Carmelo officially retiring!

[RF2044]

I think Carmelo Anthony is a lot like Dominique Wilkins. Great players that were just never in the right situation to win a championship. I hate how much players are often judged simply on whether or not they ever won a championship. There are plenty of legends that it never worked out for for one reason or another. Was Melo quite as good as LeBron? No. But does Dwayne Wade ever win a championship if the Heat front office doesn't make moves to get Shaq or LeBron? I doubt it. What if Wade and Melo switch places? Does anything change?

Luckily, Carmelo is defined by more than just his NBA career. He won a title at Syracuse and multiple Olympic gold medals. Unlike Dominique.

But if you're just looking at their respective NBA careers in isolation, I understand the comparison.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

MJ changed his game and started to win Championships when he got that 15 to 20 foot jumper down.
Then he became unguardable, and starting his run of Championships.

Give Melo Pippen and Phil and he would win championships as well.

 

[sufandu]

MJ changed his game and started to win Championships when he got that 15 to 20 foot jumper down.
Then he became unguardable, and starting his run of Championships.

He evolved, but he was still the best player in the league before winning his first championship. The championship didn't suddenly make him the best player. That was the point of the post. What changed more, however was what was around him. His teammates improved. Some grew into their roles and others were added to the roster to replace less effective players. And he got a coach that changed a lot of the strategy.

 

[two3zone]

Give Melo Pippen and Phil and he would win championships as well.

Give Mitch Richmond Pippen and he has a few.

Pippen is criminally underrated, possibly the most underrated athlete of all time.

 

[Cuse99&01]

Give Mitch Richmond Pippen and he has a few.

Pippen is criminally underrated, possibly the most underrated athlete of all time.

Underrated? Guess that depends on who is doing the rating/evaluation or who you're talking to. He was a first ballot HOF and named to the original NBA top 50...so not underrated in some peoples eyes.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Give Mitch Richmond Pippen and he has a few.

Pippen is criminally underrated, possibly the most underrated athlete of all time.

I go with Greg Louganis.

 

[orangefog]

I go with Greg Louganis.

Typical 80's head banger.

 

[UpstateSM]

Carmelo Anthony Always Saw the Best in Carmelo Anthony

On the singular career of a singular cult hero

www.theringer.com

"He could never help but be anything other than himself precisely because it’s the only thing that could’ve helped him become himself."

Absolutely love this sentence because it reminds me of JB. So damn cool.

 

[Orangezoo]

Carmelo Anthony Always Saw the Best in Carmelo Anthony

On the singular career of a singular cult hero

www.theringer.com

"He could never help but be anything other than himself precisely because it’s the only thing that could’ve helped him become himself."

Absolutely love this sentence because it reminds me of JB. So damn cool.

Some good stuff. A little too much of the writer trying to write a piece on Melo while also testing out/flexing his poetry skills but not a bad job for a youngster without a ton of perspective on the NBA that preceded his time.

Always enjoy pieces like this with a unique flavor.

 

[Sbucketball]

Syracuse Basketball: Carmelo Anthony one-and-done ranking is comical

I agree with cuseallday that Zion above Melo for best one-and-done season is wrong. Zion only went to the Elite 8, which, in my opinion, automatically makes it a bad call to rank his season above Melo's. Also, totally agree that Zion was more hyped because of social media, which didn't exist in Melo's time. As for individual accolades, Melo's awards were watered down because freshmen didn't get those awards at that time. Melo paved the way for Zion, AD, etc.

 

[Orangezoo]

Syracuse Basketball: Carmelo Anthony one-and-done ranking is comical

I agree with cuseallday that Zion above Melo for best one-and-done season is wrong. Zion only went to the Elite 8, which, in my opinion, automatically makes it a bad call to rank his season above Melo's. Also, totally agree that Zion was more hyped because of social media, which didn't exist in Melo's time. As for individual accolades, Melo's awards were watered down because freshmen didn't get those awards at that time. Melo paved the way for Zion, AD, etc.

Not to mention Zion had RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish and Tre Jones playing alongside him. Barrett averaged the same ppg as Zion to boot and they still didn't make the FF.

 

[shandeezy7]

Syracuse Basketball: Carmelo Anthony one-and-done ranking is comical

I agree with cuseallday that Zion above Melo for best one-and-done season is wrong. Zion only went to the Elite 8, which, in my opinion, automatically makes it a bad call to rank his season above Melo's. Also, totally agree that Zion was more hyped because of social media, which didn't exist in Melo's time. As for individual accolades, Melo's awards were watered down because freshmen didn't get those awards at that time. Melo paved the way for Zion, AD, etc.

Yup, their stats were very similar, so clearly Melo winning a championship should trump Zion and his team of five stars flaming out in the Elite 8.

 

[sufandu]

Syracuse Basketball: Carmelo Anthony one-and-done ranking is comical

I agree with cuseallday that Zion above Melo for best one-and-done season is wrong. Zion only went to the Elite 8, which, in my opinion, automatically makes it a bad call to rank his season above Melo's. Also, totally agree that Zion was more hyped because of social media, which didn't exist in Melo's time. As for individual accolades, Melo's awards were watered down because freshmen didn't get those awards at that time. Melo paved the way for Zion, AD, etc.

Yeah. I also think Zion was hyped more because he was/is a physical freak of nature. Doesn't mean he's a better basketball player though.

 

[Cuse'91]

I guess that means Zion = Darko?

 

[sufandu]

Syracuse Basketball: Carmelo Anthony one-and-done ranking is comical

I agree with cuseallday that Zion above Melo for best one-and-done season is wrong. Zion only went to the Elite 8, which, in my opinion, automatically makes it a bad call to rank his season above Melo's. Also, totally agree that Zion was more hyped because of social media, which didn't exist in Melo's time. As for individual accolades, Melo's awards were watered down because freshmen didn't get those awards at that time. Melo paved the way for Zion, AD, etc.

I won't fault Zion too much for the tourney record. The tournament is such a crap shoot. We've have had more talented teams that did less than the 2003 team. What I would say is that Zion never completely took over a game the way Melo could/did. Melo didn't have the highlight dunks Zion had, but he was simply an unstoppable force at times.

 

[CuseTG2003]

Wilbon makes a very good point about Melo and Lebron's rookie year that's often overlooked. The Western Conference was absolutely STACKED and head and shoulders above the East. I don't know if there's ever been such disparity in quality between two conferences in pro sports than what existed in the NBA in the early 2000s. Melo getting the Nuggets to the playoffs in the West was more impressive than anything Lebron did his rookie year, and I'm by no means a Lebron hater.

 

[shandeezy7]

Wilbon makes a very good point about Melo and Lebron's rookie year that's often overlooked. The Western Conference was absolutely STACKED and head and shoulders above the East. I don't know if there's ever been such disparity in quality between two conferences in pro sports than what existed in the NBA in the early 2000s. Melo getting the Nuggets to the playoffs in the West was more impressive than anything Lebron did his rookie year, and I'm by no means a Lebron hater.

Yup, I said in a different thread that the Nuggets played a top 5 SOS that year while the Cavs played a bottom 5 SOS. Nuggets had the 8 seed in the West with a record that would have put them in the 4 seed in the East (and theoretically could have been even higher had they played the Cavs schedule that year).

Lebron and Melo put up fairly even numbers that year, but the team performance should have put Melo over the top for ROY. Unfortunately, I think a lot of voters made up their minds that they were voting for Lebron preseason, and there wasn't enough there for them to change their minds at the end of the season.

 

[sufandu]

Yup, I said in a different thread that the Nuggets played a top 5 SOS that year while the Cavs played a bottom 5 SOS. Nuggets had the 8 seed in the West with a record that would have put them in the 4 seed in the East (and theoretically could have been even higher had they played the Cavs schedule that year).

Lebron and Melo put up fairly even numbers that year, but the team performance should have put Melo over the top for ROY. Unfortunately, I think a lot of voters made up their minds that they were voting for Lebron preseason, and there wasn't enough there for them to change their minds at the end of the season.

They voted based on Lebron's talent and anticipated future, not on that season's performance which isn't the way they're supposed to vote.

 

[OrangeDW]

Syracuse Basketball: Carmelo Anthony one-and-done ranking is comical

I agree with cuseallday that Zion above Melo for best one-and-done season is wrong. Zion only went to the Elite 8, which, in my opinion, automatically makes it a bad call to rank his season above Melo's. Also, totally agree that Zion was more hyped because of social media, which didn't exist in Melo's time. As for individual accolades, Melo's awards were watered down because freshmen didn't get those awards at that time. Melo paved the way for Zion, AD, etc.

Melo was also just way, way better at basketball than Zion ever was.

 

[OrangeDW]

 

[jordville]

 

[OrangeDW]

 

[orangefog]

THANK GOD they didn't include him in a freaking Houston Rockets jersey. They suck. Bastards.

 

[Eric15]

"Top 10 Nugget of all-time." Way to go out on a limb, George. Jokic is obviously #1. The only other players you can make an argument for are Alex English and Dan Issel.

 

[MikeSU02]

"Top 10 Nugget of all-time." Way to go out on a limb, George. Jokic is obviously #1. The only other players you can make an argument for are Alex English and Dan Issel.

He was messing around. He had another hugely supportive post about how good Melo was. How he wouldn’t have come to Denver without him. How rings culture is dumb.