LTrain23 wrote: If anybody says Troy, they should be smacked and should also stop watching sports, period.

But those numbers have mainly come against the Lakers of old. When looking at Stoudemire’s last five games against Los Angeles, all of which have come within the last two and a half seasons with the Lakers having a combined record of 163-55 (74.8%), Amare is averaging 24.6 points and 9.6 rebounds per game on 54.8% shooting. Those are some pretty good numbers against a team that made two Finals appearances over that span and, at 41-13 this season, could be poised for their third straight appearance.

And, just as O’Neal showed promise against Howard, Amare Stoudemire may be Pau Gasol’s kryptonite. Last season Gasol dominated the Cavaliers, averaging 20.0 points and 12.5 rebounds against Cleveland in two games. This season those numbers dropped dramatically, thanks to Anderson Varejao and Shaquille O’Neal, as Gasol averaged only 12.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in the two losses against the Cavs.

But, while the Cavaliers significantly slowed Gasol down on the offensive end, there was still no one left to make him work on the defensive end when he was at the power forward position. In 18 head-to-head games against Pau Gasol, Amare Stoudemire is averaging 22.1 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, while holding Gasol to 16.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. He is also averaging 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks per game over these 18 contests, exhibiting the presence of a defensive will that is sometimes called into question.

Further highlighting his defensive prowess on Gasol, in two head-to-head games so far this season, Stoudemire has held Gasol to 13.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Combine that with the 12 and 8 that Gasol averaged in two games against Cleveland this season and I don’t think Pau would be causing an O’Neal/Stoudemire/Varejao frontcourt trio too many problems if the Cavaliers were to meet the Lakers in the Finals.

Throw in the fact that Amare averaged 22.0 points and 7.0 rebounds on 60.6% shooting against Gasol in those two games this season and it sounds like Cleveland would be acquiring quite the neutralizer, capable of making Pau Gasol defend the entire game. This goes for teams like Orlando as well, forcing players like Rashard Lewis to constantly defend the power forward position, rather than sagging off and playing help defense as he did on Thursday.

Trueblue23 wrote:

LTrain23 wrote: If anybody says Troy, they should be smacked and should also stop watching sports, period.

I would rather have Murphy.

Any other team, give me Amare in a heart beat.

Murphy is a perfect fit for the Cavs though.

KnightXC1 wrote: Amare doesn't play much defense either.

KnightXC1 wrote: Amare doesn't play much defense either.

jpake1 wrote: Murphy is a better shooter? Really? Don't confuse more range with more accuracy. Amare puts the ball in the whole better than Murphy does, plain and simple. Murphy does it better beyond the arc, but why does Cleveland need that? Don't they have 3 guys that are pretty high up in the league already. Murphy also gets a bit more than 1 rebound a game. Amare adds the pick and roll aspect that would M U R D E R the rest of the NBA. LBJ and Amare could do it all day and win, but for shits and giggles, they'd kick it out to wide open guys for 7 3's a game. Life would be easy.