knicksosmoove wrote:amare, you gotta start putting your butt into defenders bro!
i mean, we saw him make a couple of running hooks against phoenix, he probably could have a serviceable post game if he really tried . . .
Thinking about this now, if Amare has back problems it makes it hard to learn how to post up while he has that handicap. Anybody whose experienced back problems or even serious stiffness knows how much it affects mobility.
Why is this relevant to a skill that probably compensates for less mobility? At least a couple of things.
One is he seems reluctant to body up any more than he has to and backing guys down may feel difficult with a bad back.
Second is torso movement. We already see he is kind of robotic right now which means he is all thighs and arms, but if you don't have torsion and flex in your core you lose most of your athletic potential. It shows in that he really only dunks now when he has a straight line, but rarely now on spin moves.
When he goes up its all push from the feet and without any real snap from his midsection which is what you see with great dunkers. He simply cannot adjust his body in mid-movement, he's wooden.
Now if he wants to learn to back guys down, he is still going to have spin left or right or step back & turn to pop. This is not complex movements or it shouldn't be for him, but something is really off and I think its his back or lack of flexibility making everything he does tight and contorted.
I may be overstating this, but I'm just thinking out loud here. It is hard to learn a new way of playing when your mid-section is unable to move and react with the rest of your body and that's how he looks to me.
If there is any shred of truth to this theory, it could be a small silver lining if he could get healthier and then evolve his game. If he just won't learn, that is a worse problem that may not be fixable.