The Daily Poll - Bench Amare?

Today's question of the day (and don't think because we've had a poll for several days in a row now and we are calling this a daily poll that there will actually be a poll everyday) is whether Porter should bench Amare.

I was thinking about this for a bit last night while watching Portland / Boston on ESPN replay at 1am - if Amare comes out tonight in the first quarter and is not bringing it on the defensive end and on the glass should he be benched.

I think the obvious answer is yes. So much so that the poll result is predicted to by about 97% in favor (based on independent polling with a MOE +/- 7.2%).

But is it really that simple? No. If you bench a guy like Amare and you are a new coach without the bench cred of a Phil Jax or Popoguru you run the real risk of losing him altogether. Amare is a kid (yes, at 26 he's very much a kid) who wants to do the right thing. I don't think he's a spoiled brat of an athlete and I don't think he's the kind of guy that would tank it on purpose. He's no Vince Carter.

With Amare we've seen him lose something of his fire and get into a rut based on his trying not to get fouls and trying to balance playing under control and being aggressive and getting his points. I also suspect that he feels like he can somehow "save" himself like a relief pitcher and chooses to do so on the defensive end.

I could be wrong. He could just be lazy and uninterested but I just don't get that from him. I see an immature kid trying (and failing) to do the right thing.

Back to the question. If Porter does bench Amare would that make things worse? Is it a risk worth taking at this point? Ponder that and respond away.