JrZyHuStLa wrote:I don't see this as just one great game from Melo.

He's been doing this his whole career.

I know you love Melo but you have to be honest with yourself. Do you really think he plays hard like this his whole career?

fishmike wrote:

SlimChin wrote:

orangeblobman wrote:He gets this urge to earn a paycheck every few games, and that's not good enough. You have to ball all the time, every game.

39pts against magic

36pts against bobcats

25pts against bucks

yup, you're right—lazy superstar.

i don't know what the heck you expect from this guy...

he is, and you cant deny it. You saw how he played last night. I dont care about the fact that he was hitting shots. Everyone knows he's great at hitting buckets. Nobody has a problem with that. The problem is that was probably the first game as a Knick he gave an honest EFFORT on defense. It wasnt about adjustments or schemes, it was about EFFORT. Nothing more nothing less. I understand its the NBA, guys dont play like that every possession bla bla bla. That was the first time as a Knick Melo played hard on BOTH ends for all the time he was on the floor in the 4th qtr.

If you going to tell me Melo has given max effort since being here your a liar. He's coasted, and when things got tough he disappeared, avoided the media and made excuses. Funny how simply playing hard fixed all the problems isnt it? My favorite part is the people that actually blame this on the coach.

Even Mike Breen called him out, saying he's a good defender when the effort is there and that effort has NOT been there.

In a lot of ways last night's game was a negative eye opener rather than a great win, because now we and everyone else knows that Anthony does NOT give an honest effort most nights and this is the guy we are set to build around.

Its wonderful he sells jerseys, etc. At this point if I could trade him for CP3 I would in half a heartbeat. I want a guy who's going to lead. I think its cute he was hugging Douglas etc.

Its the start of a new era... its called "we are as good as Melo's effort on any given night"

Inspiring

Killa4luv wrote:

fishmike wrote:

SlimChin wrote:

orangeblobman wrote:He gets this urge to earn a paycheck every few games, and that's not good enough. You have to ball all the time, every game.

39pts against magic

36pts against bobcats

25pts against bucks

yup, you're right—lazy superstar.

i don't know what the heck you expect from this guy...

he is, and you cant deny it. You saw how he played last night. I dont care about the fact that he was hitting shots. Everyone knows he's great at hitting buckets. Nobody has a problem with that. The problem is that was probably the first game as a Knick he gave an honest EFFORT on defense. It wasnt about adjustments or schemes, it was about EFFORT. Nothing more nothing less. I understand its the NBA, guys dont play like that every possession bla bla bla. That was the first time as a Knick Melo played hard on BOTH ends for all the time he was on the floor in the 4th qtr.

If you going to tell me Melo has given max effort since being here your a liar. He's coasted, and when things got tough he disappeared, avoided the media and made excuses. Funny how simply playing hard fixed all the problems isnt it? My favorite part is the people that actually blame this on the coach.

Even Mike Breen called him out, saying he's a good defender when the effort is there and that effort has NOT been there.

In a lot of ways last night's game was a negative eye opener rather than a great win, because now we and everyone else knows that Anthony does NOT give an honest effort most nights and this is the guy we are set to build around.

Its wonderful he sells jerseys, etc. At this point if I could trade him for CP3 I would in half a heartbeat. I want a guy who's going to lead. I think its cute he was hugging Douglas etc.

Its the start of a new era... its called "we are as good as Melo's effort on any given night"

Inspiring

MIke Breen has no credibility whatsoever. He doesn't even like the knicks and never has. He can't wait to justify every questionable call against the knicks. He really should just quit broadcasting and be a ref, he thinks theyre the stars of the league.

I miss Johnny "Hoops" Andariese and Marv doing the knicks commentary.

JrZyHuStLa wrote:

Nalod wrote:
Melo is vince carter, Glenn Rice, glen Robinson........Great talents who earned big money and put up lots of points.

Melo has yet to demonstrate the sociopathic winning make up that was Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Kobe, Oscar, Kareem, and of all Jordan. Guys that put the franchise on your back and take them year after year. Melo is not even at the Ewing, stockton, Malone, or Barkley stage yet.

These guys are entertainers and paid to perform, not to win.

Lebron fancy's himself in the elite status and he might still get there. He is the best player on the the planet but is not at the sociaopathic level.

The Glen Rice and Glen Robinson comparisons are way off. They have career averages of 18/4 and 20/6 respectively. The 25/6 career average for Anthony is on a whole different plateau.

I agree, he's not Kobe, Magic, Jordan, etc. nor will he ever be. But you're talking about the top 5 or 10 greatest players of all time, and anyone can tell you he'll never be there. But the verdict isn't out on him being comnpared against Ewing, Malone, or Barkley yet.

Theyre off for a number of reasons. Glen Rise was a one dimensional scorer, who was not the go-to guy on his team. Big Dog was one of a big 3, he didn't play any defense, and he wasn't clutch at all. I remember in the playoffs T-mac was in his ear saying you got no heart. ANd he looked nervous as hell.

Neither of those are Melo.

Where are people blasting the "solid defender" Jeffries for his defensive effort on a non-contended shot?

I miss Marv with Butch Beard doing the NYK commentary.

orangeblobman wrote:He gets this urge to earn a paycheck every few games, and that's not good enough. You have to ball all the time, every game.

Funny, because I don't remember Danilo Gallinari bringing it every night.

Killa4luv wrote:

martin wrote:

Moonangie wrote:And from last night's game it's clear that Melo could do it regularly as well, if he chooses to. He shouldn't be expected to issue playoff-caliber performances for 82 games a season, but we are 8 games from the playoffs, so now would be a good time to keep the lantern burning. And obviously in the playoffs is all in every game.

I am not 100% sure what you mean by that statement, but guys like Kobe, LeBron, Wade, Jordan, Isiah, Bird, Magic play/played just about 99% of all their games like it was a playoff-caliber game.

And that's what separates them from Melo, Amare, Bosh. Balls out, both ends of court, 100% all the time. Regular season or playoffs. Definition of superstar.

Really? I guess Shaq wasn't a superstar then. He took off whole portions of the season and has always been an underachiever on the glass. He never won a rebounding title.

Don't start changing the definition of these words.

BTW was/is Steve Nash a superstar? A guy who won 2 MVPs

Hey if you want to nitpick, go ahead. Melo is 26 and should be putting in effort all over the place every day. If you want to compare a 35 year old Shaq who needed to take time off, or a 35 year old Tim Duncan who does the same, be my guest. Both of those guys at 26 dominated both ends of the court, and if they didnt, they still gave 100% effort every night.

I have to tell you, I have only watched Nash over the past 2-3 years, and he is not a defensive stalwart. Dude is 38 and still gives more effort than Melo and Amare on a regular basis. Of the guys I listed as superstars, physical dominance was part of what made them superstars.

martin wrote:

Moonangie wrote:And from last night's game it's clear that Melo could do it regularly as well, if he chooses to. He shouldn't be expected to issue playoff-caliber performances for 82 games a season, but we are 8 games from the playoffs, so now would be a good time to keep the lantern burning. And obviously in the playoffs is all in every game.

I am not 100% sure what you mean by that statement, but guys like Kobe, LeBron, Wade, Jordan, Isiah, Bird, Magic play/played just about 99% of all their games like it was a playoff-caliber game.

And that's what separates them from Melo, Amare, Bosh. Balls out, both ends of court, 100% all the time. Regular season or playoffs. Definition of superstar.

I'm sorry, but the whitewashing going on with some of these players is getting to be ridiculous. Back in 2006 Kobe quit in Game 7 against the Suns in the playoffs. He quit DURING the 7th game of a playoff series. We just watched Lebron quit during last year's playoffs against the Celtics and has consistently taken off games during the regular season. I listened to an interview a while back with Kevin Mchale and he talked about how the 86 Celtics didn't take the regular season seriously at all and that Bird was so bored that he spent an entire game shooting left-handed. Also, even though they weren't mentioned, I feel the need to point out that under Poppovich the Spurs have won 4 championships since 99 but treat the regular season as if it doesn't matter; to the point where they regularly sit players to get them more rest.