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Dallas Mavericks: Amar’e Stoudemire Makes Them WCF Contenders

By Tom West

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Amar’e Stoudemire has now been waived by the New York Knicks and has agreed to sign with the Dallas Mavericks, who are now real WCF contenders

Amar’e Stoudemire has gone from being a terrorizing 25+ point per game scorer in Phoenix to facing endless injuries and role on the bench with the New York Knicks. Now that he’s agreed to sign with a contending team like the Dallas Mavericks, how will he be able to boost their chances at a championship?

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Stoudemire’s contract can’t become official just yet as he doesn’t clear waivers until Wednesday 5pm, ET. But now that he has been waived he’s agreed to head to Dallas so he can once again be part of a real title contender. And after being with the worst team in the league (the dismal 10-43 Knicks) maybe Stoudemire can rejuvenate his career in the same way that his ex-teammate Tyson Chandler has since joining the Mavs.

After playing 78 games averaging 25.3 points in his first year with the Knicks, Stoudemire has missed more than his share fare of playing time. Since the 2010-11 season in New York his performance has diminished and he’s played no more than 65 games in a season, and made an appearance in only 29 games in 2012-13 (with none of the latter being in the starting lineup).

As a 32-year-old big man with an injury prone record, the Mavericks will rightly have some concern in the back of their minds. However, if Stoudemire can manage to stay healthy, maybe the satisfaction of knowing he’s on a team with a chance at a deep playoff run will motivate him to try and be the Phoenix-Amar’e once more.

Dec 9, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; New York Knicks forward Amar

Stoudemire is an instant benefit to the Mavericks because once you look past Dirk Nowitzki and Tyson Chandler in the starting lineup, there really isn’t a lot left in Dallas’ front court. After losing the highly efficient Brandon Wright in a trade to acquire Rajon Rondo, the Mavs are left with a serious lack of depth. Charlie Villanueva only plays 10 minutes a game and just adds some quickness and ability to stretch the floor, and Greg Smith and Dwight Powell are hardly what every championship caliber team is looking for. Which just leaves 6’9″ Al-Farouq Aminu to play as big as possible and hustle harder than ever when Dirk and Chandler take a rest.

Even though Stoudemire may not be the All-Star he once was, he can still be the final piece in the Mavericks rotation in order for them to have the depth they need to contend in such a tough Western Conference.

Here’s what Tim MaMahon of ESPN had to say about Stoudemire joining Dallas:

"“The addition of the 6-foot-10, 245-pound Stoudemire would directly address arguably the Mavs’ biggest flaw: defensive rebounding. Stoudemire has a defensive rebounding percentage of 22.4 this season, while Wright grabbed 12.9 percent with Dallas… The Mavs’ motivation for pursuing Stoudemire is obvious. It’s not because he’s a big name. It’s because he would fill a big void.”"

He won’t be required to start, seeing as Dirk is the most ageless star in the NBA next to Tim Duncan, and Chandler has reemerged as a defensive force, so 20-25 minutes off the bench for Stoudemire could be exactly what the Mavericks need. His main role will be as the backup center, but he should also see a fair amount of time at the power forward spot when Dirk needs to take a break.

Offensively, Stoudemire brings some interior finishing to add another dynamic to the Maverick’s excellent perimeter shooting (they rank 5th in three-pointers made and have the league’s 3rd best offense with 106.3 points per game). He takes over half his shots (53 percent) from within three feet and makes 67 percent of them, which is the kind of aggressive efficiency inside that the Mavs could really benefit from.

His agility and strong finishing at the rim still makes him a weapon in the pick-and-roll game as well. It may not run like clockwork as it did with Steve Nash in Phoenix, but having an elite passer like Rondo to execute it, Stoudemire should certainly have success rolling to the basket.

In terms of defense, Stoudemire is going to be most valuable as a rebounder. Other than Chandler (who’s averaging the 6th most rebounds in the league with 11.8 a game) the Dallas Mavericks lack strong rebounders, which is the simple reason why they rank 20th in team rebounding. Stoudemire has actually had a surprisingly good season so far in this area, and when looking at his stats per 36 minutes he’s averaging 10.2 rebounds per game (which is the highest mark he’s recorded in the last eight years).

When protecting the rim, most of the work will still fall on Chandler’s shoulders. Although when he checks in off the bench, Stoudemire is far better than the other bigs that the Mavericks have at their disposal. If he keeps up his aggressive play style then he can at least be an extra big body with some quickness, that opponents will be wary of when taking the ball inside.

Dallas (36-19) are currently 5th place in the West, with just as many wins as the 3rd place Portland Trail Blazers. And while Stoudemire might not turn them into a team that has more depth and talent than the 42-9 Golden State Warriors, he still fills a void in their rotation for as long as he can stay healthy.

The Mavericks proved that they are a team to be reckoned with last year, when they took the eventual NBA champion Spurs to seven games in the first round of the playoffs. Seeing as LeBron James’ Miami Heat got blitzed in five, that says a lot about what Dallas can achieve come playoff time.

This year though, they are even better. With the additions of Tyson Chandler, Rondo, Chandler Parsons and now Stoudemire, there is no doubt that the Mavericks are a far stronger and deeper team than they were a year ago. So if their latest acquisition can manage to stay healthy long enough, then they could easily find their way into the top-four in the West.

It may be tough for them to take down a team like the Warriors if they face off at some stage, but this Dallas Mavericks team could now be a far more serious threat to make the Confrence Finals than expected.

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