Comparing Julius Randle to other great Knicks power forwards

Knicks: Amar’e Stoudemire brought excitement back to the Garden

Signing Amar’e Stoudemire was an exciting time for the Knicks. Fans knew how good STAT was on the Phoenix Suns and could not wait for the dynamic big man to bring his box-office playstyle to the Garden.

Unfortunately for Stoudemire and the Knicks, his body had given up on him. The heavy running of Mike D’Antoni for all those years on the Suns took a serious toll on him.

However, the first year of Amare was incredible, as he was putting up great numbers, and the Knicks were in a playoff spot. We’ll talk about the only season he was healthy, which was also his best season in New York.

Amar’e averaged 25 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists on 50% from the field.  His primarily inside scoring led to a good deal of efficient points. Stoudemire was typically criticized for lack of defensive efforts, having a negative defensive box plus-minus with the Knicks at -0.6.

The difference between Amar’s and Randle is that Randle’s defense has wildly improved under Tom Thibodeau.  If Stoudemire was not coached by a coach whose game plan is to out-score other teams his whole career, he could have been a great defender.

Randle’s efforts on both ends of the court and having more impact than just scoring are what separates him and Amar’e. Also, halfway through Stoudemire’s season, a more dynamic scorer than him was acquired by the Knicks, which made New York’s two stars a pretty redundant duo.

Speaking of that star… Here’s the guy who is the only one who probably has an edge on Julius.