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Prior to Avery Johnson that's all Dirk was about.
Yeah and then you'd probably take Nash and then realize your team sucks at defense even with Laundry instead of Amare.
Prior to Avery Johnson that's all Dirk was about.
Nash and Landry > Nash and Amare. You think Landry can't score 4 more ppg in an up-tempo offense as opposed to the grind it out game the Rockets play?
Dirk has always been about being team-oriented and getting better. He's continued to work on his defense and Avery has been gone for two years. I don't think you can say the same about Stoudemire. He wants to be The Man, but he doesn't understand the first thing about what being The Man entails.
Not if it means he has to start rather than come off the bench and play the better portion of his minutes against the other team's 2nd unit.
And he's never had a coach or any figure of authority for that matter to teach him. Prior to AJ Dirk had no idea what being the man meant.
Landry is Houston's best player. It doesn't matter that he doesn't start, he finishes games. And he can play against first units.
But his numbers wouldn't be as good.
I think Dirk has a higher bball IQ and a greater understanding of what is important than Amare does. And I think that would've been true no matter where they played or who their coach was. Amare is 27 now.
Findog, if Amare played defense as well as you think he can (which apparently is Olajuwon circa 1994), how much would it change/improve the Suns' defense?
How do you know? Houston is 15th in the league in pace factor, Phoenix is 3rd.
I didn't say Amare would be Motombo in his prime, but with his physical gifts, he could be an elite player. I think the Suns would be an elite team again. Not necessarily the faves to win a championship or anything, but definitely one of 4-8 teams left standing in May/June.
Because Laundry thrives on being able to come into the game with fresh legs when all the other players have either been playing for awhile or are bench players. There are tons of players who play better off the bench (Ben Gordon, Jamal Crawford) and Laundry is one of them.
Wow. You haven't watched the Suns this year if you think that. But I agree, all those 3's Mayo and Gay rained in on Monday were Amare's fault. The Suns' defensive problems are way beyond Amare. Neither Nash nor Amare have been the problem on D this year actually, the reason they're not elite is the SG and SF position.
What I'm saying is that Amare has the talent and skill to be a franchise player. Nash is a quasi-franchise player. That's a of a foundation to be able to build upon.
So you'd take Laundry over him if you were a GM?
Yeah, since I think Amare will never harness his gifts. Actual production is always more valuable than potential.
Regardless, I'm still curious how much better you think the Suns defense would be if Amare did whatever you think he could do. I think we both know that even if Amare worked as hard as he could on D the Suns would still be one of the worst defensive teams in the league.
Like how many fewer points per game they would give up? Who knows? If you had a big man that could defend the paint, you could chase shooters off the 3-pt line and funnel them into the middle.
And the "natural skillset" of Amare is really overrated. That freak athleticism we saw in 2004 and 2005 isn't there anymore, yeah he's still plenty athletic but he's not nearly as explosive as he used to be. He's also built extremely thin, particularily his lower body, and that hurts him defending the post and positioning for rebounds. Yes Olajuwon was built basically the exact same way but he has a way higher bball IQ than Amare, something Amare has no control over.
Landry's numbers reflect a lot of his minutes are against team's second units.
no. The horrible wing defense on the Suns has nothing to do with Amare. It has something to do with a lack of athleticism and discipline. Grant Hill at age 37 would get torched by Rudy Gay with anyone from Amare to Hakeem to KG defending the paint.
The 2007 Timberwolves had a big man who could defend the paint, yet they still sucked at defense, makes no sense since apparently having a big who can defend the paint means you can still have a good defense with 4 other players on the court who are horrid defenders.
Role players are interchangeable. I'm not talking about the 2009-10 Phoenix Suns specifically. I'm talking about Amare's potential to be a franchise player and force on both ends of the court.
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