CrushAlot wrote:

mreinman wrote:

dk7th wrote:sadly, i have heard that when he "trusts his teammates," only then he is a willing passer. if that is true it speaks to low character or a very shallow primadonna-like person. the super-max contract kind of reflects that.

i prefer to think that he has come to his senses, is getting some mentoring from the right people in fisher and jackson, and realizes his career is only going to continue winding down. i think he has always possessed the skills but not the will or the common sense to play the right way.

always felt that way while the melo defenders down deep did not believe that he was capable. "he is a scorer! that is what scorers do! why do you expect him to be someone that he is not?" Hogwash ... he had the talent and was wasting it.

I can't recall anyone saying what you claim. I do recall guys interpreting words he said to mean something else, suggesting he was at odds with the coach, calling out his teammates etc. the search to find fault at all levels was pretty intense.

I don't care ... I have been frustrated for years with the way he played and hated it and never excused it. I knew he could do this but was not sure who can convince him. When phil was hired, I hoped that phil was that guy but I started to doubt that this was going to happen. Now it actually happened and he is making passing that I have been begging him to make. simple passes like passing out of the double and triple teams in the post. Never ever an excuse for the way he was playing.

He finally has gotten it. Would love to see the phil book that comes out in ten years that walks us through this process.

WaltLongmire wrote:Have to say this, and I've been a pretty strong critic of Anthony many times...

I truly believe that he was a bit shaken with the stuff that came from Phil in the press about team over individual, and also the post draft fallout.

He took some hits in the press, too, although I know many of you still believe that reporters were making things up.

Something happened at some point...who knows, maybe he even changed on that summer cruise- have to think that he talked to James, Wade, Paul, etc. about his situation.

I still see the Puerto Rico get together as a turning point for him as a team leader, and this was further enhanced by the bond that developed with KP.

Seemed to take him a little longer to buy into the mystical "Triangle Culture" that some talk about, but he has clearly changed his emphasis on the court in a drastic way, and is almost looking like a completely different player.

This was arguably the most economical good game I have seen him play in terms of what he had to do to be good.

Pretty amazing transformation- not something you expect to see from an "old dog" player, but it is arguably the most intriguing development I've ever seen with a player on the Knicks.

Big game for Melo in SA against arguably the best defending SF in the league.

well said as usual walt.

gunsnewing wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:

mreinman wrote:

dk7th wrote:sadly, i have heard that when he "trusts his teammates," only then he is a willing passer. if that is true it speaks to low character or a very shallow primadonna-like person. the super-max contract kind of reflects that.

i prefer to think that he has come to his senses, is getting some mentoring from the right people in fisher and jackson, and realizes his career is only going to continue winding down. i think he has always possessed the skills but not the will or the common sense to play the right way.

always felt that way while the melo defenders down deep did not believe that he was capable. "he is a scorer! that is what scorers do! why do you expect him to be someone that he is not?" Hogwash ... he had the talent and was wasting it.

I can't recall anyone saying what you claim. I do recall guys interpreting words he said to mean something else, suggesting he was at odds with the coach, calling out his teammates etc. the search to find fault at all levels was pretty intense.

What does that have to do with this thread? Classic smug deflection from good ol Crush

Huh?

mreinman wrote:

gunsnewing wrote:

mreinman wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:

mreinman wrote:

dk7th wrote:sadly, i have heard that when he "trusts his teammates," only then he is a willing passer. if that is true it speaks to low character or a very shallow primadonna-like person. the super-max contract kind of reflects that.

i prefer to think that he has come to his senses, is getting some mentoring from the right people in fisher and jackson, and realizes his career is only going to continue winding down. i think he has always possessed the skills but not the will or the common sense to play the right way.

always felt that way while the melo defenders down deep did not believe that he was capable. "he is a scorer! that is what scorers do! why do you expect him to be someone that he is not?" Hogwash ... he had the talent and was wasting it.

I can't recall anyone saying what you claim. I do recall guys interpreting words he said to mean something else, suggesting he was at odds with the coach, calling out his teammates etc. the search to find fault at all levels was pretty intense.

I don't care ... I have been frustrated for years with the way he played and hated it and never excused it. I knew he could do this but was not sure who can convince him. When phil was hired, I hoped that phil was that guy but I started to doubt that this was going to happen. Now it actually happened and he is making passing that I have been begging him to make. simple passes like passing out of the double and triple teams in the post. Never ever an excuse for the way he was playing.

He finally has gotten it. Would love to see the phil book that comes out in ten years that walks us through this process.

I don't think it's worth engaging with him on this thread and this topic. He is only going to keep deflecting and bring long up other things that have no relevance to how Melo is playing TODAY. Everyone sees that Melo has responded to the criticism from fans, media, fish & Phil. That's all that matters. Let Crush believe whatever the hell he wants to believe in his own head

fair enough ... hard to stay silent in regards to the obvious misclarification. Now I know how Nix feels when us idiots talk about the triangle

always felt that way while the melo defenders down deep did not believe that he was capable. "he is a scorer! that is what scorers do! why do you expect him to be someone that he is not?" Hogwash ... he had the talent and was wasting it.

WaltLongmire wrote:Have to say this, and I've been a pretty strong critic of Anthony many times...

I truly believe that he was a bit shaken with the stuff that came from Phil in the press about team over individual, and also the post draft fallout.

He took some hits in the press, too, although I know many of you still believe that reporters were making things up.

Something happened at some point...who knows, maybe he even changed on that summer cruise- have to think that he talked to James, Wade, Paul, etc. about his situation.

I still see the Puerto Rico get together as a turning point for him as a team leader, and this was further enhanced by the bond that developed with KP.

Seemed to take him a little longer to buy into the mystical "Triangle Culture" that some talk about, but he has clearly changed his emphasis on the court in a drastic way, and is almost looking like a completely different player.

This was arguably the most economical good game I have seen him play in terms of what he had to do to be good.

Pretty amazing transformation- not something you expect to see from an "old dog" player, but it is arguably the most intriguing development I've ever seen with a player on the Knicks.

Big game for Melo in SA against arguably the best defending SF in the league.

kawhi leonard is an elite defender, a top 5 player. melo is going to be tested to maintain his focus and poise, make the right decisions, not take forced shots when passes are to be made.

mreinman wrote:He finally has gotten it. Would love to see the phil book that comes out in ten years that walks us through this process.

Expanding his game?

One of the first hints of Anthony's apparent shift in philosophy came in mid-December. He had a team-high nine assists and 15 rebounds in a win over Minnesota. After the game he offered a glimpse into his new approach.

"There comes [a] time when you got to do something different to figure the game out, not be narrow-minded coming into the game," he said. "I just try to make a concerted effort at doing that and expanding that part of my game."

That's a meaningful statement from a player who's been labeled fairly or not as a me-first ball stopper throughout his career. Since that night (and really all season), Anthony's numbers prior to Wednesday's win over the Heat indicate he's getting his teammates involved at a higher rate than at any other point in his career.

- Posting and Toasting

blkexec wrote:I don't know about you guys but my best memories as a basketball player is when I was melos age. At this age everything comes together at one time. Its a beautiful thing......u still have athleticism mixed in with maturity. ....higher IQ.....better leader.....and a stable life off the court. Melo is in a good place right now. Learning to trust others is the biggest skill that he improved. He trust his teammates. ...his coach.....and especially phil jackson. He trust kobe whos most likely gives him pointers about the system ....and he has Jordan as his sponsor. So hes in a perfect situation at a perfect time in his life. I'm sure he will retire as a knick in his pursuit of a championship.

I've been very hard on melo and never thought he would play at this level this quick....he still has the iso skills to take over but he rather build up team chemistry which is called maturity.

Amen

mreinman wrote:

Knixkik wrote:Amazing how all he needed was a little help. Many of us have been saying you need to give him quality help to expect this type of result.

or maybe he needed to become a better player.

Its ok to say that melo needed to improve.

Melo is human. There are a lot of factors that go into Melo becoming this player.

To say Melo just improved doesn't seem to be a accurate analysis. Even if it was just a case of him improving, what factors lead to the improvement? Is it his age and him having a better understanding of what needs to be done? Is it Phil and Fisher being in his ear and displaying there leadership and communication skills. Is it guys like Affalo, O'Quinn, Lopez, Kristap, Calderon being like able lunch pale guys who he feels at piece with? Is it the triangle system that fits his skill set? Maybe its a combination of all these things.

Probably the most accurate analysis to why Melo has improved has to do with the human elements.

Ira wrote:Someone said that the Spurs haven't lost this season in San Antonio. If that's true, beating them in their place would put the league on notice. But, like you say, it's by no means a must win. So we have everything to gain and nothing to lose on Friday.

they are 20-0 at home