Amare Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns
I hate Amare Stoudemire. I think he is so overrated. He had 44 points last night against the Jazz, and youd think that would change my mind. It didnt. In fact it made me beleive even more so that he is not as good as advertised. The guy continued to amaze me with how little he dribbles, and how often he travels. I am going to post a youtube clip of his classic travel off the pick and roll below. Check it out, he does this almost every time and its such an awful travel. Ive posted the link below it so you can check it out if it wont load.
How many steps is this, 4?
Amare with a sweet travel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByWl3e4JKq8&feature=related
The worst part is that he dunks it and thinks hes so great. I would love to see a ref call this consistenly. Amare would lead the league in turnovers and wonder what happened to him. How funny is it that he has mastered the art of traveling?
Why cant the refs just call this? Its clearly a travel and any player in the NBA should be able to play without traveling every other play, let alone an all-star.
Amare got his 44 points off dunks and layups, a lot of which were and 1's. Several of them were plays where the ref blew the whistle, guys stopped, Amare turned around and dunked it, and the basket counted. It spoke more about the weak interior defense of the Jazz than it did for Amare.
He is quickly becoming one of my most hated players in the league. In fact, this season, he has passed a few guys Ive hated for years. Including; Luis Scola, Derek Fisher, Michael Beasely and Derrick Rose. Hes getting up there close to Lebron, Sasha Vujudoosh, and Gilbert Arenas.
The Jazz didnt even play that bad against the Suns. They had a few bad spurts, but went on a few runs as well. A slow start cost them, but overall the officiating was so inconsistent and awful, that the game never got into a rhythm. Its too bad when the officials turn the game into their game, instead of the players.
Just how bad is it? Well heres another example. Brandon Roy (who I love) had a game winner just last night. Check out the clip. He clearly changes his pivot foot and travels badly (Watch the Wizards coach as Roy shoots). Keep in mind, this was the game winner.
Sean
I want you to know that attending that game has made me the new proud owner of a Green Jazz jersey and hat signed by almost the entire team....
ReplyDeleteKirilenko didn't come... Okur left at half... and Boozer ran by....
I gotta post a mean ol disagree. I have to do it. To call a player overrated because he gets away with traveling is silly. Gum sing blanket silly. There is traveling all over this league. It makes me sick too. But perhaps you could flip the coin and say Stoudamire is very smart, and uses the fact that most refs don't call traveling to his advantage. The guy doesn't need to dribble. His game is getting to the rim., usually via pick and roll and/or post game. And he does that as good as anybody. Lebron's the same way. So many of his drives, I am just amazed that the most blatant travel, 3 even 4 steps, goes unnoticed. But if the refs won't call it, keep doing it if it gives you a competitive edge. If I'm playing in a game and I notice the refs are not calling anything, and it's getting physical, I'm going to play a lot more physical. I'm gonna bump more guys, box out harder, use my hands more. It's the same way. If Stoudamire travels and gets away with it, or any player for that matter, they will keep doing it. Give me more juice about why Stoudamire is overrated, then just saying he travels a lot. Plus/minus stats? teams W-L record with and without him? I submit that IF refs did crack down on traveling and started focusing on it, it wouldn't impact Amare's game that much. His numbers would be the same. I'm not a fan of his by any means, he sometimes bugs me too. But the guy is a beast. He's next to Lebron in pure athleticism for his size. His basketball skills mixed with that make him underrated if anything. Would you trade Stoudamire for Boozer? Stoudamire or Bosh?
ReplyDeletei was at the game last night. here's my take:
ReplyDelete-I agree that stoudemire is overrated, and i've been saying it for quite some time now. it's not because he supposedly travels all the time (games would never end if refs actually called travelling violations). No it's because he is beyond a liability on defense, and steve nash butters his bread. he has no post moves, 70% of his points come of nash creating easy buckets for him in transition and off pick and rolls. amare can't create his own offense
-jazz simply didn't come to play last night. i would definitely take them in a playoff series against the suns. the jazz are suspect defensively, especially on the interior (although this year they are better than they were the last two years), but offensively they are a good team.
-the jazz will not miss ronnie brewer. wes matthews will be a fine player in this league. he's a keeper.
-carlos boozer has not stepped it up like you would expect in a contract year. he has to start playing better.
by the way everyone, when you're done here make sure you check out www.arjun-allthingssports.blogspot.com for candid and insightful analysis
Boozer has not stepped it up like you would expect? Boozer has had a great year! He has been relatively healthy all year long. His attitude has been great. He's playing better defense, hustling more. He's happy, smiling, and is clearly a leader on this team. He's met my expectations. I think the Jazz are bearly making the playoffs without him. And from recent talk, Boozer and the Jazz may NOT divorce after this season?!
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