You're not partaking in this thread anymore because you just spewed out an irrelevant and false statement.
1. Irrelevant. Oden played Shaq, not Amare. 2. Completely false. He was outplayed by Amare every game. (Stat wise)
Oden played both Shaq and Amare. In fact in their first meeting Oden hardly played against Shaq. How can you say they didn't play each other and then say Amare outplayed Oden? Head-to-head Oden dominated Amare, it wasn't even close.
He was first team all-NBA at age 24 in 2007. He placed 6th in MVP voting last year. Is that not the cusp of MVP-level player? Yes, it's a huge upgrade. I don't think that Amare's production this year is indicative of his capabilities. Ed O.
I am addressing the evidence he put forward that D'Antoni's system artificially inflates numbers. Numbers that MATTER (like PER) I just don't see this to be true. Even with other numbers, people need to cherry-pick to explain why, for example, Bell's numbers in Utah were inferior to those in Phoenix. Ed O.
If you assume this half-season of play represents Amare's "true level," then no, it isn't. This season is a bit concerning to me, but I think it's too quick to write off everything he did before this season.
amare was on the cusp of being an mvp level player when he teamed up with d'antoni and nash. however, he currently is not on the cusp of being an mvp level player. that's what i was getting at. i think amare's production this year is very indicative of what his capabilities would be on the blazers and that his years with d'antoni don't accurately represent how amare would produce in most systems.
LaMarcus is a mediocre defensive player. Amare is a mediocre defensive player. There isn't that much of a difference defensively.
No, because he'll never get close to passing the players in front of him. And there are tons of young player that will be better than him soon. I don't see him ever getting higher than 6th in MVP voting. It's also a huge downgrade on defense.
i think that if he were to be traded to portland his play this season is more indicative of what you should expect of him than his play under d'antoni was. no reason to write off what he's done in the past, but there is very good reason to look at the context of it. you are correct in that, i was just pointing out that there is evidence that amare's numbers were inflated by d'antoni's system.
of course, i think many would disagree at aldridge being put on equal footing with amare as a defender.
Why? Nash was called a "D'Antoni product" too, but his PER didn't really change from his Maverick days. Marion remained about the same level of player as he was pre-D'Antoni. What's the evidence that Amare's PER (rather than his raw stats) was inflated by D'Antoni's system? His PER is down this year, that's true, but he's also been in a system featuring Shaq, which seems to have had a pretty major impact. If you take the ball away from a premier scorer, his productivity is going to go down, regardless of system.
The Randolph to NY for Frye was discussed several days before happening (as I recall, most thought it was laughable unfair to the Blazers, myself certainly included) As to Amare vs LMA as defenders - they're both pretty mediocre, aren't they? And Amare's the better rebounder.
No offense, but while you're entitled to your opinion your opinion doesn't really matter much to me. He's 26 years old. If you think lots of younger players are going to zoom by him as he enters his prime, then more power to you. I don't find that incredibly likely. If he's a huge downgrade on defense and a huge upgrade overall, then that's just fine. Amare commands double teams in a way that Aldridge does not. He gets to the line at a high clip and he's a great free throw shooter. Even assuming he's significantly worse at defense than Aldridge (which I am not sure I believe) I think he's a far superior player overall. Ed O.
On the Spurs' level, when you count in Portland's center combination and Rudy and Outlaw. Once Oden can avoid foul trouble and start playing aggressively all game long, a Roy/Amare/Oden combination places them with any team in basketball, IMO.
Close to the Lakers and Spurs, but dependent on how well Oden/Prz can play. So far, I don't think Oden's had a great game against a good team (they're all too busy taking advantage of the pick and roll), and that will limit the Blazers. To a lesser extent, it could depend match to match on one or more of Batum, Outlaw, Rudy, or Bayless getting hot that night. Basically, outside contenders, definitely not favorites.
