Hoopdata’s Tom Haberstroh: Amare over Antawn easy choice
2010-02-13For those of you still wrestling with the possible Amare/Antawn choice, Hoopdata has a piece up right now comparing the two. Haberstroh is solidly in the Stoudemire camp, citing Jamison’s surprisingly poor accuracy from midrange this season.
He concludes with the following: “As much as the Cavs might believe they’re a big piece or two away from winning the title, I think it’s more accurate to believe they were always just a bounce or two away. I can see how Stoudemire makes sense if they do want to add that piece, send a message to the fans, and give LeBron a serious low-post threat, but I cannot stamp my approval on a trade for Jamison. There’s too much at stake for the franchise to bank on a player like Jamison to help bring home that elusive title to Cleveland.”
I encourage you to read the entire piece as we all continue to wait and see what the Cavalier roster will look like at the end of the week.
Bitmap – if he’s so great, why do the suns score more on offense when he sits and defend better on defense when he sits? They having a WINNING RECORD, its not like they are a bottom feeder.
He can hit a 15 foot jumper off the pick and roll – he’s probably the most overrated player in basketball right now.
Throw in the fact that he has a well-documented injury history and never been known as a good teammate. Why are we so excited about this again? CUS HE’S AMARE STOUDEMIRE! See: Elton Brand (Philly), Allen Iverson (Detroit)
Why is it assumed that Amare is a team killer? They are a playoff team this season with role players that make the 2004 Cavs look like a championship team. (Ask any Phoenix fan about the draft picks and such the front office has blown in the past 4 seasons.) They only missed the playoffs last season by 2 games, and that was with a midseason coaching change. Phoenix has been a staple in the Western Conference playoffs (where sub .500 teams don’t sneak in) since Nash and Amare’s arrival, and only bad luck and slightly better teams have kept… Read more »
Sorry to double post, but I wanted to reply to Todd. Last year chemistry couldn’t overcome our matchup and talent problems. This year; with Shaq, AP, Moon, Powe, and chemistry; I think we’re all set. We have more talent (Shaq) and we have better length outside (Parker, Moon) to matchup up with Orlando and LA. I don’t think we need to do anything to our roster to be able to win it all, and I don’t think the risk of upsetting the apple cart is worth the reward of adding even more talent.
Bitmatt, it’s no problem at all. That’s part of the fun in discussing these sorts of things! No hard feelings whatsoever. Rich, I agree with you about Delonte for J-Rich. It’s a downgrade, it’s a gamble, and I’m a huge Delonte fan so I don’t like it at all. However, if we did go for Amare, assuming it all works out and he fits in, I don’t see his role changing. He doesn’t need to score on his own, just like JJ doesn’t need to score on his own. Amare would still be a devastating PnR guy, just taking passes… Read more »
Sigh… really? We can’t give up JJ Hickson for Amare Stoudemire? This commentary is a bit ridiculous. I don’t want a repeat of last year. How far did chemistry carry the Cavs then? At some point, you need to have BETTER PLAYERS. The Cavs need someone they can rely on when Mo Williams is shooting 25% from the field and Shaq is in foul trouble. That player is not JJ Hickson, it’s Stoudemire. I’ll second everything bitmatt and Keith have said. I’m pretty sure JJ Hickson’s ceiling isn’t as good as Stoudemire is right now. Perhaps Stoudemire has a bad… Read more »
@ The Other Jason.
I apologize that I came off snippy in my last two posts at you. Not that it wasn’t intended, it was, but that was just the IPA and my unadulterated glee speaking. We’re all just wantin’ the same things here, right? One banner and counting!
SMH, have you seen Amare score on an unassisted basket? Just about every single one of his FGs comes off of a great pass from the greatest passer in the world in the pick and roll. I still have no idea if Amare is a guy who can get his own offense.
And still taking Jason Richardson and giving up Delonte West is a downgrade and no1 seems to want to adress that part of the deal.
JJ is talented and incredibly athletic which is why it is hard to let him go. Those blocks on Howard and Wade this year were amazing. But it’s hard to say if he will ever be as good as Amare. I think everyone agrees on that. I don’t think the decision is as hard as it looks. JJ playing well these last few games is an awesome bargaining chip if nothing else. Perfect time to trade him.
I like that “hyper-efficient scorer” has morphed into “black hole on offense”. Amare’s TS% is almost exactly the same as LeBron James! He is an amazing offensive weapon! Would you rather Amare pass to a lesser player or score some frickin’ points? Powe will be back soon. Like all injured players on this incredibly deep Cavaliers roster, he will be babied back and his minutes will be slim. We have no idea how he will respond to NBA playing conditions. Chances are very extremely excellent he will not have a huge factor on the outcome of this season. That’s okay-… Read more »
Last I heard Powe was expected to back in a few weeks. If that’s not the case, it’s news to me. Also, we’ll have Mo back soon, and him and Shaq playing together when Lebron sits seems to work pretty well. Even without Mo (our 2nd/3rd option) we’re still the 5th most efficient offense in the league. I really don’t think we need to add more firepower at all. I think we’ve never had a problem integratig guys because we don’t go after me-first players. Out of Keith’s list only Shaq has a big ego and/or needs the ball a… Read more »
Ok…we need to step back when looking at these guys. Think about this year and how we can add talent to this team. Amare is far and away the better talent than JJ. In the past few years, have we ever had a problem integrating new pieces where it’s destructive to our team? No. Mo has been fine. West. Wally. Shaq. Whomever. LBJ and Mike Brown can adjust on the fly to keep the chemistry. At the same time, the chemistry argument failed last year. Ferry’s not gonna go through that again when he can add talent now that he… Read more »
The thing that worries me about the trade is Stoudemire’s decline. He hasn’t been the same player that he was for the past two years, and it’s very possible that could continue. I do think the Cavs will make the deal if they have the opportunity, especially after standing pat last year, but I can see how they’d want Jamison instead if they don’t have to give up Hickson. It’s a safer play, and they already have an extremely good team. If the trade does go through, I’d expect Z to lose the most minutes, assuming he comes back. JJ… Read more »
The Other Jason.
Leon Powe is coming back from intricate and traumatic knee surgery. He will play sparse minutes. He is a two year project. That is why they signed him for two years. When healthy and in game shape he will be nice. That will be next year.
JJ Hickson cannot score if LeBron James is not on the floor. You practically said it yourself. I think maybe it would be nice to have someone who can score at will when LeBron is not on the floor. Maybe I’m crazy.
SMH, why should we expect JJ to score unassisted baskets? We have the best passer in the league, and we run our offense through him. Why is that a knock on JJ? He doesn’t need to score baskets on his own, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Mike Brown is limiting his game to the simple stuff so he doesn’t start over-thinking his game. As for this trade, I say no. It’s not worth adding a me-first, overrated player that won’t get clutch minutes but might screw up the chemistry our team has. Yeah, Amare is better in every individual… Read more »
Amare this year, integrated well, and we’re unstoppable (save injury) for a chip or two. He’s been in crunch-time playoff games, and like everyone else, he wants to win – he’ll fall in line. LBJ is widely recognized (hell, even Barkley sees it) as the best player on the planet, and the undisputed leader of the team — Amare will fall in line. Meanwhile, JJ, while showing flashes of promise, is totally unproven, especially in playoff time. Young/raw/defensively narcoleptic. The comparison = no comparison so cosign bitmatt. Imagine a lineup with LBJ at the point and Amare at the 4,… Read more »
Sorry, but people saying that Hickson is too much to give up for AMARE STOUDEMIRE – you know, the guy who perpetually posterizes people and is a multiple all-star – are wearing wine and gold glasses. Amare = Hickson on steroids. Better finisher and shooter, way better hands. Both are suspect defensively, but you really don’t think the Cavs system will turn a player of Amare’s skills into an adequate defender? Cavs stood pat last year – cannot do this again if Amare is available. LeBron, Amare, Shaq (even old) is the best front court….well, since I can remember in… Read more »
yea what bitmatt said…the chemistry argument is very funny…lakers dont have no cool hand shakes, just talent…jj hickson…are u guys serious? has anyone seen him score an unassisted basket?
Please eliminate the JJ vs Amare sentiment from your thoughts. It is a non-comparison between a raw 2nd year player who is just within the last month looked like he could be good enough to remain in the NBA for a while vs. a perennial all-star with a TS% only 2 points lower than LeBron James. This comparison is silly and beneath us.
The chemistry thing makes sense to me, and I worry about it like you do. That’s the thing about these trades — so many unknowns, so it’s easier to just play it conservative and “stand pat”. To my own shame, i was very against the shaq trade because he has such a big personality and I was remembering him not getting along with other superstars on other teams (kobe). But he fit right in. Don’t forget about the LeBron effect. He is the ultimate teammate, and now that the team is solidly “his” team, I think it unlikely that anyone… Read more »
Haberstroh called you Josh Krolik.
And Amare is better than JJ in every way, sorry to say it. JJ will most likely never avg 20-10
This seems to reek of the potential to destroy the chemistry on this team. Not to be a Bill Simmons shill, but as he talked about in his book (sorry, I just started reading it) the chemistry thing can’t be overlooked when making a championship run. Reading his story about talking with Isiah about The Secret just leaves me with a bad feeling about the Cavs making any significant trade and especially for Amare. Shaq has taken JJ under his wing; JJ seems to be Lebron’s favorite “jumping side-bump thing that us white people can’t pull off” buddy; JJ, Boobie,… Read more »
“a long time ago” means weeks. Current as in this year, this season, since he’s been getting valuable minutes. Mike Brown hides JJ on defense with a good scheme. He could do the same for Amar’e and bring in AV when needed. Yes, you’re right, JJ MIGHT develope. In 2 years when the cavs may or may not be in a position to win a championship again. There are too many outlying factors, not the least of which is LeBron being on the team. The cavs are going for broke this year, and getting the champinonship now increases their chances… Read more »
also, you do realize “a long time ago” is not really valid in CURRENT evaluation. JJ can at least learn how to play better defense as a 21 year old. Amare has never even seemed concerned to learn
you do realize that JJ has played well against all teams INCLUDING LA right?
I don’t get it. Do you guys really think JJ’s defense is better than Amare’s? JJ is a very athletic talent with decent-good potential. Like someone said, maybe MAYBE some day he MIGHT be as good as Amar’e is now. The cavs have needed some offensive might out of the power-foward position since LeBron joined. It is the last piece they need to upgrade to put them over the top… and now they might do that and you are against it because JJ – who was exposed by all the good teams until Orlando IGNORED him every second he was… Read more »