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tkf
Posts: 36487
Alba Posts: 6
Joined: 8/13/2001
Member: #87
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dk7th wrote:tkf wrote:dk7th wrote:tkf wrote:KnicksFE wrote:NYDiva wrote:This reminds me a bit of the Ewing vs Olajuwon in the '90s. At the time, folks didn't realize how much better the Dream was til the Rockets beat the Knicks in the '94 Finals. I would like for this not to end the same way, honestly.As a basketball savant, I've not seen a small forward in my generation with the offensive skillset Melo has. Kobe has said he's the most difficult player to guard in the NBA, and he's right.
He has a low-post game, he's strong and can pound the ball inside. He's got a deadly mid-range game. He can take you outside, with that high arcing beauty of a shot. He can play with his back to the basket, BETTER than LeBron and Durant. He's got a wonderfully fluid first step, he can spin, he can glide, he can make the game seem like it's going in slow motion. But, he takes bad shots. He's streaky & inconsistent. He plays the game sometimes as if he's on the playground at Rucker, going one-on-one, instead of part of a team game. It's like he's JUST learning this season to trust his teammates and to play within a team concept. I would LOVE to say he was better than Durant. I am a DIEHARD Knick fan. I love Carmelo and supported the trade, although I hated to see Gallo & Felton go. But, I've got to speak on what I see about this player. He's got to shake off pretty much how he's played basketball his entire life to become the transcendent player that he absolutely CAN be. That Durant and LeBron are. While Melo is definitely one of the most difficult players to guard in the NBA, I think Dirk Nowitski is the most difficult player to guard of the last decade, considering that the NBA has never seen anything like him before, he is/was very unique as a player and deadly. I also keep hearing about his "low post game".. I don't think he has a low post game.. He post high and often faces up the defender.. he doesn't have a real post move? no spins, up and unders, drop steps or even a jump hook. I think the post game and carmelo is just so overblown.... now he will try to back down a smaller defender to get closer, but honestly that is no different than most guys who have a size advantage and really no post game... I would not call what he does a post game... Posting up to receive the ball is not having a post game, and He does this simply because he doesn't want to move without the ball to get his shot.. he much rather post up and face the defender... which he does more often than make actual post moves.. i have seen him get the ball in the low post often enough to say he has the inkling or even more than an inkling of a low-post game. but you're right he does not possess the arsenal of a true low-post player and a big reason for that is that his footwork is so bad, as are his ball and head fakes which he rarely makes use of. you mention up and under well that used to be such a big part of the game and you hardly ever see that anymore. he really doesn't have any footwork. the one move i have seen from him that could be quite effective if he could get consistent at it is the spin move from the low right block to the baseline. he made it look easy a few games ago against i forget whom, but the other night he airballed that same move. part of the problem is that his right hand is not on the backboard side of things as it would be if he was shooting from the left block. what i think he should be working on is a duncan-esque fadeaway off glass against bigger taller defenders. on smaller defenders he should be able to just rise up and shoot over them-- again using glass. it's like he's allergic to using glass. makes no sense! good post, and I agree, his footwork is not good at all, I was just addressing when people use his post game as an advantage over other scorers.. I just don't see that.. I see he usually post up to get position, but he often faces up the defender. more than anything it would benefit if he worked more off the ball, since he does have a good midrange jumper.. he needs to stop chucking the long threes.. especially since he can make the midrange shot with relative ease... He should look at how some of these other SF's work off the ball, heck alex English would be a good example.... get some old nuggets tapes.... I do see carmelo losing some athleticism already as he was not the most athletic anyway.. a way to transform his game a bit, starting now would be to make himself more elusive.... as you said he is reluctant to move off the ball or without the ball. you know what i have seen a few times this season though is he will shake off a defender off of two staggered screens starting fromt he right side between the free throw line extended and the top of the key extended and set up for a shot calmly. either the ball meets him on the left side or he has managed to get there with the ball if memory serves. this is far preferable to watch let alone far more effective. plus, if he manages to keep his head up on the dribble anyone of the screen setters can roll and he may have it in him to set them up with a crisp bounce pass. obviously he needs to be able to make that pass with his left hand but this is a part of his game he should be working on all the time: finding the open man! good observation, but as you mentioned, he doesn't do it enough. I think he is just so settled in getting the ball in his "sweet spots" that he doesn't realize that he can get easier shots by just moving a bit.... Anyone who sits around and waits for the lottery to better themselves, either in real life or in sports, Is a Loser...............
TKF
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1/29/2013 9:01 PM
