Reply With Quote
man, i haven't laughed that hard in ages.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baske...-timeout_x.htm
Stoudemire: 'Once I get back, we can't be stopped'
The Phoenix Suns are first in the Pacific Division despite playing without forward/center Amare Stoudemire, their leading scorer last season who had surgery on his left knee Oct. 11. The fourth-year veteran, a second-team All-NBA pick and a first-time All-Star last season, was a major reason the Suns had the best record in the NBA. The 23-year-old rising star talked with USA TODAY NBA reporter Roscoe Nance about his injury and the Suns' success this season.
Stoudemire says he does not feel pain in his knee and his rehabilitation is going well.
Stoudemire says he does not feel pain in his knee and his rehabilitation is going well.
By Matt York, AP
Q: How is your rehab progressing?
A: It's going great. We're pretty much on schedule. I'm not doing too much weight-bearing (exercise), and I haven't started running and jumping yet. I'm right on target, and I don't really feel any pain.
Q: What are you able to do?
A: I'm shooting free throws and doing correctional exercises to strengthen certain ligaments and certain muscles that were pretty weak after the surgery.
Q: Do you have a target date for your return?
A: No, not exactly. It depends on how I feel in the next couple of months. That will determine when I get back out there.
Q: How frustrating has it been for you?
A: It's tough. This year was going to be my breakout year. I was looking to having a huge year. But as soon as I get back, I'll be right on pace to pick up where I left off.
Q: Most people wrote the Suns off when you went down. What were your expectations?
A: It's not surprising how well we have played. I helped make some of these offseason acquisitions and bring in a few guys. I knew the type of players we have. Once I went down, I figured we would be slack in a few categories, but they've done a great job of playing hard and bringing in some wins.
Q: Is there any difference in the Suns this season and a year ago?
A: We're better defensively with the offseason acquisitions. With the veterans we brought in and the veterans we had, we're much more on point with what we should do defensively. Eddie House has done a good job coming off the bench and filling the scorer's slot. Kurt Thomas was one of the main guys we wanted to bring in because of his interior defense. Raja Bell was another guy we wanted to pick up for his defense.
Q: Do you see this as a championship team?
A: No doubt about it. As soon as I get back, we're making a push for it. If everything stays on schedule and I don't experience too much pain, I definitely will be back this year. The (San Antonio) Spurs are up there, but once I get back, we can't be stopped. We just have to continue to stay on this good pace.
man, i haven't laughed that hard in ages.
"we can't be stopped."
stop the Spurs 4 games in 7. You came up only 3 Ws short a few months ago.
You've lost a lot of offense since, that offsets the improved defense.
Beat the Spurs 4/7? Not this year.
However, you self-confidence seems unstoppable.
dream on...
Suckas
delusional to say the least
This guy may be the real deal, but God his arrogance pisses me off. Let us never forget the pushups.
Yeah, doesn't he know overconfidence can only make you look arrogant or really stupid, depending on the outcome?
It's always better to go forth humbly, and let your actions do your talking.
Amare is an incredible player. But the Suns, as better as they are, aren't better than the Spurs. Parker is getting better, while Nash is getting older. Duncan is still the best player in teh league. They still don't have anyone who can stop Manu, and they still don't have as good a bench as we do. Barry, Finley, Mohammed, Oberto, and Horry beats House, Jones, Bell, Diaw...any day.
Not only that but they don't have Stephen Hunter to boot Timmy in the nuts any more. That was the most effective thing I saw them do to slow Tim down last year.
True.. True.. Hunters absense against the Spurs will hurt.
Good luck in your return Amare.
The kid is good.
But he has a big mouth and I think he just put his foot in it.
I still don't see how the Suns can play a defense-first lineup AND play Amare at the same time, unless the surgery implanted some sort of defensive mentality into Amare.
In fact, I wonder how they're going to divvy up minutes when Stoudemire returns, since their excellent play is largely predicated on guys like Diaw, Bell, and House flourishing with lots of minutes every night. When Amare comes back and eats up 35+ mpg at one spot, someone is going to lose minutes. The same is true of that group when Barbosa returns. I'm not sure that you can assume that all of those guys will continue to be as effective as they've been if they're playing more limited minutes.
It's not that easy to maintain your production when your minutes are dramatically decreased. Minutes allow players to get into the flow and feel comfortable. Will Diaw be the same player with 20 minutes per night as he is with 32 minutes per night? The difference is about 4 minutes per quarter, which isn't insignificant.
Don't tell me it's not a big deal, either. The Suns have already seen some difference from giving minutes to Diaw, House, and Bell -- they're 5-6 when Barbosa plays and 15-5 when he doesn't.
I don't doubt that Stoudemire really wants to get back out there and help his team, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to see it hurt the team in the long run, ala Webber in Sacramento, with Marion playing the role of Peja this time around.
His talent, ability and hard work that he's put into his game are undeniable. However, his predictions are off base. The Suns are still a grossly, defensively deficient team.
I, for one, hope that Amare does have a successful comeback this season. I'd hate for the Spurs to "boot them out of the playoffs" at half speed. It wouldn't be as much fun.
has anyone come back from this injury and subsequent surgery within a 12 month period before? i mean i hope he comes back and does well, but i can't really see any reason to assume he will be performing near the same level this season as last. plus, if he and thomas are playing together that takes away the advantages the suns have playing amare at center and marion at pf... imo that was the biggest factor in their success last year.
Amare should STFU. You notice the whole damn league hates the Spurs....
I agree and have made that argument around here before. I thought much of the Suns ability to run last year was based on the mismatch with Marion, who can do most of the things that a power forward can do -- rebounding and blocking shots -- but who is a monsterous mismatch for most PF in the NBA. If you play Marion at the 3, the mismatches aren't as severe (see, e.g., Bruce Bowen in 2005 WCF), plus you can drag him out on the perimeter and neutralize his shot-blocking and rebounding to some extent. Playing Amare at the 5 made big centers guard him, which was a formula for disaster as well. If you play Thomas, Amare, and Marion together, you can put your big center on Thomas, play a 4 on Amare and a 3 on Marion -- all better matchups than a center on Amare and a PF on Marion.
I'll give the Suns this: they appear to be much deeper than they were last year; when Amare comes back, they'll have 10 guys that can play and that might allow them to stay fresher into 4th quarters. But, then again, they have to play those extra guys to accomplish that, and doling out minutes is still going to be a problem there, I think. I guess we'll see.
Whatever the result, here's hoping that Amare will come back at full strength in the near future. He's amazing to watch.
'to stay fresher into 4th quarters"
While they very clearly sagged, they admitted, in the Spurs/Manu-48 @PHX win last Jan, I don't buy the point that playing 35 MPG all season means you're necessarily spent for the playoffs.
Spurs beat the Suns easily in the playoffs because Spurs could stop the Suns, but Suns couldn't stop the Spurs, Suns lost NOT because they were fatigued.
Amare is a bad man when he's healthy. I ain't gonna laugh at him
Yeah, Amare's talking a lot of smack, so what? There isn't anything he can say that the Spurs haven't heard before and ignored. They don't listen to like that. He's wasting his time. They don't care.
I don't know; the Suns had leads at the end of 3 quarters in both Game 1 and Game 2 of that series, but cratered as the deeper Spurs drove to the rack repeatedly in both 4th Quarters, and got wide-open looks from extra passes on the perimeter. I don't completely buy that the sole reason for the Spurs' series win was Suns fatigue, but I also don't think that you can discount fatigue entirely.
The suns maybe not, but him?? at his best, I remember the spurs couldnt stop him so let not be so quick to jump on him.
Plus, weren't the Suns missing Joe Johnson in the first 3 or so games of that series?
I don't see anything wrong with what Amare said in the interview. The best way for the Spurs to respond to those comments is prove him wrong. I doubt that Spurs fans will come back here praising Amare's predictions if they turn out correct and the Suns somehow knock off the Spurs. Will Spurs fans eat crow if that does happen?
It's just his opinion. Not a big deal what he said, in my opinion.
Ditto!!!
man, i haven't laughed that hard in ages.
I kind of feel sorry for him....
Nah!!!
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
