Amare believes he’s ready
And he’s good at math…
“Today, I feel 110 percent, yesterday, I felt 110 percent. So, if I can feel 120 percent tomorrow, then the 76ers are in for it.” — (Amare Stoudemire)
Here we go again. Amare says that he’s ready to roll (according to him, he might even be too ready), but many signs indicate that he isn’t. Not only has he pulled himself out of practice twice since training camp began, he missed the exhibition game against Lottomatica Roma last Friday (which Phoenix won 100-93), and there are even rumors circling that things aren’t all that peachy between him and the rest of the Suns.
Stoudemire believes he’ll be ready to play and dominate later this afternoon (3 p.m. ET, ESPN 2) when the Suns play the Sixers in Cologne, Germany. Phoenix coach Mike D’Antoni has been happy with his star forward’s progress and said that if Amare can have another strong showing in practice before the game, he’ll play. How long he plays, of course, is another story.
So, who should we believe here: the overly optimistic player (Amare), or the warning bells? Personally, I’d like to believe the big fella, because when healthy he is one of the most enjoyable athletes to watch in any sport. My gut, however, tells me this is Grant Hill all over again. I hope I’m wrong.
22 Responses to “Amare believes he’s ready”
Oct.10 at 4:28 am
Nads says:
Nah man, G Hill is good in math.
Oct.10 at 5:18 am
Gerwin says:
Man, I honestly hope this won’t be another Grant Hill story. From the flashings he shows in his first years. Man, let’s play the highlights again. If Amare’s healthy…..SUNS WILL WIN IT ALL!!
Oct.10 at 5:44 am
Todd D. says:
Amare + Matrix + Nasty = Chip.
Oct.10 at 5:56 am
Boing Dynasty says:
Is there any example of a player having mirco-fracture sergury and coming back to what they were?
Oct.10 at 6:01 am
Darksaber says:
Hmm, i hope D’Antoni let’s him play today. Seeing as i got tickets for that pre-season game and all. I respect Nashty and Matrix is quite the freak of Basketball nature, but one man i really would like to see in action is STAT. I mean if a speedy guy like Kidd can come back from m.f.s., then i hope Amare can too. Even Webbers just playing on one leg nowadays (but he’s strangely effective)
Oct.10 at 6:06 am
Darksaber says:
It’s nice to see that world class athletes with some of the best sports medicare, also have to resort to the repetitive optimistic assurances after a serious injury. Even if he comes back strong, it’s going to take him weeks to get his confidence back to where it was in 04/05. Anyone remember him destroying Tim Duncan back in those playoffs? Raw power met finesse and power lost the war, but won the battles.
Oct.10 at 9:27 am
Hype says:
So would anyone want to make trade Amare’s future for at least Kemp’s instead of G Hill’s?…. that’s not giving him too much, I’m just sayin
Oct.10 at 11:34 am
Bryant Reeves says:
If the Suns are smart (and by all indications they are), they’ll bring Amare off the bench once the season starts. Not only will this protect his knee, but it will also reinforce the idea that he isn’t the star of the Suns. They’ve done pretty well without him over the last two years, something he should remember. Make him hungry to play again. Make sure that everyone on the team knows that practice and enthusiasm are the keys to getting a starting job. Never thought I’d say this, but the Suns might soon regret signing him to that extension…
Oct.10 at 12:24 pm
albie1kenobi says:
so this pose the question as, is it better to have the microfracture surgery or not? it seems like a career ending surgery, so you are screwed either way.
suns i think are gonna win a championship with amare leading the way. if he’s back say 70%, they still have a really good chance. as demonstrated by wade last year, if you have an unstoppable offensive force (and bias refs), you are going to win. that’s why bron will win a championship soon, as soon as the rest of his team are good enough to get him to the Finals.
Oct.10 at 1:22 pm
SteveSmith#8 fan says:
I just hope we are not seeing the 2006 version of McDyess.
Oct.10 at 1:48 pm
Khalid Salaam says:
From what I understand having mfs is a must. the pain is unbearable because basically what happens is the cartilage in your kneee is gone and it’s just bone on bone and the friction and pain are no joke. so yeah you are screwed either way but choice does anybody have??
Oct.10 at 2:00 pm
albie1kenobi says:
anyone know why so many basketball player has to go under mfs then? and it only seem like the superstars are the only one who gets them done? do the lesser player not have this problem? or it just cost too much for “small investments” like them?
Oct.10 at 6:47 pm
Zig says:
The fact that you linked to a Lakers Blog w/ regards to the “rumors” circling that things aren’t so peachy between Amare and the team is suspect at best. The Lakers are the Suns main rival after all…
Oct.10 at 7:26 pm
marcel mutoni says:
Judging from the box score, Amare was alright in his first game
Oct.10 at 10:58 pm
Lang Whitaker says:
I love that picture above, because Amare’s zipper is down. And Boing,as far as I know the only two guys who returned from microfracture to be anything close to what they were before have been Jason Kidd and John Stockton. Of course, neither of them were exactly high flyers before the surgery.
Oct.11 at 1:00 am
Miggy says:
i never really understood why he chose 1. that was penny’s number. and having the same injury and same team penny did before his decline, why add to the similarities? i wish STAT luck and i hope im wrong but it sounds dangerous.
Oct.11 at 2:18 am
Klemperer says:
Hey…where’s Jonathan Bender these days?
Oct.11 at 12:26 pm
albie1kenobi says:
Jonathan Bender retired this year because of chronic knee pain. his career never took off.
Oct.11 at 6:08 pm
illydiva says:
I guess the Sixers (103-100) weren’t really in for Amare’s 110 or 120%, coming back from 22 down and all. I know it came down to the 3-pt by the rookie, but Amare’s 6 & 6 in 20 mins ain’t all that impressive.
Oct.14 at 8:54 am
ziad bastami says:
if amare is back to his “old” time, than we can all be happy that the league did not lose another amazing youngester for the same damn injury! if not, well the lakers would be happy that they can win their group!heh! no! just kidding!
i wish amare could come
Oct.14 at 1:04 pm
jr says:
amare will never be the same.However that is exactly a bad thing. Example brandan roy. Yes brandan roy had a knee injury in college and he was force to adjust his game; and as a result he was the most well rounded players in the college ranks. He went from slashing dunker to a stat stuffing machine. I know college and pros are different but injuries are , believe it or not a part of the game, and great players make adjustments. And if amarae just slows the hell down as trying to come back every other month dosent help him or the suns. The suns dont needed him to be good they need him health to make their move from the sacramento level (alawys f up in conf. finals) to lakers dynasty level (always f ppl up in conf. finals) Amare needs to get his head on stariaght and drive slow so nash can retire with a couple of rings from the suns dynasty.
Oct.14 at 5:51 pm
A_B says:
if 6 and 6 in 19 minutes = his way of bringin it against philly I feel sorry for the suns giving him that much money did anyone see the 5 to’s and 4 fouls, in 19 minutes??? Ah well I wish him the best.