Slightly OT: Melo is a better Int'l player | Syracusefan.com

Slightly OT: Melo is a better Int'l player

I wonder what this has to do with the fact that the international court is smaller, the three point line is closer, and the lanes are more packed, therefore it is less about athleticism and more about passing and skill. Footwork, pump-fakes, and rebounding, which Melo is great at. Or, is it simply team USA is much more talented and he can pick his spots vs. having the be the man in Denver or NY and be asked to score in a tough spot where he doesn't always have the advantage.
 
I wonder what this has to do with the fact that the international court is smaller, the three point line is closer, and the lanes are more packed, therefore it is less about athleticism and more about passing and skill. Footwork, pump-fakes, and rebounding, which Melo is great at. Or, is it simply team USA is much more talented and he can pick his spots vs. having the be the man in Denver or NY and be asked to score in a tough spot where he doesn't always have the advantage.
http://www.fiba.com/asp_includes/download.asp?file_id=518
 
Without reading the linked article, I can positively assert he's had much better players around him in the international games than he's had as an NBA player.
 
It's the 3 point line and the fact that teams can't double team him when he's playing next to superstars. But mostly, it's the 3 point line. He's deadly when he gets 2 points for those. Give him 3, and you might as well just not show up because it's over.
 
While his skills are well-suited to the international game, I've always thought he was a pretty decent NBA player.

The numbers certainly speak to that. During his tenure, only Kobe and LBJ have out-pointed him.
 
The numbers certainly speak to that. During his tenure, only Kobe and LBJ have out-pointed him.
Oh, I was being sarcastic. I think his accomplishments and success at every level of basketball are (or should be) evident.
 
Without reading the linked article, I can positively assert he's had much better players around him in the international games than he's had as an NBA player.
and I would think for the most part playing against more players who are not NBA caliber.
 
Without reading the linked article, I can positively assert he's had much better players around him in the international games than he's had as an NBA player.

Also he's playing much worse players than he does in the NBA.
 
it has to do with talent. the best player hes played with is a past his prime chauncey billups. his loyalty to nyc is costly.
 
it has to do with talent. the best player hes played with is a past his prime chauncey billups. his loyalty to nyc is costly.

Age 31 Iverson was still a hell of a player.
 
if he had game left he would still be in filly

He demanded a trade and there was a 2 week bidding war for AI. He still had game.
 
I wonder what this has to do with the fact that the international court is smaller, the three point line is closer, and the lanes are more packed, therefore it is less about athleticism and more about passing and skill. Footwork, pump-fakes, and rebounding, which Melo is great at. Or, is it simply team USA is much more talented and he can pick his spots vs. having the be the man in Denver or NY and be asked to score in a tough spot where he doesn't always have the advantage.

Is the court for real smaller, not "blue curtain hilariously thinks the court at MSG is smaller since it's an NBA arena"?
 
Is the court for real smaller, not "blue curtain hilariously thinks the court at MSG is smaller since it's an NBA arena"?
Court is barely smaller, but the 3-point line is closer, which brings the offenese closer to the basket and therefore the defense. This tends to clog the lanes. International game isn't nearly as 'wide-open' as the NBA. More tailored to a PG like Chris Paul vs. Westbrook.
 
rather than try to point to individual players that Carmelo has played with, it is easier to compare resumes to teams that have won. LeBron needed wade and bosh, and then kyrie and love. Carmelo has never had two players that good to play with. I think Carmelo is as good as karl Malone or Charles barkley, but just never had the pieces or the leverage that LeBron did to arrange a super team.
 
rather than try to point to individual players that Carmelo has played with, it is easier to compare resumes to teams that have won. LeBron needed wade and bosh, and then kyrie and love. Carmelo has never had two players that good to play with. I think Carmelo is as good as karl Malone or Charles barkley, but just never had the pieces or the leverage that LeBron did to arrange a super team.

I think Melo has been a very good player, but not sure he'll ever match the sustained durability of Malone. Barkley at his best was better than Melo at his best, but he often had trouble staying in shape.
 
I think Melo has been a very good player, but not sure he'll ever match the sustained durability of Malone. Barkley at his best was better than Melo at his best, but he often had trouble staying in shape.

I think his scoring numbers are going to go way down this year. Not necessarily a bad thing since he has better players around him now on the Knicks. But, athletically, he has really dropped off. IMO, I think he will be camped out by the 3pt line much of the season.
 
I think his scoring numbers are going to go way down this year. Not necessarily a bad thing since he has better players around him now on the Knicks. But, athletically, he has really dropped off. IMO, I think he will be camped out by the 3pt line much of the season.

I think all of that depends on how that team gels, and the health/productivity of Rose. If he misses a lot of games or doesn't play significantly better than he has the last few years, they'll be leaning on Melo as heavily as always. Even if KP makes a large jump...he's probably 20 PPG at best. I think 17 or so is more likely. Nobody else is much of a scorer.

He has definitely lost a lot of athleticism. The jumper, footwork, strength, and tricks are all still intact though. I think he'll still get 20+. He can still do it IMO and they'll need him to. The days of 25+ PPG are probably gone though.
 
I think all of that depends on how that team gels, and the health/productivity of Rose. If he misses a lot of games or doesn't play significantly better than he has the last few years, they'll be leaning on Melo as heavily as always. Even if KP makes a large jump...he's probably 20 PPG at best. I think 17 or so is more likely. Nobody else is much of a scorer.

He has definitely lost a lot of athleticism. The jumper, footwork, strength, and tricks are all still intact though. I think he'll still get 20+. He can still do it IMO and they'll need him to. The days of 25+ PPG are probably gone though.

I also hope they are a little smarter with his minutes. (As an aside, I expect Rose to be really bad this year) I hope he's closer to 34 minutes a game than say 37-38.

he scored 24.2 per game as recently as 2 years ago. Last year was 21.8. I figure 22.5 or so is prob a good over/under?
 
I think Melo has been a very good player, but not sure he'll ever match the sustained durability of Malone. Barkley at his best was better than Melo at his best, but he often had trouble staying in shape.

There are very few athletes in history who can match or even come close to Malone's sustained durability. I would agree that I'd give peak Barkley the edge, but it's close enough. Peak Melo had some monster seasons too, and his consistent productivity is impressive as well. Just as Barkley and Malone had the misfortune of peaking when Michael Jordan was around...Melo's best came at the same time as 2 of the best wing scorers of all time in Lebron and Durant, which kept him from getting any first team All NBA's or an MVP.

Malone and Barkley did get their MVP's but I think there was some voter fatigue in giving it to Michael every year.
 
I also hope they are a little smarter with his minutes. (As an aside, I expect Rose to be really bad this year) I hope he's closer to 34 minutes a game than say 37-38.

he scored 24.2 per game as recently as 2 years ago. Last year was 21.8. I figure 22.5 or so is prob a good over/under?

Agreed. From what I saw, he struggled last year when he didn't have his legs...early in the season as he was coming off an injury and long layoff...and when the schedule was unfavorable and he was playing a lot of minutes. They've gotta keep him fresh. He's got a lot of miles on them and has had some knee injuries in recent years.

I think his overall numbers will be similar to last years, with the rebounds dropping some as Noah will get more than Lopez did and KP should increase his.
 

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