blkexec wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:What Melo can do is score big in tough situations--lets be honest he can make shots and thats still a huge skill whether people understand it or not.

What JR can do is ......
What Crawford can do is......
What Westbrook can do is......

There are many players in the NBA that can score points. But how many of those players can elevate their team? Vs deflating their team?

I've played a lot of basketball, and this can be seen at all levels. There are guys like Melo who score almost every point.....Then on the last play, he decides to pays because he has 3 people on him.....Someone misses a wide open shot, and Melo goes crazy. How can you miss that open shot, when I'm making tough shots all game over two people.

VS

There are scorers (Lebron) that also know how to give you the ball in your sweet spot, instead of passing as a last option, because thats their only option.

BASKETBALL 101

LeBron's role and Melo's role are completely different..I'm a little embarrassed to have to explain it to guys who talk ball all year round...Melo is not there to initiate offense, LeBron is...Melo is often the guy who gets the ball when the clock is running out and all else fails..So I'm not sure how Melo should be hitting guys in their sweet spots..

holfresh wrote:

blkexec wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:What Melo can do is score big in tough situations--lets be honest he can make shots and thats still a huge skill whether people understand it or not.

What JR can do is ......
What Crawford can do is......
What Westbrook can do is......

There are many players in the NBA that can score points. But how many of those players can elevate their team? Vs deflating their team?

I've played a lot of basketball, and this can be seen at all levels. There are guys like Melo who score almost every point.....Then on the last play, he decides to pays because he has 3 people on him.....Someone misses a wide open shot, and Melo goes crazy. How can you miss that open shot, when I'm making tough shots all game over two people.

VS

There are scorers (Lebron) that also know how to give you the ball in your sweet spot, instead of passing as a last option, because thats their only option.

BASKETBALL 101

LeBron's role and Melo's role are completely different..I'm a little embarrassed to have to explain it to guys who talk ball all year round...Melo is not there to initiate offense, LeBron is...Melo is often the guy who gets the ball when the clock is running out and all else fails..So I'm not sure how Melo should be hitting guys in their sweet spots..

Melo didn't get a huge contract to hit guys in their sweet spot. Thats not his role. It would be nice, but thats not him. He's a scorer, and he gets paid to score bugets. I think you are reading too much into my words. Do I think Melo should be a max player, because he gets buckets? no....

Do I value a player who knows how to score and also understands how to pass it to his players in their sweet spot? yes.... But thats how I look at basketball.... And how I value players..... And why I think players that continues to get triple doubles are more valuable to a team than Melo scoring buckets. But thats my opinion. Everybody sees basketball from a different set of eyes.....So I respect that.

Lebron and Melo are two different players.

Lebron and anybody in the NBA are two different players.

Lebron is an experiment somebody made up.....He's not even real to me.

And the reason why he gets hit all the time with no calls, is similar to when Shaq got abused. Big guys don't get the same calls as thin guys, because they usually react physically to every touch. And yes, this is why Lebron flops all the time. He knows thats the only way to get calls, with refs that don't make calls because he's bigger than everybody else.

Don't look too deep into my words.....We are saying the same things.

Uptown wrote:

fishmike wrote:The Chasm between fodder and meaningful conversation around here is measured in equally large units. Great thread

Seriously....What the hell is the point of this thread?!?! That LeBron is better than Melo? No Sh!t!

Great threads provoke sustainable conversation.

Here endeth the lesson.

Carmelo is one of the dominant players of his time - BUT... probably won't ever fit into that all-time great conversation. When all is said and done, he'll likely be grouped in with folks like Bernard King, Dominique, Paul Pierce, Vince Carter, T-Mac. Great scorers, dominant players. But Bernard is an afterthought in the era of Dr J, Larry, and then Jordan. Dominique is lost in the world of Jordan. All those other guys in the shadow of Kobe.

But enough about Carmelo.

Shumpert and JR Smith are still inconsistent, unreliable chumps EVEN with the great Lebron. The Cavs team in the finals is now is about equalt in talent to Carmelo's best Knick teams.

Lebron is shooting like 30% in the finals, taking over 30 shots/game. Reeks of ball hog/isolation/bad coaching. Run some plays. Do a 2 man game the whole game with Mozgov. Where the great (max-salary potential) Tristan Thompson on offense?

holfresh wrote:

blkexec wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:What Melo can do is score big in tough situations--lets be honest he can make shots and thats still a huge skill whether people understand it or not.

What JR can do is ......
What Crawford can do is......
What Westbrook can do is......

There are many players in the NBA that can score points. But how many of those players can elevate their team? Vs deflating their team?

I've played a lot of basketball, and this can be seen at all levels. There are guys like Melo who score almost every point.....Then on the last play, he decides to pays because he has 3 people on him.....Someone misses a wide open shot, and Melo goes crazy. How can you miss that open shot, when I'm making tough shots all game over two people.

VS

There are scorers (Lebron) that also know how to give you the ball in your sweet spot, instead of passing as a last option, because thats their only option.

BASKETBALL 101

LeBron's role and Melo's role are completely different..I'm a little embarrassed to have to explain it to guys who talk ball all year round...Melo is not there to initiate offense, LeBron is...Melo is often the guy who gets the ball when the clock is running out and all else fails..So I'm not sure how Melo should be hitting guys in their sweet spots..

+100....Melo cannot do some of the things that Lebron can do. Melo cannot initiate offense the way Lebron does which goes with out saying. Melo is a scorer in the molds of Dominique, Dantley, Gervin..guys who are natural born scorers. Should Melo pass the ball more? Of course, but he's not going to break down the D from the top of the key, drive, draw defenders and kick it out for open looks. Not his game. His best attribute with passing is when he's doubled in the high post and he hits a backdoor cutter or a teammate open on the weakside wing. Sometimes he's a willing passer out of the double and sometimes he tales matters into his own hands and trusts his own shot more than his teammates. But this isn't new. We new this about Melo the moment the trade went down.

Uptown wrote:

holfresh wrote:

blkexec wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:What Melo can do is score big in tough situations--lets be honest he can make shots and thats still a huge skill whether people understand it or not.

What JR can do is ......
What Crawford can do is......
What Westbrook can do is......

There are many players in the NBA that can score points. But how many of those players can elevate their team? Vs deflating their team?

I've played a lot of basketball, and this can be seen at all levels. There are guys like Melo who score almost every point.....Then on the last play, he decides to pays because he has 3 people on him.....Someone misses a wide open shot, and Melo goes crazy. How can you miss that open shot, when I'm making tough shots all game over two people.

VS

There are scorers (Lebron) that also know how to give you the ball in your sweet spot, instead of passing as a last option, because thats their only option.

BASKETBALL 101

LeBron's role and Melo's role are completely different..I'm a little embarrassed to have to explain it to guys who talk ball all year round...Melo is not there to initiate offense, LeBron is...Melo is often the guy who gets the ball when the clock is running out and all else fails..So I'm not sure how Melo should be hitting guys in their sweet spots..

+100....Melo cannot do some of the things that Lebron can do. Melo cannot initiate offense the way Lebron does which goes with out saying. Melo is a scorer in the molds of Dominique, Dantley, Gervin..guys who are natural born scorers. Should Melo pass the ball more? Of course, but he's not going to break down the D from the top of the key, drive, draw defenders and kick it out for open looks. Not his game. His best attribute with passing is when he's doubled in the high post and he hits a backdoor cutter or a teammate open on the weakside wing. Sometimes he's a willing passer out of the double and sometimes he tales matters into his own hands and trusts his own shot more than his teammates. But this isn't new. We new this about Melo the moment the trade went down.

I haven't heard anybody on this site say Melo should be more like Lebron.....as far as his basketball skill set. But I'm sure Melo is reflecting on his own leadership style and how he can improve on it, based on JR's turn around when he went to Clevland. Even JR said Melo hasn't talked to him this much when they were teammates. So Melo has room to grow as far as his leadership. But all Melo can do with his basketball skills is improve what he's already good at.

mreinman wrote:

Uptown wrote:

holfresh wrote:

blkexec wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:What Melo can do is score big in tough situations--lets be honest he can make shots and thats still a huge skill whether people understand it or not.

What JR can do is ......
What Crawford can do is......
What Westbrook can do is......

There are many players in the NBA that can score points. But how many of those players can elevate their team? Vs deflating their team?

I've played a lot of basketball, and this can be seen at all levels. There are guys like Melo who score almost every point.....Then on the last play, he decides to pays because he has 3 people on him.....Someone misses a wide open shot, and Melo goes crazy. How can you miss that open shot, when I'm making tough shots all game over two people.

VS

There are scorers (Lebron) that also know how to give you the ball in your sweet spot, instead of passing as a last option, because thats their only option.

BASKETBALL 101

LeBron's role and Melo's role are completely different..I'm a little embarrassed to have to explain it to guys who talk ball all year round...Melo is not there to initiate offense, LeBron is...Melo is often the guy who gets the ball when the clock is running out and all else fails..So I'm not sure how Melo should be hitting guys in their sweet spots..

+100....Melo cannot do some of the things that Lebron can do. Melo cannot initiate offense the way Lebron does which goes with out saying. Melo is a scorer in the molds of Dominique, Dantley, Gervin..guys who are natural born scorers. Should Melo pass the ball more? Of course, but he's not going to break down the D from the top of the key, drive, draw defenders and kick it out for open looks. Not his game. His best attribute with passing is when he's doubled in the high post and he hits a backdoor cutter or a teammate open on the weakside wing. Sometimes he's a willing passer out of the double and sometimes he tales matters into his own hands and trusts his own shot more than his teammates. But this isn't new. We new this about Melo the moment the trade went down.

well some of us thought that phil would be the one to change what we all know.

I guess some of us were pretty dumb to think that

melo aint changing ... he is what he is ... what a pity. You should never have to say that about your super super super maxi

Melo as is is a very good player and nice asset to have. Its up to Pjax to match the right pieces with Melo' s talents.

yellowboy90 wrote:

holfresh wrote:

blkexec wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:What Melo can do is score big in tough situations--lets be honest he can make shots and thats still a huge skill whether people understand it or not.

What JR can do is ......
What Crawford can do is......
What Westbrook can do is......

There are many players in the NBA that can score points. But how many of those players can elevate their team? Vs deflating their team?

I've played a lot of basketball, and this can be seen at all levels. There are guys like Melo who score almost every point.....Then on the last play, he decides to pays because he has 3 people on him.....Someone misses a wide open shot, and Melo goes crazy. How can you miss that open shot, when I'm making tough shots all game over two people.

VS

There are scorers (Lebron) that also know how to give you the ball in your sweet spot, instead of passing as a last option, because thats their only option.

BASKETBALL 101

LeBron's role and Melo's role are completely different..I'm a little embarrassed to have to explain it to guys who talk ball all year round...Melo is not there to initiate offense, LeBron is...Melo is often the guy who gets the ball when the clock is running out and all else fails..So I'm not sure how Melo should be hitting guys in their sweet spots..

Melo nd Lebron are different but Melo makes the separation more than it should be. While Melo role is different from lebron he should be passing more. He should at least pass the ball like Blake Griffin did this year.

blake ... good comp.

melo is not lebron is a copout and ignoring the point. of course he is not lebron.

holfresh wrote:

technomaster wrote:Shumpert and JR Smith are still inconsistent, unreliable chumps EVEN with the great Lebron. The Cavs team in the finals is now is about equalt in talent to Carmelo's best Knick teams.

Very good assessment on LeBron vs. Melo..But you just defined role players in JR and Shump..If they weren't inconsistent they would be stars...The problem now is what they experienced with the Knicks..They are put in a situation where more is needed...They need to now play like second fiddle players...You will see their warts when this happens...

Shump and JR are great when you look at them as your 4th/5th/6th options on offense. You can forgive JR Smith for a few boneheaded fouls and fouling out when he's not a top option. You can forgive Shumpert when he makes a brilliant defensive play in overtime, then goes for an out of control layup in a one-on-one situation.

But Cleveland's team NOW is better than the 2013-2014 Knicks that got knocked out by the Pacers from a talent perspective - mostly because Melo had his damaged shoulder. It's fascinating to see how even this team resorts to isolations/one-on-5 play just like the Knicks did.

Minimally if they want to save Lebron's energy, have the other guys dribble the ball up and hand it to Lebron at half court. And come on, run some plays.