TripleThreat wrote:mreinman wrote:Why do we have to live and die with his jumper? Can't he find another way to help the team and stop shooting us out of games when he is off?
Melo has survived in the NBA on raw talent and instincts. He's not a cerebral player. He can't read a defense. He can't read the floor well. It impacts his ability to move off the ball, his passing ability and how to exploit defenses who have to double team him consistently.
If Chuck Hayes ( now a Raptor, but played mostly for the Rockets) was born seven feet tall, he'd be on his way to the Hall Of Fame. H sadly only grew to about 6'4. Dude however is very smart as a player. Can read the floor, can see how an offensive set is trying to attack his team and his position, can see things happening several seconds before they actually happen. In that way, it's like playing chess. Some players can think 8 moves ahead, many players simply cannot. Hayes has about 1/1000th of Melo's talent, however he knows where to be, what to do and why it's important. Any by watching other players, seeing tendencies and seeing how he had to defend other players, Hayes picked up enough in reverse to contribute a little offensively as well. If you understand defense as a core level, you understand how they will try to stop you. Then you learn how the other team adjusts and counter adjusts to you, you learn you have to do the same on the other side of the floor.
Being a better defender makes you a better offensive player. You realize how you would try to stop yourself, and you realize that's how teams are going to come at you, and you work on how to exploit that. Move. Counter move. Just like chess.
But Melo is a low IQ gunner who could care less about defense. He can't read a defense and he appears not to care to learn how.
It's sad too, because as a natural skill set, Melo is offensively complete and absolutely offensively lethal. If he put in the hard work, he'd be unstoppable with the ball in his hands. Because he has no functional weakness in creating his own shot on a 1 vs 1 level.
The only sports comparison I can find to Melo is Manny Ramirez. Born with incredible raw talent. 10 cent head. Given enough opportunity, will default to being a jerk.
This under-utilization of his talent is at the core of so many frustrations with Melo. I don't care how virulent the personal attacks are upon him (raises hand), I don't believe I've seen anyone say he is not gifted. If there were any signs of diligence on his part towards learning how to adapt his game, I'm sure the esteem towards him would go up even amongst his harshest critics.
But he doesn't apply himself. I also don't think I've seen even his biggest supporters claim he is a serious student of the game either. He doesn't seem interested in the nuances whatsoever.
Working hard at scoring does not have the same value as working hard on expanding your skill set. Working Hard does not = Working Smart.
After 20 games, I see a growing consensus that didn't exist before. Most people now concede:
Melo is not a leader
Melo lapses into ISO ball quickly
Melo might not be coachable in a system
Melo lacks situational awareness at key moments
Melo gives above average effort on defense only occasionally
Many of those bullet points were contested actively only six weeks ago. I see many conceding the above points now.
Why is this? I think it is obvious that Melo only knows how to get fully energized if he gets to play ball in the style he is accustomed to. That means if he goes back to being given the green light and he's feeling it, he can get on a roll and think everything is working out for himself, if not the team. But if his shot stops falling, he looks lost and is usually unproductive otherwise. It inspires confidence in no one. It's no wonder the team actually looked briefly energized while Melo was out.
This team meltdown has highlighted this pattern. The argument that he is not surrounded by enough talent has been discredited. Some of this season's losses are Melo's fault too. He is as often incompetent during crunch time as he is focused. His lack of team play is catching up to him late in the games and he has looked more single-minded than ever in his approach whether it works or not.
At a certain point, the consensus will decisively shift into the last frontier of opinion and the majority of fans will finally accept that:
CHARACTER = DESTINY.
If Melo plays like a narcissist on the court, it is because he is a narcissist in general. The impact of his low character on the club is significant. Even if we lack contender talent, we could still play .500 ball if were an actual team. But we're not a team. Melo is at the heart of that and it will remain that way until a dominant personality is on the team that takes responsibility for how all of his teammates play.
So far, no coach has held Melo accountable. That seems to remain the case now with Fish. That's bad news for the Knicks.
12/4/2014 11:11 PM
