Suns, Gentry Agree on Three-Year Deal

[mkot]

my feelings are this, if you are an excellent offensive player, why the hell cant you be at least half decent on defense? I would think its harder to be a great offensive player then it is a defensive player.

Amare lacks the fundamentals and discipline on playing solid defense. I really don't know how he can be a better post defender and rebounder and learn to box out his man. Sometimes he doesn't even try. These are mentality thing. You can't learn them. Its the same thing as why LB won't ever be a true PG because that's not his instinct. You have it or you don't. Maybe Amare can get better with his timing in help defense, but I think we have to come to grips with his lack of intensity and effort on the defensive end...

[nanoclarkology]

^mkot

While I agree 100% in your analysis thus far with Amare. If ( big if) he ever wants to be the best player in the NBA he will have to defend. He claims he works on defense in the off season. I don't doubt the ability of Amare Stoudemire. I wholly believe that he has the ability and if ( again big if) he can focus this off season on his defensive side he can become a much better Dwight Howard. Or rather a Dwight Howard with range.

Amare Pros
agility
touch
range
length
PnR
desire( so he says)
jumping

Amare Cons
focus on defense
rebounding ( why anyone as agile, with a jumping ability and height can't rebound I will never know?)
blocking ( he isn't good enough)
team defense

I believe that all of these are improvable. But where does he start?

[BurningHeart]

Thats why you get someone to put along side Amare to mask his deficiencies....like, hmm, a Kurt Thomas?

That's why you get someone to put along side Nash to mask his deficiencies....like, hmm, a Raja Bell?

If only we had players like that!

[TASTIC]

Tony Allen
Marcin Gortat

Do it....

[mkot]

^mkot

While I agree 100% in your analysis thus far with Amare. If ( big if) he ever wants to be the best player in the NBA he will have to defend. He claims he works on defense in the off season. I don't doubt the ability of Amare Stoudemire. I wholly believe that he has the ability and if ( again big if) he can focus this off season on his defensive side he can become a much better Dwight Howard. Or rather a Dwight Howard with range.

I think that's the frustrating part. We all know he has all the physical tools to be a great defender, but yet he hasn't put into consistent effort like a franchise player does. He doesn't give up defensively due to lack of quickness and athleticism, for Amare, it's all about concentration and intensity. I think the better question is can he improve his intensity and focus on the defensive end EVERY SINGLE NIGHT? If he can put together a string of 12 boards 2 blocks games, he can do it for 82 games. That's what a franchise player is suppose to do. If he can play hard on defense every night, he'd be at least average. He's exceptionally strong and has far more athletic ability than most guys that he matches up with at hte 5 so there's no reason for him not to be an average defender.

Is it really possible for Amare to learn the fundamentals over this summer? I honestly don't think so. He's been saying that for the past few years but I don't see the result. Fundamentals most often has to be coached into you at a young age so that all those skills is instinctive by the time you enter the league. Guys like Duncan, Garnett and Howard are already good defender in their first year. This will be Amare's 8th season in the league and he still hasn't get it. I just don't think things will change next season and there will be a surprise.

At this point, all I want from Amare is the effort and focus. If he plays hard enough especially on the defensive end, we will be a pretty good team.

desire( so he says)

What desire? I think that his defensive desire has often been lacking.

[lilfishi22]

I think that's the frustrating part. We all know he has all the physical tools to be a great defender, but yet he hasn't put into consistent effort like a franchise player does. He doesn't give up defensively due to lack of quickness and athleticism, for Amare, it's all about concentration and intensity. I think the better question is can he improve his intensity and focus on the defensive end EVERY SINGLE NIGHT? If he can put together a string of 12 boards 2 blocks games, he can do it for 82 games. That's what a franchise player is suppose to do. If he can play hard on defense every night, he'd be at least average. He's exceptionally strong and has far more athletic ability than most guys that he matches up with at hte 5 so there's no reason for him not to be an average defender.

Is it really possible for Amare to learn the fundamentals over this summer? I honestly don't think so. He's been saying that for the past few years but I don't see the result. Fundamentals most often has to be coached into you at a young age so that all those skills is instinctive by the time you enter the league. Guys like Duncan, Garnett and Howard are already good defender in their first year. This will be Amare's 8th season in the league and he still hasn't get it. I just don't think things will change next season and there will be a surprise.

At this point, all I want from Amare is the effort and focus. If he plays hard enough especially on the defensive end, we will be a pretty good team.

desire( so he says)

What desire? I think that his defensive desire has often been lacking.

I agree with you in that while he cannot learn all the defensive fundamentals over one off-season, if he could just play with more intensity (which anyone can do regardless of ability), he'd still be able to put up 25-12-2 if he really wanted to. Sure he may never be a great post defender, but at the very least he could get our team more possessions (which is a huge plus with the style we play) just by grabbing an extra O board a night or grab every D board he can as to not let the other team get 2nd chance points.

Look at Lebron, he's not even an average post defender, but he still helps his team immensely by grabbing every single rebound their 4-5 don't pick up. Lebron doesn't need to do it since it really is the job of their C and PF but by giving that extra effort on the defensive end, he inspires the rest of the team to player better D. Mo Williams isn't even a good defensive player, but at least now he looks average because of good team defense lead by Lebron. In our defense, we don't have as many guys capable of playing great D like the Cavs do, but the point is, if we all put in more effort on the defensive end, through hustle and energy, we'd be a much better team overall.

No one is asking him to turn into a TD or a KG over a course of a few months, but at the very least he could just put more effort on the defensive end.

[Mr. Sun]

lol. he made them play their way into a the best record in the league and the NBA finals. I'll take that any day.

So did Mike but looked what happened when other teams improved through the draft and trades. Gentry is the best man for the current player makeup.