Amare finally addresses lack of explosion / poor play

[moocow007]

I play basketball on the reg, stat was training most of the summer getting in shap and rehabing his back, let's not blame how he's been playing on his back, he is just clearly not the same player anymore, he has not said he was hurting him or anything. Amare needs a post game his days jaming on people every game are over.

Wait...no you know how bad his back was and what h e was doing in the summer?

[GONYK]

@gonky

How he has been playing does influence my statement but if he wasn't slumping this topic wouldn't be here, but father time does catch up to everyone and as you hit the 30's you don't get up that high. Are there any 30 year old high flying pf's.

I'm not denying that there will eventually be a natural decline. I'm just saying that right now, we aren't looking at one. To declare the Amare that we saw just last year gone, is a bit premature.

[CANiLIVE]

I play basketball on the reg, stat was training most of the summer getting in shap and rehabing his back, let's not blame how he's been playing on his back, he is just clearly not the same player anymore, he has not said he was hurting him or anything. Amare needs a post game his days jaming on people every game are over.

Wait...no you know how bad his back was and what h e was doing in the summer?

Stat moves over the summer was well documented, no I don't know how bad is back was, but me making a statment about it is no different from anybody making a statment about it cause nobody knows for sure.

[moocow007]

I play basketball on the reg, stat was training most of the summer getting in shap and rehabing his back, let's not blame how he's been playing on his back, he is just clearly not the same player anymore, he has not said he was hurting him or anything. Amare needs a post game his days jaming on people every game are over.

Wait...no you know how bad his back was and what h e was doing in the summer?

Stat moves over the summer was well documented, no I don't know how bad is back was, but me making a statment about it is no different from anybody making a statment about it cause nobody knows for sure.

Exactly. But your statements sound like a lot more sure than anyone else's statements in this thread. That's the reason why you are getting the reaction you're getting. No on knows what the deal is so to say that he's done or he's definitely not going to be the same or that the decline is starting in earnest or what not shouldn't be said...except caveated by "I'm guessing here" rather than "fact".

[CANiLIVE]

@gonky

How he has been playing does influence my statement but if he wasn't slumping this topic wouldn't be here, but father time does catch up to everyone and as you hit the 30's you don't get up that high. Are there any 30 year old high flying pf's.

I'm not denying that there will eventually be a natural decline. I'm just saying that right now, we aren't looking at one. To declare the Amare that we saw just last year gone, is a bit premature.

You can only base something off what you seen recently.

[god shammgod]

just get your damn jump shot back. that goes for melo and fields too. you can do that and still eat all the artisanal zucchini cakes you want.

[cgmw]

Im just curious how you think this statement lacks accountability

Again it’s my fault. We lost the game because I got into foul trouble.

its the very definition of accountability

Because in the context of the game, that had nothing to do with anything, and in fact it was just outright false.

Amar'e had been playing like a dog for multiple games prior, yet he is going to attribute the loss to him getting into foul trouble? That's 100% garbage - it had nothing to do with that game.

In fact, when Amar'e left the game with foul trouble in the 1st half, the Knicks ended up being ahead by 5 pts at the break. They were even up 2 pts going into the 4th quarter, again, for the mostpart without Amar'e, and then when he came back in and actually played, the team got worse!

It was plain as day that his fouls had nothing to do with the reasons they lost. Then, in typical Amar'e fashion, he responds to a question about not getting the ball in the 4th quarter by playing the passive aggressive blame game.

"I was amped up and ready to go in the fourth. I was ready to dominate."

I remembered that quote today because it was infuriating to me at the time - this guy had been shooting 35% from the field on high volume over the past week, and he's essentially going to say the loss was attributable to him being off the floor (completely not true), and him not getting the ball in the 4th quarter (completely unsuportable, as he was in the midst of shooting the ball at a horrific clip).

I've said it before, but the thing that made him awesome to me when he signed, the thing that made him be the one guy, and the perfect guy at that, to bring attention back to the Knicks - his inflated sense of super-stardom - is what's killing me about him since the Knicks have become less reliant on him. His bravado and ignorance to the reality of his value allowed him to be THE panacea in a situation involving a terrible team in a horrible situation. However, I personally find that same attribute (all talk, no substance; inability to speak directly to the truth in the media; lack of legitimate accountability) to play much differently now that the Knicks are in a real, competitive situation with a ton of upward mobility.

Again though, I understand that everyone is different. I just like it when athletes take accountability for REAL, and without indirectly implying that they weren't actually at fault. Like Lin coming out after the Miami game and saying point blank that it's on him, that he has to do a better job, the end.

Excellent post. Couldn't agree more, Selby. Bravado shouldn't be confused with leadership. Leadership always starts with humility. Bravado is only helpful when it's based on an unquestionable record of excellence. Otherwise it's just a transparently inflated sense of one's abilities that will drag down the whole operation (for the logical extreme, think Rex Ryan) because ultimately the goal of the team is simply to keep the leader's ego pumped up.

In today's press conference comments -- http://www.msg.com/videos/lin-chandler- ... 28-1.84440 --- I like that he points to his actual playoff experience as proof that he (and Tyson) need to show others how it's done. There's an air of truth there because in fact he does have more experience, but that experience can only go so far. There's another experience that's fresh on everyon'es mind, and that's the experience of him blatantly stinking up the court for first half of the season. Until he has the humility accept that, his leadership will have a transparent air of posturing.

What do I want Amar'e to say? How about: No excuses. I've played terribly this season, and I'm working my ass off to get better.

Once he admits that, then he is free to become a real leader by displaying the courage to go out and show his teammates in a clear and convincing manner that he's overcoming whatever ailed him. To me, THAT's leadership.

In Amar'e's defense, he's only 29 years old and has never been asked to lead a team until half a season of pre-Melo Knicks. I think the guy has a whole mystic Hebrew leader thing going on, and I don't see him going the way of such egomaniacal failing "superstars" as Vince Carter, TMac, or Marbury who failed as leaders because their intense sense of "superstardom" could never be questioned in their own heads no matter how much they failed.

[Stoosh]

Melo was riddled with injuries earlier in the season and he recovered , he's had to deal with people thinking he won't fit into Lin's team, and the backlash from the trade. He's back in form already.
What's Amare's excuse really?

[CANiLIVE]

@moocow007 your right, but we all know players decline as they get older, and it seems like people are sure amare is gonna go back to being as explosive as he was last year. Not saying amare will decline to be a bum, but how good can amare be if he's just not that explosive and has no post game.

[cgmw]

@moocow007 your right, but we all know players decline as they get older, and it seems like people are sure amare is gonna go back to being as explosive as he was last year. Not saying amare will decline to be a bum, but how good can amare be if he's just not that explosive and has no post game.

Age and injury can take away explosive athleticism, but that doesn't have to stop an entire career. Not that we're there yet with Amar'e, but....

[mildred]

@gonky

How he has been playing does influence my statement but if he wasn't slumping this topic wouldn't be here, but father time does catch up to everyone and as you hit the 30's you don't get up that high. Are there any 30 year old high flying pf's.

I'm not denying that there will eventually be a natural decline. I'm just saying that right now, we aren't looking at one. To declare the Amare that we saw just last year gone, is a bit premature.

Maybe premature, but there's a lot of evidence that says it could be happening. This is all these guys are trying to say. They can be wrong, and you can be wrong.

To think Amare is gonna comeback against NBA competition and be the old Amare in the second half is sorta pie in the sky thinking imo. I really hope he can, but my common sense just keeps getting in the way. I sorta wish my fandom could outweigh my common sense on matters like this but it is what it is.

We'll see who was right soon enough. And the 1st monster dunk he does please don't say .... "see" ..... let it play out over a month's time.

[CANiLIVE]

We're all gonna see, I would like him to really master a post game with hook shots and bankers, just real easy buckets.

[cgmw]

Put 24 year old, pre-injury Amar'e into a a spread offense next to Carmelo, and you won't see the kind of numbers we're used to. He doesn't need to drop 28 points. Regardless of his "explosiveness" his main challenge is simply to find his role. Physical decline aside, the big question yet to be answered is where does Amar'e fit in?

[mildred]

Put 24 year old, pre-injury Amar'e into a a spread offense next to Carmelo, and you won't see the kind of numbers we're used to. He doesn't need to drop 28 points. Regardless of his "explosiveness" his main challenge is simply to find his role. Physical decline aside, the big question yet to be answered is where does Amar'e fit in?

Exactly ..... I don't care if we will never see the explosive Amare anymore. But with Melo and Lin in the fold I'd like to see an Amare who can hit that midrange jumper, not turnover the ball excessively, play smarter and less selfishly and for pete's sake play some inspired defense on a consistent basis.

This is all I ask for. He's getting paid huuuuuge dollars, we took a huge risk. I want something for those dollars. Again .... he doesn't have to be the athletic freak of years past, just find his role and not let his superstar ego get in the way.

[pointg]

I don't understand why everyone(if you're not then ignore) is hating on Amare. This dude came here when we had nothing. He also put up an MVP like season last year. Ppl need to understand that in basketball(and life) there are valleys and peaks. I'll admit that he hasn't looked like he did last year but imho he hasn't look bad considering he lost his big brother and he's coming back off a back injury. Remember D was never something he mastered but he does show signs that he can turn it up when need be. Amare and Shump are my favorite knicks at this point so i feel bad when i read all the trade stat trash. Ppl grow up and be patient this is the love we show someone who put this team on his back last yr??????

PS they're not trading him so you should get over it

[blumatic]

Melo was riddled with injuries earlier in the season and he recovered , he's had to deal with people thinking he won't fit into Lin's team, and the backlash from the trade. He's back in form already.
What's Amare's excuse really?

Melo is not back in form. I love Amare and I love Melo. I love everyone on this team. But Carmelo is having a terrible year. He had like 3 good games. Amare had 1.

There is just disdain for Stat on this board and I dont know why. Melo is shooting 39% from the floor this year. Amare is shooting 45. They are both having terrible years and neither of them have yet put their impression on this season. All the excuses that fans have let Melo used, Amare's is practically the same. They looked great last year but the team couldnt play defense at all. This team defense is there. They both just have to play better. And they havent done that this year.

[blumatic]

Put 24 year old, pre-injury Amar'e into a a spread offense next to Carmelo, and you won't see the kind of numbers we're used to. He doesn't need to drop 28 points. Regardless of his "explosiveness" his main challenge is simply to find his role. Physical decline aside, the big question yet to be answered is where does Amar'e fit in?

Exactly ..... I don't care if we will never see the explosive Amare anymore. But with Melo and Lin in the fold I'd like to see an Amare who can hit that midrange jumper, not turnover the ball excessively, play smarter and less selfishly and for pete's sake play some inspired defense on a consistent basis.

This is all I ask for. He's getting paid huuuuuge dollars, we took a huge risk. I want something for those dollars. Again .... he doesn't have to be the athletic freak of years past, just find his role and not let his superstar ego get in the way.

It was a risk to sign Amare just remember: No STAT = No Melo = No Tyson = No Lin = No likable Jeffries = Nothing.

[knicksosmoove]

Put 24 year old, pre-injury Amar'e into a a spread offense next to Carmelo, and you won't see the kind of numbers we're used to. He doesn't need to drop 28 points. Regardless of his "explosiveness" his main challenge is simply to find his role. Physical decline aside, the big question yet to be answered is where does Amar'e fit in?

Exactly ..... I don't care if we will never see the explosive Amare anymore. But with Melo and Lin in the fold I'd like to see an Amare who can hit that midrange jumper, not turnover the ball excessively, play smarter and less selfishly and for pete's sake play some inspired defense on a consistent basis.

This is all I ask for. He's getting paid huuuuuge dollars, we took a huge risk. I want something for those dollars. Again .... he doesn't have to be the athletic freak of years past, just find his role and not let his superstar ego get in the way.

yep. that's why I was pretty pleased with how he played against the Heat. played within himself, moved the ball, didn't zone out on defense. if he could just hit a jump shot, he probably would have had something like 17 points on 7 shots. if he could play like that every night and get that jumper back, I'd be happy enough with him.

[SelbyCobra]

It was a risk to sign Amare just remember: No STAT = No Melo = No Tyson = No Lin = No likable Jeffries = Nothing.

This is the bottom line for me when it comes to an obective evaluation of Amar'e's signing.

While I don't give him a pass for the awful play and constant B.S. quotes he's been putting out in spades this year, you'll never hear me say that signing him was a mistake. He was that dude who took it upon his shoulders - for whatever reason you want to say; it doesn't matter why - and breathed life back into what was a cold corpse of a franchise.

He could finish out the year as bad as he's started it, and while I'd continue to kill him for it as a fan and root for him to somehow find his way off the team, I'll never say that signing him was a bad move in any way or that we'd be better off without having done it.

[Clyde_Style]

Stat and Melo both feel great pressure to deliver to the NYC fans. At times, they say stuff they don't need to say rather than just zipping it. When it comes to explanations for their performance, fans don't generally give a crap and when it sounds like it could be interpreted as an excuse people are going to pick their comments apart.

We don't really know how Amare feels. Maybe he feels 100% and is just playing badly. I don't know. But at a certain point, regardless of what they say there is a drop-off in performance that no explanation can smooth over. This conversation is going nowhere now, but if at the end of the season Stat never got his game back in gear there will be much more to deal with than over-interpreting small comments made to the press.

Until then, we just wait and see, because the comments don't tell us jack or really explain anything. The only facts are the box scores now and we're still waiting for the facts to improve.