TPercy wrote:No doubt Melo is a HOF..I don't there is anyone who can dispute that. The melo "haters" just believe he could be a much much better player than he currently is right now.

We have to be careful not to try so hard to put guys in a box so that we end up missing the greatness that’s already in front of us. Anthony will never be a defensive stud, a dynamic playmaker or a monster above the rim. What he is, and what he’s always been, is one heck of a scorer, a solid offensive rebounder and one incredibly fun player to watch when he gets going.

TripleThreat wrote:

nyk4ever wrote:the easiest way for melo to get people off his back is to .....

........

1) Play the game the right way
2) Sacrifice unto the greater good of the team and winning
3) Be a leader, on and off the court
4) Commit to defense, without excuses and without complaint
5) Stop saying anti team/divisive/controversial/moral killing things in the press that need to be PR massaged later in some cheap photo op or story spread
6) Show up in elite condition befitting a team's Alpha Dog and supposed leader

Remember Keyshawn Johnson? Loudmouth. Lots of excuses. Anti team attitude. All about him and what he wanted and showing off and being the showboat jack off.

And people cheered for Wayne Chrebet. NY's own Green Lantern himself. A lot of those Jets teams were horrid. But Chrebet never quit, never relented, never stopped fighting. He played the game the right way and the fans loved him.

This is what I said in a Mister Earl thread about Melo and the bitter irony of the "branding" issue. If Melo simply bought in to the team effort, played the game the right way, committed himself to defense and doing the things expected of a team veteran and leader and a professional, then the money, the endorsements, the winning, the fame, all of that, would take care of itself in it's own time.

Play the game the right way, win or lose, and I truly believe the real fans out there will appreciate that. They will understand you can't win every game and every series.

RESPECT IS EARNED.

If that concept has to actually be explained to a room full of men here, then I question how many people here can really call themselves men at all.

RESPECT

IS

EARNED

http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0012971/quotes

Coach Gary Gaines: Being perfect is not about that scoreboard out there. It's not about winning. It's about you and your relationship with yourself, your family and your friends. Being perfect is about being able to look your friends in the eye and know that you didn't let them down because you told them the truth. And that truth is you did everything you could. There wasn't one more thing you could've done. Can you live in that moment as best you can, with clear eyes, and love in your heart, with joy in your heart? If you can do that gentleman - you're perfect

Melo's biggest critics here are not because he doesn't have a championship. It's not because of his All Star berths. It's not a scoring record.

It's knowing that he didn't do everything he could, that there were things he still could have done. And he just didn't care.

Some of you care about the Hall Of Fame. All Star berths. Scoring records. NCAA championships. Player Of The Month awards. Olympic team records and medals. Which is fine, until IMHO you start to think any of that means more than character. That it means more than love of the game. That it means more than one's personal integrity and commitment to being a professional.

I think what some of you Melo ball lickers don't get is that most of the criticism Melo receives here is AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF HIS TALENT AND ABILITY. Not everyone can give more and be more on the court. Melo has the ability, he has the talent, just not the drive, character, integrity, professionalism or commitment to the team concept. It astounds me that some of this actually needs to be explained to some of you.

If Melo played the game the right way, the rest of it, the money, fame, endorsements, critics, all that stuff would take care of itself over time. Until he plays the game the rigth way though, he should be prepared to hear things he is not going to like hearing. That's what happens when you put on a Knicks jersey and give anything other that complete excellence.

gunsnewing wrote:^That. Well said TT

john stockton did not need to stoop to this level.

what, exactly, was Phil Jackson trying to tell him?

Perhaps nothing, but given Jackson’s historically — shall we say — eccentric communications skills, more likely something.

Let’s make an educated guess:

CrushAlot wrote:

TPercy wrote:No doubt Melo is a HOF..I don't there is anyone who can dispute that. The melo "haters" just believe he could be a much much better player than he currently is right now.

We have to be careful not to try so hard to put guys in a box so that we end up missing the greatness that’s already in front of us. Anthony will never be a defensive stud, a dynamic playmaker or a monster above the rim. What he is, and what he’s always been, is one heck of a scorer, a solid offensive rebounder and one incredibly fun player to watch when he gets going.

I think this kind of speaks to that.

We gave Ewing hell too and I regret that. Ewing was a warrior and elite level player on both sides. Spoiled fans we are.

When you have a player of Melo's caliber, you have to get the guys around him to play organized. Regardless of what you expect Melo to do... that guy needs his space to get buckets. No way around that....especially to close or games. Melo is cold blooded but he needs to be fresh to make it happen. Can't pound him out

EnySpree wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:

TPercy wrote:No doubt Melo is a HOF..I don't there is anyone who can dispute that. The melo "haters" just believe he could be a much much better player than he currently is right now.

We have to be careful not to try so hard to put guys in a box so that we end up missing the greatness that’s already in front of us. Anthony will never be a defensive stud, a dynamic playmaker or a monster above the rim. What he is, and what he’s always been, is one heck of a scorer, a solid offensive rebounder and one incredibly fun player to watch when he gets going.

I think this kind of speaks to that.

We gave Ewing hell too and I regret that. Ewing was a warrior and elite level player on both sides. Spoiled fans we are.

When you have a player of Melo's caliber, you have to get the guys around him to play organized. Regardless of what you expect Melo to do... that guy needs his space to get buckets. No way around that....especially to close or games. Melo is cold blooded but he needs to be fresh to make it happen. Can't pound him out

Gross EnySpree...Gross!

This is not to disparage Melo, because he will end up in the HOF just by sheer buckets and nothing else, but there is no comparison with Melo and Ewing.

Ewing made it to 2 NBA Finals, won Rookie of the Year, and made several All NBA and NBA Defensive 2nd teams through the course of his career. Melo only made 1 All NBA 2nd team.

Ewing made the NBA 50 Greatest Players ever team. Melo would be hard pressed to make the Greatest 100 let alone maybe 150.

Just facts. Better comparison is maybe Adrian Dantley or Bernard King or similar. Ewing and Melo, no. Ewing made the playoffs no matter the personel from like his 3rd year in the league to the very end.

CrushAlot wrote:

TPercy wrote:No doubt Melo is a HOF..I don't there is anyone who can dispute that. The melo "haters" just believe he could be a much much better player than he currently is right now.

We have to be careful not to try so hard to put guys in a box so that we end up missing the greatness that’s already in front of us. Anthony will never be a defensive stud, a dynamic playmaker or a monster above the rim. What he is, and what he’s always been, is one heck of a scorer, a solid offensive rebounder and one incredibly fun player to watch when he gets going.

I think this kind of speaks to that.

if he's all that the writer is cracking him up to be then he would have been past the first and second rounds more often. the article overreaches just as people, including melo, overrate melo.

CrushAlot wrote:

ChuckBuck wrote:

EnySpree wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:

TPercy wrote:No doubt Melo is a HOF..I don't there is anyone who can dispute that. The melo "haters" just believe he could be a much much better player than he currently is right now.

We have to be careful not to try so hard to put guys in a box so that we end up missing the greatness that’s already in front of us. Anthony will never be a defensive stud, a dynamic playmaker or a monster above the rim. What he is, and what he’s always been, is one heck of a scorer, a solid offensive rebounder and one incredibly fun player to watch when he gets going.

I think this kind of speaks to that.

We gave Ewing hell too and I regret that. Ewing was a warrior and elite level player on both sides. Spoiled fans we are.

When you have a player of Melo's caliber, you have to get the guys around him to play organized. Regardless of what you expect Melo to do... that guy needs his space to get buckets. No way around that....especially to close or games. Melo is cold blooded but he needs to be fresh to make it happen. Can't pound him out

Gross EnySpree...Gross!

This is not to disparage Melo, because he will end up in the HOF just by sheer buckets and nothing else, but there is no comparison with Melo and Ewing.

Ewing made it to 2 NBA Finals, won Rookie of the Year, and made several All NBA and NBA Defensive 2nd teams through the course of his career. Melo only made 1 All NBA 2nd team.

Ewing made the NBA 50 Greatest Players ever team. Melo would be hard pressed to make the Greatest 100 let alone maybe 150.

Just facts. Better comparison is maybe Adrian Dantley or Bernard King or similar. Ewing and Melo, no. Ewing made the playoffs no matter the personel from like his 3rd year in the league to the very end.

I thought he was referring to fan treatment of players.

Ewing had a love/hate relationship with both media and fans for whatever reason. I think it was his guarded and standoffish personality. No matter, he BROUGHT it day in and day out. Huge Ice bags all over his body be damned.

Melo...you really can't say the same. He doesn't always play hard, especially on the defensive end, gets way too many techs, etc. He's mostly media accessible especially social media.

Apples and oranges comparison. Ewing = Warrior that wasn't media savvy. Melo = bucket scorer/celebrity that's mastered social media.