Quentin richardson dealt to knicks...

[hammerhead johnson]

I do know that alot of people are impressed with his defense. Several teams want him because of both his scoring and defensive abilities because they are lacking defense in that position. Either way he is gonna geta a nearly max contract this summer.

 

His steals numbers are impressive, although, like Larry Hughes, he takes way too many chances and just doesn't seem to want to play defense at times. I think he's incapable of containing a Top 10 scoring threat out of the SG or SF slot even when he's playing his best possible defensive game. I'm sure that there have been exceptions, I'm just going on what I've seen.

[SleepyWhiteSox]

I do know that alot of people are impressed with his defense. Several teams want him because of both his scoring and defensive abilities because they are lacking defense in that position. Either way he is gonna geta a nearly max contract this summer.

 

Yep.

 

Saying he is weak defensively was way off, in my opinion.

[qwerty]

His steals numbers are impressive, although, like Larry Hughes, he takes way too many chances and just doesn't seem to want to play defense at times.  I think he's incapable of containing a Top 10 scoring threat out of the SG or SF slot even when he's playing his best possible defensive game.  I'm sure that there have been exceptions, I'm just going on what I've seen.

 

He didn't even average a steal per game in nearly 40 minutes per game. He is definitely not a gambler like hughes, he was always in front of who he was defending last year. He is an athletic freak, he can play the full 48 games in a row if you ask him to and that is with him going full speed ahead. I mean he led a pedal to the medal team in minutes per game last year, that says something to me. What was really impressive last year is his three point shooting, nearly at 48%.

Edited June 24, 2005 by qwerty

[hammerhead johnson]

Yep.

 

Saying he is weak defensively was way off, in my opinion.

 

I'd have classified him as weak coming into this year. It is a fact that he's taken a s*** on the defensive end in previous years. If you can find any comprehensive scouting reports from the past few years, they will reveal as much. I don't see how things can just drastically change overnight, but you know, whatever.

[hammerhead johnson]

He didn't even average a steal per game in nearly 40 minutes per game. He is definitely not a gambler like hughes, he was always in front of who he was defending last year. He is an athletic freak, he can play the full 48 games in a row if you ask him to and that is with him going full speed ahead. I mean he led a pedal to the medal team in minutes per game last year, that says something to me. What was really impressive last year is his three point shooting, nearly at 48%.

 

His second half steals numbers are pretty crazy, though. He had 23 in March, but only 9 in December. That's the primary reason why I compared him to Larry Hughes...I've seen him get burnt quite a few times on botched steal attempts, especially in the second half this past year. When I think of the Phoenix mid-range defense from 04/05, I think of swiss cheese (less holes than Washington, of course). Stoudemire, Marion, and Richardson are all, at the very least, above average defensive players. To me, Nash and Johnson were the primary holes on the defensive end, not even bringing up secondary factors like guys playing out of position.

Edited June 24, 2005 by hammerhead johnson

[ZoomSlowik]

Amare an above average defender? I'm surprised by that one. The guy doesn't know where he needs to be most of the time and compensates with his incredible athleticism. Take a look at what the other team's top post players did against him in the playoffs. Gasol hit 28 twice, Dirk had 34 once and 28 twice, and Duncan had 28, 30, 33, and 31 in their wins. All of those guys put up good numbers and shot high percentages, and that didn't just happen in the playoffs. Amare has the athletic ability to be a stud and putting another real post defender in there istead of Marion will help, but he's nowhere near being a top post defender right now. Honestly, for a guy with his size and athleticism, his shot blocking ability is a disappointment.

[hammerhead johnson]

Amare an above average defender? I'm surprised by that one. The guy doesn't know where he needs to be most of the time and compensates with his incredible athleticism. Take a look at what the other team's top post players did against him in the playoffs. Gasol hit 28 twice, Dirk had 34 once and 28 twice, and Duncan had 28, 30, 33, and 31 in their wins. All of those guys put up good numbers and shot high percentages, and that didn't just happen in the playoffs. Amare has the athletic ability to be a stud and putting another real post defender in there istead of Marion will help, but he's nowhere near being a top post defender right now. Honestly, for a guy with his size and athleticism, his shot blocking ability is a disappointment.

 

I agree, he's nowhere near a top post defender, but I'd say he's definitely above average out of the 4 against beefy, prototypical PFs. He can bang a little bit and alter some shots. Finesse guys out of the 4 are going to give him problems (Dirk, Gasol). He is clearly overmatched if he's going heads up with a damn near 7'0 freak like Duncan or Garnett. But otherwise, I like his defense out of the 4, primarily due to the fact that he's a vicious motherf***er with incredible athleticism (as you stated).

 

Also, Stoudemire played C for the bulk of the regular season and the playoffs, so he wouldn't be guarding Dirk out on the perimiter, or Gasol from a dozen feet out. He'd be on Erik Dampier, Lorenzen Wright, etc, and helping out when those PFs would make their moves in the paint. Amare's actual height is 6'8, and he doesn't have Ben Wallace type awareness or strength, so he's clearly not cut out to be a ranger in the middle. They had to find a way to get Johnson and Richardson out on the court at the same time.

 

And back to Joe Johnson -- I've been thinking about this all day, and how a player can just be a stroke over the first several years of his career with a total lack of focus and desire when it comes to guarding people, and then all of a sudden emerge as a quality defender, an energy guy. I even broke out all of my old basketball mags looking for scouting reports just to make sure that I wasn't going crazy. I came across the precise phrase weak defender. What has changed? Contract year? Seriously, I'm baffled.

[nitetrain8601]

I would say Amare's defense is average at best. He even admitted it when they got eliminated and said that he'll make sure he improves his defensive play. That's what I love about him. He has fire and determination to improve. Next year I expect him to make a couple of steps into being a defensive beast.

[hammerhead johnson]

I would say Amare's defense is average at best. He even admitted it when they got eliminated and said that he'll make sure he improves his defensive play. That's what I love about him. He has fire and determination to improve. Next year I expect him to make a couple of steps into being a defensive beast.

 

What about when he's playing the 4 and he's banging with prototypical PFs like Brand, Martin, etc? He played out of position all year.

 

There is a very, very thin line between average and above average, though. It's hard to make a definitive argument, either way. I'll go with above average on the strength of his incredible athleticism, energy, and more importantly, the fact that he's a mean, balls-out motherf***er. He can't range the middle due to his lack of awareness, that has definitely been established.

[Be Good]

What a bad trade, the Knicks any draft pick they can get. Looks like i'm not going to be interested in the NBA for longer then I thought.

[ChWRoCk2]

What a bad trade, the Knicks any draft pick they can get. Looks like i'm not going to be interested in the NBA for longer then I thought.

who knows, maybe they pick up a star in free agency

[greasywheels121]

who knows, maybe they pick up a star in free agency 

 

Q-Rich and Starbury are "stars," but that doesn't exactly equate to success.

[nitetrain8601]

who knows, maybe they pick up a star in free agency 

 

They are way over the cap. They're probably going to cut Allan Houston and save a good amount of change, but they'll still be over the cap with that. The most they could offer is the MLE and stars don't settle for MLE.