Amare Stoudemire - Chris Bosh

Boshosaurus Rex and STAT, respectively.

I wrote this elsewhere (in a forum) in a discussion as to whether or not you would rather have Amare Stoudemire or Chris Bosh on your team. I found that this practically wrote itself, as there's so much to talk about on both subjects, so I imagine I will be writing a few of these on some hot topics. Feel free to discuss amongst yourselves the merits of both in the comments, make inflammatory remarks about my writing, etc. Copy+Paste time!
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I'll try to lend an objective opinion on the various aspects of their game, and let you guys decide. Clearly a lot of people here do not watch an awful lot of Bosh, and clearly some of the people here do not watch an awful lot of Amare. Here's a comparative analysis on both of their games, on the main discussion points that are being thrown out there, many of which are misguided.

First, lets start with offense.

Back to the basket, Bosh has a bit of an edge depending on who the defender is. Bosh is listed at 230 but... I think he might be 230 when he's completely soaking wet and carrying some dumbbells (Which he doesn't seem to use). When Bosh plays against physically imposing players with a good idea of actual post defense (as opposed to people who are just shot blockers), he has an awful time. People like PJ Brown, Kurt Thomas, Marcus Camby, and even someone like Reggie Evans who is no where near as tall as he ought to be to guard someone like Bosh, they all play him extremely well because he simply doesn't have the upper body strength to get any kind of position, and Bosh is much less effective if he's shooting 15-20 foot jumpers than if he's shooting 3-8 foot post shots. That said, against undisciplined defenders, people who are solely shot blockers, and people who aren't particularly physical, Bosh is hard to stop. He's very savvy in the post, is very good about giving ball fakes, and possesses very good footwork, to go along with a soft touch under the basket. Against undisciplined players like Steven Hunter, Darko Milicic, and pretty much anyone else who will jump at any opportunity for a block, Bosh dominates.

On the flip side, Amare actually seems to play better against the very players that Bosh struggles with, down in the post, as a lot of his post game is face up. (Much to the ire of the general populace here on the board. Nothing wrong with a face up game, fellas. High efficiency shots are high efficiency shots.) Amare's underutilized back-to-the-basket game is more refined than one would be led to believe by watching highlights... in fact, for people who don't watch a lot of Suns games, you probably wouldn't even know he *has* a back to the basket game. Truth be told, he has a sick fall away jumper and is very good about showing the ball but keeping it in check on ball fakes. The Phoenix offense doesn't really run with him playing back to the basket (the only player who gets posted up on the whole team is Boris Diaw, because he has trouble scoring any other way), but his face up game is nothing short of phenomenal and he may very well be the best face up big man in the league. (Zach Randolph and Kevin Garnett would be the other options, off the top of my head.) He gets high percentage looks, draws a lot of fouls, and can hit the 15-18 foot jumper with no trouble at all... and he's been working on a three point shot in the off season, which I can't say I'm thrilled about, but it's another dimension to his game. Moderation is all I have to say about that. I'd rather he not turn into Sheed. Amare is one of the best finishers, if not the best finisher, around the basket, in the league. The man can make any shot within four feet of the basket, and gets more and one plays off of shots that he has no business making than any other big man in the league, and you combine that with the fact that he has hands like a wide receiver (he was being scouted as a wide out in high school, but went with basketball), and catches basically anything that is thrown in his direction, you've got a rather strong chance of getting him a bucket or a foul any time you throw a pass in his general direction.

Where Bosh really separates himself from Amare is passing. To be blunt, Amare pretty much doesn't pass. He'll make the occasional flashy pass that could fool a few people into thinking that he is/ought to be a great passer... but he's not. Every time they run him as a passer in the high post, it ends up being a hand-off play to someone behind him. Bosh, however, has proven that he can pass out of the post very well,and has a good head for finding the open team mate. As his career progresses, I think that we ought to be seeing him put up 3.5-4.5 APG for a couple years, which is a hell of a number for a big man.

Aaaaand on defense. This is where a lot of the arguments have come in. The difference, however, isn't as large as one would be led to imagine. Chris Bosh is a more disciplined defender, you'll him leave his man on a bad rotation on occasion (not as much as Amare), and you'll see him give up less lay-ups from over aggression than Amare... but if you see him intimidate a slasher under the basket, you've caught a somewhat rare occasion, and should celebrate. Bosh is a weak side shot blocker, and simply does not have the strength under the hoop to even give the hard foul properly, when he needs to. It's a good thing he's playing PF in Toronto, because they desperately need another big man down there to stop the penetration from succeeding every time. On the flip side, you'll never mistake Amare for Alonzo, but when you do see Amare step up, it's a disheartening event. A good for-instance would be in the Laker series last year when Amare ripped the ball out of Lamar Odom's hands on an easy lay up attempt. Not only did he kill the shot, he killed Laker momentum and he proved that it you outright challenge him, you will have to pay the price.

As far as man to man low post defense go, both are borderline atrocious. Amare has gotten better than before, but it's still very bad... and Bosh simply isn't strong enough. The strength issue continually plagues Bosh and, I think, if he had another 15-20 pounds on him, he would probably be the undisputed better player out of himself, Amare and Dwight. He'd be strong enough to finish with contact under the hoop. He could actually establish position on the block. He could step up and intimidate on defense. He would not get hunched on any rebound attempt against a guy who boxes out properly.

One last tidbit: In every playoff series Amare has ever been in, excepting his rookie year, he was the most efficient, productive player in that entire round. And he was also the most productive player in the entire playoffs on both occasions. He's proven that he rises to the occasion when his team needs it.

In short, I'd pick Amare to build a team around. It would be easier to build a team around a player like Amare than a player like Bosh. That said, it would be much easier to plug Bosh into most teams than it would to plug Amare into most teams. Amare's ego could cause issues with a lot of players around the league. Hard to fault him though, as it's one of the things that makes him a special player as well.