Oh man, I was thinking about this one, and boy is it tough. If you were going to start your franchise with a clean slate, which of the two would you build your team around?
If Amare comes back with no knee problems then I'd definetly take him. With some more maturity I think he can become a good defender and he's also improving his mid-range shot.
Amare just has such an incredible offensive reputoire now, to go along with his natural desire to simply kill whoever is guarding him. If he comes back 100%, not only do I take him over Dwight, but he is a Top 5 PF in the league.
Amare, no question. He's capable of 30/10/3. That line is just sick. Come playoff time, he can't be contained. Dwight has the rebounding edge, but that's it.
You really have to think. Yeah Amare is a monster BUT thats when Nash is playing.Maybe a sun fan can shut me up. But when i watch amare play with nash he cant be stoped. But when nash was hurt lastseason Amare couldnt really do much and take over a game like he could when nash was there. Nash made things Much easyer for him.Howard doesnt have a PASS 1st Pg who can give him the ball in the rite spots and at the rite time. Dwight IMO is a better rebounder. But also its hard for amare to get Rebounds when he has marion on the team. I would love to see dwight play with a pass 1st PG.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BuLLzDoMaIn @ Feb 27 2006, 08:49 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>You really have to think. Yeah Amare is a monster BUT thats when Nash is playing.Maybe a sun fan can shut me up. But when i watch amare play with nash he cant be stoped. But when nash was hurt lastseason Amare couldnt really do much and take over a game like he could when nash was there. Nash made things Much easyer for him.Howard doesnt have a PASS 1st Pg who can give him the ball in the rite spots and at the rite time. Dwight IMO is a better rebounder. But also its hard for amare to get Rebounds when he has marion on the team. I would love to see dwight play with a pass 1st PG.</div>Couldn't have said it better myself. I know he is not as good of a scorer but more than half of Amares points are dunks anyways.I'd take Dwight.
Amare was doing great without Nash too. He started playing better in his 3rd season which is usually when players start playing really good. It's not just because of Nash. He's really being overrated. Amare has his own moves and is really doing better on his shooting too. His mid-range shot was turning out nice last year.
Last year Nash was out for 2 small series of games. the 1st Amare didn't play well without him. But after he matured over the season and Nash was out for 3 games or so towards the end of the season, he was unstoppable.This is really no contest IMO. Dwight is a fantastic player, but it is all defensive and rebounding. Amare is a great rebounder and blocker too (although to a less extent) but he is a MUCH better offensive player. If this injury doesn't slow down Amare, he could be the most dominant and unstoppable player since Shaq in his prime. He has unreal athleticism, very agressive, has the height and long arms to stretch over any defender, and he can now hit the 12-15ft jumper.
As much as I hate this answer, this comparison is so hard to do. Why? Amare is playing in a high scoring and shooting system, meaning more points and rebounds for him. Dwight doesn't get the ball. Off those two facts I've observed, Amare would be a clear cut winner. Trying to make things more fair for both sides, this is what I see in each.Some say that Amare is as good as he is due to Steve Nash, and as big of a Nash fan as I am, I can't give the MVP all the credit. Yes Nash helps to get Amare 6 - 10 more points on any given night, but if I remember correctly Amare averaged 25 points per game through the final few months of the 03-04 season. Throughout that season, I believe he averaged somewhere around 22 points per game. Add the fact that since that period he has developed a spot up 15 footer, and 10 foot fadeaway, and it's clear that he has a polished offensive game that rivals that of some of the best in the low blacks today. Plus he has that "proven factor" as Nitro says, as he had upped his game in the playoffs both appearances, and has his share of clutch plays. (Block on Tim Duncan for example) In other words, Amare does everything you want a player to do, not to mention he is flat out vicious attacking the rim.In Dwight Howard, from what I have seen (Limited - 10 - 15 magic games) I see an underappreciated player who will hopefully get more touches now that a certain ballhog is no more. Dwight has shown a 15 foot jumper, all though it is not as polished as Amare's. From there I've seen limited post moves, including a jump hook and a spin move. He can finish at the rim, and hits short fadeaways, but he simply does not do it with consistency. While I would normally say this is natural, at this point in Amare's career he was averaged over 20 points a game. What somewhat makes up for this however, is his rebounding, as he is leading the league right now.So basically, Amare is more proven, has a better offensive game, and is no slouch defensively either. Meanwhile, Howard is still trying to get touches, and has shown signs of having a more inconsistent offensive game night in and night out than Morris Peterson (Kidding, no one is that inconsistent) Amare wins by a longshot, and if he comes back 100%, I don't see the trend stopping.
Yep, to add to the proven factor that I usually bring up, Amare is proven as a go-to scorer and #1 option, and will always deliver 90% of the time. Dwight has not proven he can be a go-to scorer, as he doesn't have any inside moves outside of a good dunk. Amare is versatile, has many low post moves, and has that 15ft jumpshot.As I said before, no contest.
If I knew that Amare would not get injured I would deffinately pick him. But knowing about his knee problems its not that easy. Amare obviously has more talent than Dwight but, Dwight seems pretty promising. I would probably go with Amare and take that chance of getting injured just because he brings so much to the team. The Suns play really well with him and Nash together. Deffinately better than if you put Dwight and Nash together.
Stop using Nash against Amare...my god he put 37 on KG early in his career, he averaged 20ppg in his second year, he's obviously going to improve in his third year (27ppg)...
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BCB @ Mar 3 2006, 01:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Stop using Nash against Amare...my god he put 37 on KG early in his career, he averaged 20ppg in his second year, he's obviously going to improve in his third year (27ppg)...</div>Yeah every one new he was gonna get better but alot of those games nash was out he didnt do good.
Well he did fine without Nash his second year. Whenever you take Nash out and play Barbosa it's going to screw up your offense.
Like I've said, Steve Nash does help Amare out considerably, he gets him easier shot attempts, and assists Amare on 2 - 5 FGs per game, but in Amare's second season, he averaged 20+ per game, and 25+ during the final few months. Since then, look at how much he has added:-15 Foot Jumper- 10 Foot FadeawayThose are two components that big men today would die for. If Amare became the primary guy on the Suns roster again, and the offence ran through him, he could easily be a 30 point per game guy. Yes Nash helps Amare get easy buckets, but Amare isn't the first option anymore. If he became the primary component of the Suns offence, he could do just as much damage if not more without Nash.
