<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>LAS VEGAS -- No hammer dunks. No blocks resembling a volleyball spike. There really wasn't a single gasp-inducing moment in the desert Friday where you were you moved to exclaim: That's Amare.But that's nitpicking.The only mission for Amare Stoudemire in his long-awaited return to game conditions was running freely. The aim was moving with the confidence he didn't have back in March, when he had to abort his comeback from microfracture knee surgery after three games."This was the first time I was out there just playing," Stoudemire said. "Not thinking."That's all his bosses wanted to see, but Stoudemire managed to give them a little bit extra at UNLV's Cox Pavilion. Sporting a new No. 1 on his jersey and logging 30 minutes in a 40-minute game in the Vegas Summer League, Stoudemire was sufficiently active, spry and controlled to total 21 points and eight rebounds in a 91-83 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves ... while mixing in a handful of slick passes that Steve Nash would have gladly claimed as his own."If you were seeing him every day like we are, you'd realize how much he's making strides," said Suns coach Mike D'Antoni, who now doubles as the club's head of basketball operations. "Obviously he's still a ways away, but we still have three months to get him all the way back."You can already see the improvement he's made in his shooting and ballhandling, how much he's worked on those things. His athleticism will start to come back. We see it every week, and we're happy with that."The Suns' satisfaction was justified. It was clear from the start, when Stoudemire rung up a quick nine points in the first quarter, that his movement was more natural than it ever looked during that brief March return.A step slow? Certainly. Isolated a few times in the fourth quarter against an ESPN.com columnist -- Wolves forward Paul Shirley -- Stoudemire declined to drive at Shirley and the packed paint behind him and took the jumper instead. Nor did Stoudemire attack the rim with his trademark ferocity; his only dunk came after a whistle and didn't count. Stoudemire also resisted the urge to contest every shot defensively, as you might have expected in this loose setting, and didn't chase rebounds as much as they found him. Yet to his credit, Stoudemire didn't try to dominate the ball, either. Any urge to make this his show, surrounded by a team full of NBA wannabes, was undetectable.Plus ...Stoudemire's passing stood out more than anything ... and who was expecting that? Though credited with only one assist -- against six turnovers and seven fouls in a league with no foul limit -- he had at least five deft dishes in the lane and on the move. Stoudemire likewise drained jumpers with ease and was spotted leading the fast break himself after multiple rebounds, which is another new wrinkle for No. 1. Not bad for a guy who was forced to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in April to follow the dreaded microfracture procedure on his left knee last October.Not bad for a guy, furthermore, whose team flew into town on the morning of the game."If we can beat them when he's playing, he's obviously not up to his usual standards," said Shirley, a former Sun with extensive practice-floor experience checking Stoudemire. "But I thought he looked pretty good. That's a tough situation when you haven't played in a long time and all eyes are on you to go make something happen."Shirley also noted that Stoudemire, known for years as a player who wanted only to drive right, clearly worked on driving left in his time away. It's as if Stoudemire is so talented, Shirley suggested, that he can be programmed "like a machine.""The knees feel great," Stoudemire said. "I was going as hard as I could. I felt pretty explosive out there, something I haven't felt in the past two weeks [of practices].""When I came back the last time, the next day was hard. Now I can play back-to-back, I can [practice] two-a-days and come back strong. And I've still got three months [until training camp]. I've got time to get better."Stoudemire gets an immediate opportunity to prove his sturdiness Saturday, when the Suns complete a back-to-back set against Channing Frye, David Lee and rookie Renaldo Balkman from New York's summer-league squad. Stoudemire is scheduled to play only three of Phoenix's five games in Vegas, but Suns assistant Phil Weber -- who's in charge of overseeing all of Amare's skill drills every offseason -- is predicting an amendment to the schedule after what he termed "a perfect first step.""I'll be surprised if he doesn't want to play all five," Weber said.</div>Amare still has a long ways to go. I know his numbers suggest that he had a great performance, it's not hard for an all star talent to score 20 points when he is up against stiffs like Paul Shirley. Also, he settled on jumpers alot, and rarely drove. Another key sign is that he had 0 dunks!!!That's not like the old Amare; who led the league in dunks in the 04-05 season. He also was a bit lazy on defense, and he didnt get many rebounds really. It's not hard to get 10+ boards when you are Amare f*cking Stoudemire and you are against Paul Shirley.It's still a sign though; let's not forget that he has 3 months of training and practice to get himself up to par.
I was suprised to hear that he scored so much without a jam. I hav not seen actual footage of the game, but it is to hear that he is scoring in many ways, as well as finding teammates with what sound like some pretty sweet passes. The Suns should be excited about Amare's summer league play.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CB4AllStar @ Jul 9 2006, 01:35 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Sorry, but that is bullsh**. He finished with 1 assist.</div>You can make good passes without getting assists..
When Amare came back during the season I saw that his passing definetly improved and he made some nice passes in that game against Portland. CB4, don't make stuff up if you didn't even watch him, please. And I also posted about his last game. In the paper I read that he did have some dunks and he got 3 blocks in the 2nd game. It seems like Amare is turning into an all around better player. I've seen and heard that he's shooting and passing have improved dramatically. If he even has 90% of his athleticism that's still better than a lot of players out there and that plus everything he's improved on could really be a great thing for the Suns.
Who cares if he dunked or not? He played decent and is getting his stamina and getting back up to game speed. He probably doesn't want to overdue it and hurt himself.
It does matter because dunks were a big part of his game and if he can't throw down dunks or use his athleticism for those blocks he'll be the next Antonio McDyess, but a little better.
