Nalod wrote:MDA had his scheme and the team was never constructed with the proper roster to run it effectively post Melo.Melo is a finisher and we lacked the facilitators to instigate the offense. Olympic ball with the all star roster is a different animal altogether.
Linsanity was a last gasp desperate attempt for MDA to demonstrate his scheme and show the world it could work. He succeeded without Melo.
When a coach is on his last year of contract and the style goes against the grain of the roster then its time for the coach to go. I don't think MDA was all that intense about wanting Melo to be traded but its logical for him to ask given the fact Melo as the focal point of the offense won't work in his scheme. Since Knicks was not interested in trading Melo (makes sense) then MDA knew it was time. I don't think he "quit" on them as much as got out of the way. Woodson did better so it was the right move. Season salvaged.
It would be silly if MDA left and Melo was traded for some odd reason.
As far as Melo being a franchise type Lebron/Kobe/Jordan player I think that is a stretch.
We can make excuses that Melo in Denver or NY has not had a strong enough team around him can be said of about any player on any team. One can also say any all star player will have its flaws hidden on an allstar USA olympic team! Even Lebron! Why? Lebron is not as good a closer as Kobe so I would expect Kobe to take the last shot. And if your team never plays in a game that goes down to the wire, then the flaw won't be exposed.
Lebron did not need in the finals to be a last shot hero. They took care of business earlier. It hid his flaw. Or exposed his strengh?
Melo is an all star player with some great skills. NY media will magnify his flaws and strengths. His success and failures too!
I don't think Melo being a franchise player is much of stretch. I think where the issues lay is that we tend to look at guys like Kobe/Jordan/Lebron and try to make comparisons. Of course, Melo is not Kobe/Lebron/Jordan...who is. Jordan is the greatest to ever play, Lebron is not that far off and Lebron is the best in the game right now and will be considered an all time great when it's all said and done.
Melo is a fantastic player in his own right and I don't think pointing to the overall stregth of teams he played on his an excuse. On all the teams in Denver they were never heavy favorites to win anything. The only year when they were considered a serious contender the team went to the WCF. We've been elimited two years in a row becuase the team was decimaited by injuries both years.
People will point to what Lebron did in Cleveland. Amazing but I don't think there is another player in the league who could have done that. It what make Lebron, Lebron. A SF who can handle the ball like a PG and can rebound like a PF.
Melo, as the man, the franchise player, is going to get the lion's share of the blame when things don't go right. It's to be expected. The Knicks have put together a sold team this year and I'm excited to see what we can do.
This is a make or break year for Melo. This is going to be his first full year with the Kicks with a full tranining camp and a normal NBA schedule. Melo is going to have a huge year for us.
7/31/2012 9:06 AM
