Can Amar’e Stoudemire Be Had at a Discount?
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Throwing out Amar’e Stoudemire’s three game 2005-06 season, he’s averaging less points (17.8) than he has since his rookie season, way back in 2002-2003. He’s four points per game below his career average, and 7.5 points below last year’s average in his first year with the Knicks.
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Not only is his scoring down, but his field goal percentage is off-the-charts down. We’re talking more than ten percent below is lifetime 53.4 percent shooting. The shooting woes run deep in New York. Only two players (Tyson Chandler and Landry Fields) getting significant run are above 47 percent. Fields is at 47.1 percent so even that isn’t entirely impressive. Of all the players to bounce back, Amar’e has the best odds.
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Also uncharacteristic of Amar’e Stoudemire is his lack of blocks. At 0.5 bpg he is only getting about a third of the blocks per game that he has got over the course of his career. Eight blocks in sixteen games just isn’t cutting it.
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It’s not a lost season by any means. Sure, the scoring isn’t the same, but 17.8 isn’t bad. Neither is a 8.4 rebound per game average. Assists have never been his strong suit, but he is averaging a career high 1.2 steals.
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Obviously getting Stoudemire isn’t going to be cheap. He’s still a huge name and it’s early enough that his owners may not be quite frustrated enough. His past eight games are helping your cause though. During that stretch he has as many 20+ point games as he has single-digit games. His scoring average is 14.6 ppg and his rebounding average is 7.8 rpg. He’s shooting 41.7 percent during the stretch. To make matters worse, he’s averaging 3.8 turnovers during the eight games, with at least five turnovers in half of the games.
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His owner may not be willing to move him right, but I bet he or she will listen. Given Amar’e's track record he’s a good bet to rebound. If you can get him at a discount, all the better.
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