Phoenix – The rise of the Phoenix Suns to heights the franchise has never seen depends primarily on the health of Amare Stoudemire.
The Suns won 54 games and advanced to the Western Conference finals without an injured Stoudemire for most of last season. The Suns missed a major inside presence on both ends and couldn’t overcome Dallas, en route to the 2006 NBA Finals, even with Steve Nash and Shawn Marion. But with their powerful center back, the fast-breaking Suns have all the ingredients needed to win the franchise’s first NBA title.
“We added an all-star,” Suns coach Mike D’Antoni said about the return of Stoudemire. “We’re that much better. We have an option down inside that we didn’t have last year. If people switch or people try tricky stuff, we just go to him and get easy buckets.”
Stoudemire also rebounded from the worst knee problems an athlete can face.
The 2003 rookie of the year averaged 20.6 points during the 2003-04 season, 26 points the 2004-05 season and was a 2005 all-star. But the 6-foot-10, 245-pounder played only three games and missed the playoffs last season after having surgery on both knees. While the birth of his son was a factor, he departed USA Basketball’s world championship team last summer because of knee problems. One USA teammate said Stoudemire had problems dunking in practice.
“It was tough not being able to play,” Stoudemire said. “I’ve been playing basketball pretty much my whole life. So, it’s hard not playing. It’s tough through the rehabilitation to get back to where I am now.”
Stoudemire didn’t seem his old self in November, averaging 15.7 points. He has improved, averaging 20.5 points in December and 20 points in January. To celebrate being named an all-star reserve, Stoudemire scored 24 points and had a career-high 23 rebounds Thursday in a win over fellow West power San Antonio.
“There might be a lot of doubters that doubt me,” Stoudemire said about returning to the All-Star Game. “But I’ll never doubt myself.”
Nash said he believes Stoudemire will continue to become a stronger force this season and is a better all-around player now than before the injury. If such is the case and Stoudemire stays healthy, the Suns will continue to outscore their foes and have as good a shot as any team of becoming champions.
“We have only played together again for a few months now, so we are still working at that,” Nash said. “But it’s coming and he is doing other things better. He’s fitting into the scheme of the offense. Playing with his teammates. Being a part of the group rather than just being with himself. It’s really exciting to see him use intelligence and instincts to incorporate himself into our offense.”
Carter: stay or go?
New Jersey forward Vince Carter, who can opt out of his contract after this season, has been the subject of numerous trade rumors. When asked about the speculation, Nets president Rod Thorn recently said: “We can trade him, make a deal with him before the (season) is over. We can sign him at the end of the (season) or do a sign-and-trade with him at the end of the (season). So those are the alternatives. His indications have always been in private conversations with me and also publicly that he’ll play to the end of the year and see what happens.”
Footnotes
Philadelphia guard Andre Miller is expected to spend All-Star Weekend in his old stomping grounds of Denver. The former Nugget plans on checking on his home and his two pit bulls. Despite being traded to Philadelphia in December, Miller is still very fond of Denver, plans on spending time here during the offseason and doesn’t seem to be in a rush to sell his home. … Word is the Portland Trail Blazers hope to deal center Jamaal Magloire to an Eastern Conference team before the trade deadline. Even so, Magloire said he believes he can be a big boost to the Blazers now if he had a stronger role. “It’s frustrating having to settle for not playing,” said Magloire, who is in the final year of his contract. “I believe I can help this team.” …
Interesting to see two N.Y. Knicks scouts at the Nuggets game Friday against Portland. The Nuggets don’t have another game against New York and the Blazers don’t play the Knicks ’til March. …
One of the more interesting parties during All-Star Weekend will be former Nugget and TNT analyst Kenny Smith’s sixth annual private charity party co-hosted by Cleveland all-star LeBron James. It will include a poker tournament, followed by a party with music from DJ Jazzy Jeff and Tribe Called Quest’s Q-Tip on Feb. 16 in Las Vegas. …
Denver forward Reggie Evans recently hosted an exclusive mixed rap CD (parental discretion advised) for Nuggets game day deejay DJ Bedz and DJ Psycho. You can receive the CD for free by e-mailing DJ Bedz through his website (www.djbedz.com).
NOT EXACTLY KIDS’ PLAY
MENTORING HIGH ON STOUDEMIRE’S LIST
Phoenix center Amare Stoudemire, who will play Monday night in Denver, has sent a letter to Nuggets fans about his passion for mentoring.
On Jan. 20, I was invited to speak to mentors and mentees at an event in Phoenix called Mentors at the Movies that was put on by the governors office. I met with Gov. Napolitano of Arizona back in my rookie year. We both had strong feelings about dedicating ourselves to helping the youth.
My foundation is called Each One, Teach One, so Im definitely down with the mentor thing. As we were getting ready for the mentor event, I saw some statistics on the youth. I found out that in my community, 30 percent of K-12 youth are responsible for taking care of themselves after school. Also, 17.6 million youth nationwide can benefit from having a mentor, but only 2.5 million actually have them! It opened my eyes, and I wanted to tell everyone my story in hopes of encouraging more people to be become mentors to youth.
A mentor I had back in high school was a coach by the name of Bernie Hayes. He was a no-nonsense kind of guy. He taught us to remove our hats when stepping into a building and to pull up our pants. If you didnt, you had to do 50 push-ups, no matter where you were. You could be in a mall with 200 people, and if he catches you, you had to do push-ups then and there.
Back then, I wasnt thinking, and I wanted to keep my hat on, cuz I thought, hey, my hat looks cool. Being twenty-four now, I definitely understand the reasons behind it. Straightening up the small details can teach you how to be a man and help you get to where you want to go.
I came out of high school in the 2002 draft. I was a player that went to six different high schools to stay out of trouble. That’s how bad it was. It is easier for kids to get into trouble than to stay out of trouble. When I was in high school, a lot of people didnt think I would be successful. There were rumors around that I was not educated. So I said, Im going to prove them wrong. I sat down with my mentor, and I told him that I want to improve myself and get better grades. I ended up leaving high school with a 3.0 GPA.
When I came out of high school, I was the ninth pick in the 2002 draft. I came out the same year as Yao Ming, whos a foot taller, one hundred pounds bigger than me, and a great ball player. I was battling with him for Rookie of the Year, and I ended up getting it over him. I became the first player to receive the rookie of the year honor coming straight out of high school. If I didnt have Coach Hayes pushing me every step of the way, guiding me with both the big and little things, I wouldnt be where I am today.
I just wanted to call out to the people of Denver before I head over to play the Nuggets on Monday … and encourage everyone to become mentors to young people, even if its for a couple hours a month.
Basketball is only my profession but doing it has given me a chance to be a role model for youth. Hopefully we can all become role models to children in our own way. Then we all can have a chance to be better kids, students, friends, parents and people.
– Amare Stoudemire
SPOTLIGHT ON …
UTAH JAZZ FORWARD CARLOS BOOZER
Background: The Jazz announced Wednesday that Boozer would miss at least a month after doctors detected a hairline fracture in his left fibula. He was named Thursday as a Western Conference all-star reserve. Boozer is averaging 22.1 points and 11.8 rebounds, and although the injury sustained Jan. 27 at New Orleans-Oklahoma City is expected to take four to five weeks to heal, he hopes to play in the Feb. 18 All-Star Game in Las Vegas. “My understanding is it’s a rapidly healing type of injury. It depends upon the person,” Boozer said Thursday. “Yeah, I think (playing) is realistic.”
What’s up: Commissioner David Stern must replace injured all-stars Yao Ming of Houston and (possibly) Boozer. No date has been set for Stern’s announcement. Considering Boozer is a 2002 second-round draft pick, has never been an all-star before and is the first all-star from Alaska, he has great desire to play. “I would say the odds of him playing aren’t great,” Kevin O’Connor, Utah’s senior vice president of basketball operations, told The Salt Lake City Tribune.
What’s next: There is a lot of pressure on Stern to add apologetic Denver forward Carmelo Anthony, who was suspended 15 games for fighting. There is also pressure to add Dallas forward Josh Howard because of the Mavericks’ record, and Utah wants Mehmet Okur or Deron Williams to replace Boozer. According to an NBA.com poll, 55 percent of the fans believed Anthony “was most overlooked for a 2007 All-Star spot.” Howard got 19 percent of the vote.
Spears’ take: Considering what Utah is playing for, it’s not worth it for Boozer to risk coming back early. If Boozer does play, the NBA must add Anthony as Yao’s replacement. Not adding the NBA’s leading scorer and one of the most popular players would be silly. Howard over Anthony is a ridiculous thought. Anthony is averaging nearly 12 more points, twice as many assists and has more steals. Outside of Dallas, who cares to see Howard?
This hobby wears on Melo
Stamp-collecting? Not quite. Bird-watching? Probably not. Rather, these are Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony’s favorite hobbies:
1. Buying clothes
2. Playing card games
3. Playing video games
4. Listening to music
5. Sleeping
Marc J. Spears can be reached at 303-954-1098 or mspears@denverpost.com.
