Moses Malone Version 2.0 Activated....
Yes, I'm on the Amare Stoudemire bandwagon, and unashamed to admit it. This kid has won me over as the future of the frontcourt funk in the NBA, and as he and everyone around him will readily admit, he's just gettin' warm (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2005/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&id=2062914 ).
Considering how big of a Sixers fan I am, the fact that I am ready to anoint this kid the next Moses Malone lets you know how impressed I am with Stoudemire's potential and the game he already has. Most think of him as just a dunk machine who can only score when set-up deftly by League MVP Steve Nash. Well, most forget that Amare's jumpshot is pretty good, along with gradual improvement from the foul line, all that's left for him to do is develop a post game, and when he does that...Well, he might be sayin "fo, fo, fo, fo" one of these days.
This might be a good time to give background on Moses Malone for those that don't know. The original from high school to the pros player, Moses was a rebound machine before he put together an offensive game that was underrated for most of the late '70s to mid '80s, winning three NBA MVP awards and helping Dr. J and the Sixers finally climb that championship mountain in 1983. While Amare will dunk on you at any time, Moses was satsifed with the regular tip in or a putback off the glass. When he did dunk, it was more about force than style points.
Now that I've said all that, the only thing that seperates Amare now from Moses then is the level of talent both players faced. Moses banged night in and night out with the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Artis Gilmore, and Bob Lanier, centers who were legitimate big men. And Moses was shorter than all of them, but still managed to do his thing all the time, making him one of the era's top three men in the middle. Right now Amare is listed as a center, but truly is a power forward, while he has made Erick Dampier his personal chew toy in the Phoenix-Dallas series, him doing battle with Shaquille O'Neal (50 percent or not) is not a good look for the Suns, or anybody.
But like Moses some 25-30 years before him, Amare Stoudemire has the potential to be next in line as one of the great big men in NBA history. Let Version 2.0's reign begin.
Considering how big of a Sixers fan I am, the fact that I am ready to anoint this kid the next Moses Malone lets you know how impressed I am with Stoudemire's potential and the game he already has. Most think of him as just a dunk machine who can only score when set-up deftly by League MVP Steve Nash. Well, most forget that Amare's jumpshot is pretty good, along with gradual improvement from the foul line, all that's left for him to do is develop a post game, and when he does that...Well, he might be sayin "fo, fo, fo, fo" one of these days.
This might be a good time to give background on Moses Malone for those that don't know. The original from high school to the pros player, Moses was a rebound machine before he put together an offensive game that was underrated for most of the late '70s to mid '80s, winning three NBA MVP awards and helping Dr. J and the Sixers finally climb that championship mountain in 1983. While Amare will dunk on you at any time, Moses was satsifed with the regular tip in or a putback off the glass. When he did dunk, it was more about force than style points.
Now that I've said all that, the only thing that seperates Amare now from Moses then is the level of talent both players faced. Moses banged night in and night out with the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Artis Gilmore, and Bob Lanier, centers who were legitimate big men. And Moses was shorter than all of them, but still managed to do his thing all the time, making him one of the era's top three men in the middle. Right now Amare is listed as a center, but truly is a power forward, while he has made Erick Dampier his personal chew toy in the Phoenix-Dallas series, him doing battle with Shaquille O'Neal (50 percent or not) is not a good look for the Suns, or anybody.
But like Moses some 25-30 years before him, Amare Stoudemire has the potential to be next in line as one of the great big men in NBA history. Let Version 2.0's reign begin.
posted by Chris @ 10:51 PM
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