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prove it
Why be like Mike when you can be like Ron?
Amare Wants to be Who?
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=9985
Amare Stoudemire is one of the best young big men in the league. He has overcome microfracture surgery and is expecting big things from himself this season.
"I feel fit and fierce," Stoudemire told the Arizona Republic. "My health is tremendous. I have no worries about extra work. Before, I never wanted to overwork. I always wanted to do more, but I was coming back from injuries. I can do whatever I want on the court without second-guessing now."
This is obviously good news for any true fan of the NBA. Amare continued by saying he was looking forward to playing under new coach Terry Porter.
Nothing out of the ordinary, right? Well, later is where things got a little weird.
Amaré went on to say: "I want to be Ron Artest."
Umm... excuse me. You want to be who?
Obviously Stoudemire was referring to what Artest brings on the defensive end of the floor, at least that's what one has to hope.
You won't find anyone who likes speaking with Artest more than your friendly neighborhood columnist. Dude's always been great to me. That said, one would have to be a complete fool or intellectually dishonest not to acknowledge the issues Ron-Ron has had away from the hardwood, and I'm not sure I would be thrilled about my franchise player saying he wants "to be Ron Artest."
I'm going to give Stoudemire the benefit of the doubt here. But just for future reference, Amare, you might want to choose another example of defensive excellence when proclaiming who you "want to be" in the future. Simply put, the Suns can't afford to have Stoudemire veer off course even for a moment.
prove it
o_O
What was stopping him the last 4 or 5 years from playing defense?
lol did d'antoni force raja bell and marion to not play defense?
amare is just an inconsistent defender. i hope artest rips his face off.
Amare needs to learn defense. at least he's got the whiny at ude like artest.
I'd say he's already done a pretty good job at being like Ron for much of his NBA career.
His stupid is just a little bit different.
People shouldnt sleep on Phoenix next year. wouldnt surprise me if they get the #1 spot if they stay healthy.
Blaming D'Antoni is lame. Every sportscaster, scout, opposing coach, and opposing player in the league has seen Amare's lack of interest on the defensive end of the court. He has no one to blame but himself. It's pretty weak that after playing basketball his entire life, Amare has finally come to the realization that D is important. You think losing to the Spurs again in the playoffs last year has anything to do with that?
You do realize that the Suns entire defense was based upon athleticism, not positioning or technique, but simply out-quicking the offense to spots on the floor. If they failed, D'Antoni has been quoted as saying he'd rather give up the basket than foul, because such would stop game flow and slow the game down, breaking the Suns rhythm and allowing the defense to get set.
I won't ever blame D'Antoni entirely for Amare's inability and laziness on defense during their 3+ year run together, but aspects of D'Antoni (his chaotic, then apathetic defensive style - his inability to teach and instruct - and his unwillingness to hold players accountable for poor defense so long as they played offense) didn't mesh well with Amare's limitations and abilities. These aspects only further held Amare back by failing to instruct and teach, and then empowered Amare to be lazy through his style and over philosophy.
A new coach with an ability to teach, and a new system that isn't predicated on chaotic swarming/trapping and maybe Amare will get better.
He talks too much, and this is certainly foolishness to some extent, but whether you like the guy or not, he's improved drastically in every point-of-emphasis area under his old coach and within his old system, so it's not unreasonable to think that with new points of emphasis and a new-found excitement for defense, that he'll be able to gradually improve upon his positioning, technique and decision-making, and quite possibly be able to replace his older, poor habits on defense with new, better ones.
Amare loves to take on public perception. When someone says he can't or won't, he generally gives his all to prove them wrong when allowed.
He has a "will do" at ude about basketball, and such may be able to make up for years of neglect, a development of bad habits, and whatever limitations he has.
What some of us perceive to be mental limitations may actually be his instincts basing his play upon these developed bad habits. he's a very instinctual player. He doesn't think. He reacts. If his reactions are based upon ill-taught schemes and philosophies of apathy, then it shouldn't surprise when his actions are often boneheaded and costly.
I can't wait to see him develop new habits to base his instinctive play off of. I doubt he'll ever play at a level of Ron Artest, but he can become a very solid on-ball defender, as he has the strength and size to combat most every PF and even most CC, but he also has the quick reaction skills and athleticism to provide good secondary defense if he should be beaten initially. He's a solid shot-blocker and I'm excited to see this trait unleashed outside of a "never foul" context where that split second it took him to decide whether or not to contest probably cost him an opportunity to block or contest without fouling.
It's a complex response regarding a complex situation. The claim is silly, but the motivation behind it and the factors contributing excite me that he can and "will" change.
good post
If D'Antoni's instruction was "never foul", Amare did a pretty bad job of following those simple instructions. Popovich essentially gives the same instructions to Bowen, Ginobili, and Udoka when they are guarding the Kobes & Dwades of the league. Amare was constantly in foul trouble against the Spurs in the last few playoff series. It's a positive move for him that he's talking about D, but he has been a disinterested defender his whole career so far and blaming D'Antoni for that is a cop out.
You're simply not getting it. Amare is an instinctual player. He is a compe or. He contests any shot he can. Problem is most times it came too late. I wonder how much of this issue stems from a scheme that constantly found him in bad defensive positioning from the swarming style he attempted to play and an underlying philosophy of just let 'em score, which are on D'Antoni.
If you remember him as a prospect out of high school, he was generally regarded a defensive player with offensive upside. I don't think he was a poor defender his rookie year. Limited, but not poor. His disinterest conveniently arrives around the same time D'Antoni's system did.
Again, I'm not blaming D'Antoni entirely. I think the two's at udes just didn't mesh with regards to defense, so I'm excited to see a different coach get a shot.
Additionally, when a player is drafted that young, it is simply understood that the NBA coach and his staff will be held accountable for their development. Whether it is fair or not, D'Antoni was accountable for developing Stoudemire's defense. He did not do so, nor did he employ assistant coaches in that role.
Therefore, some blame falls on DannyTony.
For me, the more unforgivable sin was this potential of actually inhibiting and limiting any defensive potential Amare had. Not even that he failed to develop, but failed to utilize.
Coaches are responsible for doing their best to place their players in situations where each can succeed for the good of the team. He had Amare for three plus years and never figured out how to get the most out of whatever defense Amare showed ability to play.
He just never had the foundation to simply play it, and the little he developed was then stunted by the scheme, system and overall philosophy of the coach.
I agree 100% with your points, actually. I was just trying to couch the point in a way that couldn't be debated. That is, the coach and his staff are responsible when the organization drafts a high school player. Realistically, a team drafting young in the first round can't afford to dump the player in the D League (which didn't even exist until the youth movement made it necessary). Therefore, it is always fair to criticize the coach when you have a guy with Stoudemire's physical gifts who can't make a clean block to save his life, just for example.
I would also blame the player and his high school coaches too. It took a lot of apathy and hypocrisy on the part of several people for this to come to pass. I even blame his mama.
Amare's always SAID the right things about defense, but playing defense is physically and mentally exhausting and I don't think he has it in him.
Ever see Duncan get a foul called on him?
He never held his players accountable for their lapses on the court.
Pfff Amare is a much better player then Artest...Ron Artest is mabey a good defensive player but scores less,less rebounds,less blocks and amare is also a good defensive player so why be like him...When you already are...
Part of playing defense starts with a willingness and a "want to". Like most players in this league, Amare has all kinds of "want to" when the ball is in his hands. That desire is a bit different when the ball is in the hands of the opposition.
Valid point. At this point, all his improvement has been on offense, and despite those being the points of emphasis from his coach, it's also the fun part of the game.
Still, Whenever he's said he's going to do something, he generally surprises with his ability to deliver. Before Shaq was acquired, his rebounding had improved to nearly 12-per for several months. He was focusing in and was making significant strides. Hopefully such remains a focus, but if Porter can instill a discipline to play solid on-ball, man-to-man, low-post defense, then with his size, strength and athleticism, his solid could be good, and his good,eventually great.
There's few limitations that can keep him from improving. Focus, as the post above stated, is one of them. Hopefully Amare's proclamation will serve as the motivation to stay focused and to prove others wrong, which Amare loves to do. If he can supply the effort and athleticism, then I should think Porter and his staff can supply the know-how and such can be trained into ability.
By saying this, Amare's made himself accountable to general opinion. It's a bold step if he's only going to chicken out. Twixt it and his new staff, hopefully the accountability keeps him focused and on track.
Whhhhaaaaat?Pfff Amare is a much better player then Artest...Ron Artest is mabey a good defensive player but scores less,less rebounds,less blocks and amare is also a good defensive player so why be like him...When you already are...
Artest can defend AND score
Amare can just score....and it has something to do with Nash
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