I couldn’t decide. But one thing I do know is that Amare is not the team leader nor does he deserve to be. Not even close. Hill and Barnes are closer to that title than Amare.

Amare is insecure and CRAVES attention… as witnessed by his number change from 32 to 1, his name change from Amare to Amaré to Amar’e, his semi-feud with Marion and D’Antoni, and his most recent All-star videos.

All of this, is not good for Amare/Suns’ future. Unless he has major success AND credit for it soon, I think it will be hard to keep him past his free agency.

Until he builds enough confidence to do what needs to be done instead of what will get him the most attention, he won’t be the team leader.

I hope they can make the team concept work

that the suns are not doing anything else.i was watching the spurs game and we had multiple chances for running and gunning like in the old days, but nash just wouldn’t he waited for shaq and then gave the ball to him. shaq IS really good this year but we should be able to switch between playing styles… that’s the way the sterns beat us year in-year out

…this is Shaq’s team. And that doesn’t worry me in the least bit. Nash is a great leader, but he doesn’t instill a fear of God into people like Shaq does. Maybe Shaq’s assertiveness is just what this formerly-soft Suns team needs to toughen them up. Think about it, before the Shaq trade, when Nash was unhappy, he would make a subtle, implied comment post-game in order to get whatever message he had across. Shaq, on the other hand, is blindingly blunt, and methinks that those kinds of attitudes from guys like him and Porter will finally light a fire under Amare’s ass, as well as the rest of the teams’.

considering what the suns had to deal with tonight, I was impressed with how the bench stepped up and got it done tonight. It was a bonding game and something to build on. Thank god for Shaq and Barbosa, they were huge, but my game ball goes to Grant Hill…Check the numbers….15 pts. , 7 reb, 4 assist, 6 STEALS……AND ONLY 1 TURNOVER on a night we had 17.

Allow me to put on my itchy trigger finger Steve Kerr hat for a moment… At this point, we let Amare go when he exercises his player option and start sending flowers and candy to Chris Bosh, right?

Now that that’s out of the way, it’s really time for Shaq to take Amare under his wing and say, “You see what I’m doing here? Smart passes, high percentage shots, minimal whining? That’s how you do it, little fella. It’s not the system or the refs that’s hurting you. It’s your head.”

I know I’ve been hard on Amare, but it would also be unfair to aim all this criticism at him without noting a marked improvement in his defense. With any luck, last night’s flameout was a rock bottom of sorts and maybe he can get his head together and figure out where he fits in the new “Diesel is the Sun” Planet Orange solar system.

Oh, and I think Kerr has earned a genius point or two given The Big Leader’s play recently, yes?

There are a lot of different qualities to leadership.

Right now, those in the camp of “Shaq is the team leader” are looking almost exclusively at the idea that a leader should “lead from the front” — i.e., by example. This is the type of leader that is easiest to recognize and, perhaps, the most influential type of leader. Shaq’s doing that in the paint on both ends, but Nash also leads from the front in regard to passing and offensive movement. Hill does it a bit with his perimeter D and clutch mindset. To some extent (a much, much lesser extent than the three previously mentioned), Amare is showing his teammates that they should all try to play defense and rebound no matter how miserably equipped you are to do so. Don’t you think that helps Sweet Lou along? This is a type of inspirational leadership.

Other types of leaders (or, attributes of leaders) would include the ability to convey a message or an ideal. You’d like to think that a coach would have this quality.

Another type is the “mastermind” — think of Peyton Manning. He’s a attention-starved a-hole. But, he’s brilliant. He leads that offense and is the leader of his team, despite his repeated disparaging remarks about his teammates. Steve Nash is the mastermind without the disparaging remarks. STAT has the attention-starved thing without the mastermind.

Let’s also not confuse being the “go-to” guy with being the leader. Often they overlap, but it is not necessarily so. How many coaches would want Jason Kidd to take the final shot of the game? Ever in his career? He may take it, but it’s never drawn up for him. Yet, he’s undeniably been the floor leader on every team. Goal-scorers on soccer teams aren’t necessarily the team captains. Think of a general — he usually sends his James Bond-type to finish off a job.

Some persons (more in sports than other aspects) are both the finisher and the leader. I’m not saying good, bad or otherwise. I am saying that certain players have certain skill sets and there are overlapping leadership qualities as well as a different set of game-finishing qualities that do not necessarily overlap.

Can he finish the game?

He’s been a great player for the team this year. However, where is he at the end of the game? Last night, he had an explosive 16 in the first half but finished the game with 24. Obviously, his scoring was needed in the first half and, overall, he had an outstanding game the night after having an outstanding game.

I’m also not too thrilled with gaudy numbers against the Grizz and the Bucks. Although, he also put up good numbers against the hated Sterns. So, just as long as no one gets too overly excited about his beating up inferior opponents, I’m okay with that.

I’m worried about end-of-game production. His second halves don’t seem as good as his first halves. At least on the offensive end. He seems to play consistent, if not improved, defense as the game wears on.

This is why I don’t think he’s the finisher — even if he is the leader — for this team. Amare hasn’t proven that he can finish games unless a pick and Steve Nash is somehow involved in the play. We all know Nash can finish. Barbosa has absolutely no conscience, which is a good thing at the end of the game. JSun RichardSun (he’s back) hit a dagger three despite a bad shooting night. That’s not the point, though …

I’m concerned about Shaq’s ability to finish games strong. I think it would be a mistake to believe he needed to be fed in the post at the end of the games. Too many short front-rimmers have occurred. For the most part, it hasn’t been happnening too much. Maybe the coaching staff sees the same thing. However, all this talk of being the “leader” needs to be kept in perspective as to how to win games.

I agree with both of you that team leadership comes in all shapes and sizes. And I think Stan hit it on the head with Shaq’s early deference to Nash and Amare and his current Keyshawn give-me-the-damn-ball mentality.

Since my concern is almost always Amare-centric (since given his age and skillset he represents the best current long-term hope the Suns have for success) in terms of leadership, the question is “Do we ask more or less of STAT?” In other words, where is the bar for this guy? Should we be happy with “just” 23 and 10 every night? Should we be excited about improved defense and rebounding even if that doesn’t necessarily translate into visible floor leadership? Or should we expect him to grow into a KG-like cheerleader/force of nature?

When using Kevin Garnett as an example, I think it’s important to note that he had little choice but to become the heart and soul of an undermanned Minnesota squad from basically his rookie year forward. It’s easy to say, “Gosh, look how his fire won him a ring last year.” But I don’t think that kind of passion would necessarily have been there without the crucible of a decade of failure in Minnesota. That kind of pressure/failure combination has ever been present in STAT’s career, where despite his desire to be “da man”, he’s always had at least 2 or 3 all-star caliber players sharing a roster spot with him.

At this point any of the three can lead the team and I would feel ok.