Amare Stoudemire continues to amaze me. The 6 foot 11 inch power forward for the Suns some how keeps improving. When he entered this league, he was just a young kid straight out of high school. He was projected to be a top 3 pick but because he had attitude problems, he got knocked down quite a bit. He started somewhat slow his rookie season, but went to the slam dunk contest and impressed me. He had a fairly decent career, and then Steve Nash came around. When they came together it was like magic. With one of the best passers in the NBA teamed up with one of the best finishers, you know what the results are going to be. Then they had Shawn Marion for a good supporter of the two. Amare night in and night out could just dunk on people almost without trying.
The Suns recently traded Shawn Marion away for Shaq from the Miami Heat. A lot of people were skeptical about this trade, including myself. What would happen to the fast paced Suns offense with Marion? Well it turns out that it would only improve. After two games with Shaq on the team, they have won both games and the fast break looks as good as ever. This is due to one simple reason, Shaq's rebounding. He is pulling down 11 boards a game. Now you may wonder, what does any of this have to do with Amare? Well with Shaq rebounding, Amare can hit the fast break more, which is leading to more scoring for him. Shaq is what this team needed to bring Amare to a whole other level.
Now I don't think he is going to get first team this year because of Howard and Duncan both having standout years, but he sure will give them a run for their money. I do think however, that the Phoenix Suns will win the NBA championship behind the leadership of Steve Nash, the toughness of Shaq, and the tenaciousness and intensity of Amare Stoudemire.
