTs. Can he do it? possibly. Shaq is averaging 10 FTs/game, Duncan is avearaging 8 FTs/game. Both Shaq and Duncan take around 18 shots/game. So it is possible. Right now, Amare is 4.6/10 for field goals, 4/6 for FTs.
Sane - Please stop to consider this. IMHO, the underlying basis for your opinion is the fact that Amare's game is visibly demonstrative. He plays with external emotion which you interpret to be "desire to become the best". By virtue of a cultural difference, Yao Ming internalizes the game and the fire burns from within...this is something not easily recognized by those of us from the western culture. Yao Ming feels responsible to represent not only himself, but his nation of 1 billion plus. Another intangible in the developmental process is on court awareness. IMO, some of the things Yao does on court (passing for one or the errant post pass from Griffin that he instinctivley swatted toward Steve in the corner) are instictive or at a minimum second nature. This type of thing can't be learned. This is innate and not a function of hard work. To the many Asian posters, if I have misinterpretted the cultural aspect of Yao's game feel free to correct me.
