Is Amare really all the way back?

Question

According to commentators, I keep hearing that Stoudamire is fully recovered from his surgery, and I occasionally see highlight reel dunks to back it up, but I can't shake the feeling that some of his explosiveness is gone.

I still haven't seen anything like that incredible playoff performance from two years ago, and I feel like I'm seeing a lot of finger rolls and lay-ins in place of crushing dunks.

But that's only based on the 2 or 3 Suns games I've been able to watch.

Any Suns fans who can comment?

Answer 1

wohoohoo yeah right amares officialy back. I agree that his dunks are explosive but not as explosive as his dunks before he was injured, anyways i think hes better because he widened(?) his range and he could shoot better jumpshots,plus his freethrow shooting is getting better.

Answer 2

I know for a fact that his surgically-repaired knees are healing. although some skeptics would argue this based on his performance like WU, which did not post the best answer here, if we analyze all of his performances this season it all comes down to his mental toughness. being able to dunk down on people is not a matter of athleticism, but merely a matter of confidence. The reason he can dunk when he's open because he know he can do it. He's not superman, but he is gaining his mental toughness slowly whenever i witness him power-dunking in games. I say don't pressure the young superstar, but give him a reasonable span of time to let him regain his "game." By the way, shooting a more higher percentage maybe one of his "backup" plan when there would be something wrong with his knee. he knew that when his knee would let him down, he would need to produce on the court in another way, and ergo "shooting a higher percentage" does not mean that his athleticism has diminished.

Answer 3

Amare is back but in a different sense of it. While he may not be leaping past defenders every time up court, he has developed a nice mid-range jumper which will help him be more effective when he cant get to the hole. The 16-19 FG% and 41 points against Dallas proves that he is on the right path to being back 100%. He is now becoming more complete though.

Answer 4

I think Amare is about 80% there. I still think that he's a top ten player. Even if Amare makes it all the way back, I don't think he would dominate the game as much as he did before, but that doesn't matter because they will continue their winning ways. The reason he won't dominate that much anymore is because his team has greatly improved when he was away. Diaw, Barbosa, Bell, and probably the whole Suns bench has improved and will earn their playing time.

Answer 5

He is. But in terms of being "just like before", there's no way he's going to regain that incredible athleticism ever again. Sure he can jump again, but he can't dunk over people with force like before, he can only dunk when he's wide open. Meaning he can't do anything without steve nash getting him those easy shots. I mean, he can't even outrebound Erick Dampier! Dallas destroyed them on the boards in the Dallas Phoenix game. If he can't handle guys like dirk and dampier inside, what's going to happen once he faces a guy like Duncan?

Answer 6

im not really a suns fan but im a physical therapist. well the reason maybe for his lack of explosiveness is that he is protecting his knees more. jumping high to dunk on somebody gives your knees a lot of tension. imagine amare dunking on practices and games, that's a lot of wear and tear. maybe he's fully recovered but he's just being cautious.

Answer 7

I think about 85%

Answer 8

i'm not a suns fan but i think he ways always the same

Answer 9

yeah he is back. back again. amare's back. tell a friend!

Answer 10

hell no hes a bum