bigbasketballs wrote:mreinman wrote:bigbasketballs wrote:mreinman wrote:Knicks1969 wrote:dk7th wrote:Knixkik wrote:bigbasketballs wrote:Knicks1969 wrote:I never liked PP's game until after Garnett's arrival. I always thought he was arrogant and trigger happy. When Garnett and Allen arrived,PP changed his total approach and became a better all around BB player.
I think the idea Pierce suddenly became a different player is more myth than reality. Yeah, he took less shots. He now has Allen, KG in the starting line-up and a true PG distributing. Of course he was going to take less shots.
Is that really a big deal considering the team they were before that?
Pierce led celtics teams in his prime that did not make the playoffs. Teams with more talent than the Knicks have had in some years with Melo. But once you get really good players alongside you and your workload decreases, you tend to round out your game a little bit. Pierce made the right adjustments, but he wasn't a much different player. He gets associated with that championship team though, so it makes him a better player, leader, etc by association. Winning changes the perception of everyone, and it becomes easy to say he became a better player.
that's a ridiculous take. who'd the celtics have other than pierce that were anything? jamison whose game was total shyt and an ineffective kenny anderson. who were the others? in any case, why not consider that these inferior, overrated players he was stuck with actually hindered his ability to use the skills he already possessed, such as:
footwork phenomenal
maintaining his dribble during footwork
ballhandling superior
passing skills are fantastic
pick and roll game superb
terrific ball faker and head faker
eager and capable defender... underrated
pierce is cluuuuuttttccch
Your explanation makes it easier to see why Pierce and Carmelo to be viewed as similar players. To be honest, PP is not a bad dude to be compared to.
They are not the same, PP is/was the player that we hope melo can become.
Forgetting that Pierce is more myth than reality, anyone expecting Melo to significantly morph his game in year 13 is just paying rhetorical games.
I don't expect melo to change, I PRAY that phil can get into his head and there are signs that there is somebody in melo's head.
Melo does not need to morph his game, it takes a mindset transplant to see that playing like he did last night is what everybody desperately wants from him.
As noted last night, he's gotten a triple double as a Knick before. He's a willing passer. Some night more than others. Some nights the passes will convert into assists more than others. Some nights the defense will give him different things.
It was a game. Why try to turn it into a turning point? That happens overs months, not quarters.
Because I saw the same type of play in Sacramento and because I am sure that Fisher and Phil are hammering it into his head. Also, the fans, at least the smarter ones are just not going for this crappy selfish style anymore and are pretty much sick of his incredibly selfish shot selection down the stretch of games.
I think that a light went on and it won't change overnight but I think that he may be starting to realize that a change is a must. Now the question is if he can fight his hunger for buckets every single night.
Don't now if he can do this consistently or if he really wants to but as a diehard, I am holding out hope. I know that he is capable of having many of these types of games.
so here is what phil is thinking ....
12/18/2015 12:26 AM
