Carmelo Anthony

[SUFan44]

I know there's already a thread about him passing Larry Bird, but a closer look at what his finished career product could be is remarkable.

Carmelo has averaged 69 games played per season, 25.0 ppg. Allowing for even drastic regression (21 ppg, 65 gms), if he plays 5 more seasons at that clip (36 yrs old), he will have 28,618 pts. placing him 7th all time.

I think he’ll probably play a little longer than that, given he does not have a Kobe-ish injury. Extrapolate to 39 yrs old at further diminished 20 ppg over 60 gms over 8 seasons and you get 31,393, 26 pts. behind Wilt who is in 5th. You have to think he’d go for that.

So Carmelo realistically without going nuts has a chance to be a top 5 all-time scorer in NBA history. Pretty amazing.

 

[HoustonCuse]

I know there's already a thread about him passing Larry Bird, but a closer look at what his finished career product could be is remarkable.

Carmelo has averaged 69 games played per season, 25.0 ppg. Allowing for even drastic regression (21 ppg, 65 gms), if he plays 5 more seasons at that clip (36 yrs old), he will have 28,618 pts. placing him 7th all time.

I think he’ll probably play a little longer than that, given he does not have a Kobe-ish injury. Extrapolate to 39 yrs old at further diminished 20 ppg over 60 gms over 8 seasons and you get 31,393, 26 pts. behind Wilt who is in 5th. You have to think he’d go for that.

So Carmelo realistically without going nuts has a chance to be a top 5 all-time scorer in NBA history. Pretty amazing.

That is amazing. I assume though that LeBron must have more points and would thus arrive in the Top 5 before Melo and thus prevent him from being Top 5 by the time he gets there (if that makes sense).

 

[jr4750]

I know there's already a thread about him passing Larry Bird, but a closer look at what his finished career product could be is remarkable.

Carmelo has averaged 69 games played per season, 25.0 ppg. Allowing for even drastic regression (21 ppg, 65 gms), if he plays 5 more seasons at that clip (36 yrs old), he will have 28,618 pts. placing him 7th all time.

I think he’ll probably play a little longer than that, given he does not have a Kobe-ish injury. Extrapolate to 39 yrs old at further diminished 20 ppg over 60 gms over 8 seasons and you get 31,393, 26 pts. behind Wilt who is in 5th. You have to think he’d go for that.

So Carmelo realistically without going nuts has a chance to be a top 5 all-time scorer in NBA history. Pretty amazing.

Nice. Appreciate the breakdown. I think he will probably have a tough time averaging 20 a game, even if he is only playing 60gms a year deep into his 30's, but I hope he can. Also, see him as a guy who will leave NYC to go try and get a late championship ala Garnett. He despertely needs one on his resume.

 

[Dave85]

I know there's already a thread about him passing Larry Bird, but a closer look at what his finished career product could be is remarkable.

Carmelo has averaged 69 games played per season, 25.0 ppg. Allowing for even drastic regression (21 ppg, 65 gms), if he plays 5 more seasons at that clip (36 yrs old), he will have 28,618 pts. placing him 7th all time.

I think he’ll probably play a little longer than that, given he does not have a Kobe-ish injury. Extrapolate to 39 yrs old at further diminished 20 ppg over 60 gms over 8 seasons and you get 31,393, 26 pts. behind Wilt who is in 5th. You have to think he’d go for that.

So Carmelo realistically without going nuts has a chance to be a top 5 all-time scorer in NBA history. Pretty amazing.

I would like to know if there were any other NBA players who have a building named after them from their alma mater. I think this is the coolest thing about Carmelo, "Anthony donated $3 million to kick-start a fund-raising campaign for a new basketball practice facility at Syracuse". The practice facility has been a huge recruiting tool and has been a huge contribution to our program.

http://www.syracuse.com/orangebaske..._at_syracuse_the_melo_center_or_the_2003.html

From Carmelo's perspective after his NBA career is over the building named after him might be his favorite accomplishment.

 

[br801]

Nice. Appreciate the breakdown. I think he will probably have a tough time averaging 20 a game, even if he is only playing 60gms a year deep into his 30's, but I hope he can. Also, see him as a guy who will leave NYC to go try and get a late championship ala Garnett. He despertely needs one on his resume.

His "old man's" offensive game should serve him well as he ages; he's never relied on raw athleticism to get his points, and he's become a better deep shooter over time. I wouldn't say he needs a title, either; based on his year at SU and his NBA career to date, he's already a lock for the Hall of Fame.

 

[CuseTG2003]

I think Carmelo's game will age very well and allow him to be effective well into his thirties. I also think he sticks w/ the Knicks. They could be very good in a couple years.

 

[CuseTG2003]

His "old man's" offensive game should serve him well as he ages; he's never relied on raw athleticism to get his points, and he's become a better deep shooter over time. I wouldn't say he needs a title, either; based on his year at SU and his NBA career to date, he's already a lock for the Hall of Fame.

Totally agree. Well said.

 

[jr4750]

His "old man's" offensive game should serve him well as he ages; he's never relied on raw athleticism to get his points, and he's become a better deep shooter over time. I wouldn't say he needs a title, either; based on his year at SU and his NBA career to date, he's already a lock for the Hall of Fame.

Interesting, I guess I didn't consider the fact that he has the numbers to be a HOFer, right now. Firgued he had work left, with getting a few more deep playoff runs, being very important. He has made a number of All Star games, has one scoring title, but only a few 3rd team NBA squads, if I remember correctly. Kinda Barkley like in his career to date.

Side note, did you see the recent all time NBA teams that ESPN. A lot of current guys made the top 10 for their position. Obvious ones, LBJ, Kobe, etc, but Steph was listed as a top 4 PG, Durant, top 5 SF, and Carmelo wasn't on there, which I don;'t think he should have been. These lists love to go hard after the latest and greatest, forgetting the past. heck, even Magic went after the Steph ranking, as he was listed above Isiah Thomas, which at this point in his career may be a tad premature. He certainly will end up top 5 imo. Jonny Flynn will be able to go to bars forever and say he was picked before him too! Awesome!

 

[Knicks411]

That is amazing. I assume though that LeBron must have more points and would thus arrive in the Top 5 before Melo and thus prevent him from being Top 5 by the time he gets there (if that makes sense).

Also need to keep in mind someone like Dirk. He's 2600 points behind Wilt right now; he may pass Wilt in the next few years. (he also may not)
I do think averaging 20 per game over 60 games a season for the next 8 years might be a little aggressive though. But Melo is going to end up really high on the all time scoring list; he's about 5,000 points behind Hakeem for #10.

 

[RandygoCuse]

Interesting, I guess I didn't consider the fact that he has the numbers to be a HOFer, right now. Firgued he had work left, with getting a few more deep playoff runs, being very important. He has made a number of All Star games, has one scoring title, but only a few 3rd team NBA squads, if I remember correctly. Kinda Barkley like in his career to date.

Side note, did you see the recent all time NBA teams that ESPN. A lot of current guys made the top 10 for their position. Obvious ones, LBJ, Kobe, etc, but Steph was listed as a top 4 PG, Durant, top 5 SF, and Carmelo wasn't on there, which I don;'t think he should have been. These lists love to go hard after the latest and greatest, forgetting the past. heck, even Magic went after the Steph ranking, as he was listed above Isiah Thomas, which at this point in his career may be a tad premature. He certainly will end up top 5 imo. Jonny Flynn will be able to go to bars forever and say he was picked before him too! Awesome!

Yeah, he hasn't dominated the All-NBA teams, but he's played at the same time as lot of other great forwards. Remember, McHale only made one all Second team (there were only first and second teams back then). I think Carmelo is a lock at this point, but I'd like to see him have some playoff success.

 

[br801]

Interesting, I guess I didn't consider the fact that he has the numbers to be a HOFer, right now. Firgued he had work left, with getting a few more deep playoff runs, being very important. He has made a number of All Star games, has one scoring title, but only a few 3rd team NBA squads, if I remember correctly. Kinda Barkley like in his career to date.

Side note, did you see the recent all time NBA teams that ESPN. A lot of current guys made the top 10 for their position. Obvious ones, LBJ, Kobe, etc, but Steph was listed as a top 4 PG, Durant, top 5 SF, and Carmelo wasn't on there, which I don;'t think he should have been.

I forgot to mention his fine Olympic career, which only strengthens his case. And I was also considering some of the small forward/scoring power forwards already in the HoF, many of whom are not his equal, IMO.

As for his ultimate place in history, he probably doesn't belong among the top 10 small forwards right now, but if he does play at a high level into his late 30s and get himself a title, he could possibly crack the list.

 

[jr4750]

I forgot to mention his fine Olympic career, which only strengthens his case. And I was also considering some of the small forward/scoring power forwards already in the HoF, many of whom are not his equal, IMO.

As for his ultimate place in history, he probably doesn't belong among the top 10 small forwards right now, but if he does play at a high level into his late 30s and get himself a title, he could possibly crack the list.

No question. He'd def be top ten positional player if he finishes in the top 15 in all time scoring, wins another gold, his 3rd, and adds a title to his CV. A few deep playoff runs couldn't hurt either, with or without a title. Would love to see him in a final, thats for sure.

 

[Knicks411]

Carmelo is going to make the HOF (and btw he's playing amazingly right now)
I'm really not sure how much the olympic stuff should matter in terms of how he's viewed though. Pretty much everyone is going to have really good numbers in the olympics; most of the competition is inferior. Like, he scored 37 point sin 14 minutes against Nigeria; great, but it's Nigeria.

 

[shandeezy7]

His "old man's" offensive game should serve him well as he ages; he's never relied on raw athleticism to get his points, and he's become a better deep shooter over time. I wouldn't say he needs a title, either; based on his year at SU and his NBA career to date, he's already a lock for the Hall of Fame.

That little drive with a shoulder dip to create space for the step-back jumper is un-guardable if he is hitting it. Definitely an OG move and does not require much athleticism at all. He relies on it a lot and it works very often.

 

[Brooky03]

Nice. Appreciate the breakdown. I think he will probably have a tough time averaging 20 a game, even if he is only playing 60gms a year deep into his 30's, but I hope he can. Also, see him as a guy who will leave NYC to go try and get a late championship ala Garnett. He despertely needs one on his resume.

I don't see him leaving the Knicks to get a Title. He likes New York and this team has a lot going for it right now. They have a promising young big man, who they're paying peanuts relative to his production, a veteran defensive center, a veteran and resurgent SG, and some good young talent off the bench. Replace Calderon with a PG who can play defense and things are looking good for the Knicks going forward.

 

[MikeSU02]

Carmelo is going to make the HOF (and btw he's playing amazingly right now)
I'm really not sure how much the olympic stuff should matter in terms of how he's viewed though. Pretty much everyone is going to have really good numbers in the olympics; most of the competition is inferior. Like, he scored 37 point sin 14 minutes against Nigeria; great, but it's Nigeria.

The basketball HoF isn't an NBA HoF. so while the Olympics stuff does include games against Nigeria, it still matters that he was an important part of gold medal teams, especially the Redeem Team.

The college title will help as well.

Good for him. I think he's going to be a better version of late-career Paul Pierce in a few years.

 

[Knicks411]

The basketball HoF isn't an NBA HoF. so while the Olympics stuff does include games against Nigeria, it still matters that he was an important part of gold medal teams, especially the Redeem Team.

The college title will help as well.

Good for him. I think he's going to be a better version of late-career Paul Pierce in a few years.

Well aware of that, and I said I think he's going in the HOF, and that's going to be a part of it. But when we're ranking SF or whatever, I don't think it should play much a role at all.

 

[jncuse]

If he wants to win in his later years, he will not be on a team where he is averaging 20 points per game.

 

[MikeSU02]

Well aware of that, and I said I think he's going in the HOF, and that's going to be a part of it. But when we're ranking SF or whatever, I don't think it should play much a role at all.

Ah, sorry. And I agree with what you are saying.

 

[jr4750]

I don't see him leaving the Knicks to get a Title. He likes New York and this team has a lot going for it right now. They have a promising young big man, who they're paying peanuts relative to his production, a veteran defensive center, a veteran and resurgent SG, and some good young talent off the bench. Replace Calderon with a PG who can play defense and things are looking good for the Knicks going forward.

Maybe Westbrook in 2017?

 

[SUFan44]

If he wants to win in his later years, he will not be on a team where he is averaging 20 points per game.

If he averages 22-23 ppg over the next 3 years, then he can average 17-18 the following 3 and still average 20.

That's where the regression numbers come from. He's not going to all of the sudden go from scoring 25 ppg (which I still think he can over the next 2-3 years) to scoring 15, unless his minutes are drastically reduced.

20 ppg is over the entire span of the 8 years, not per year at the end of it.

 

[Brooky03]

Maybe Westbrook in 2017?

I'm down.

 

[Knicks411]

If he averages 22-23 ppg over the next 3 years, then he can average 17-18 the following 3 and still average 20.

That's where the regression numbers come from. He's not going to all of the sudden go from scoring 25 ppg (which I still think he can over the next 2-3 years) to scoring 15, unless his minutes are drastically reduced.

20 ppg is over the entire span of the 8 years, not per year at the end of it.

I think the bigger issue is the games played. Guys start to get banged up as they get older and he had knee surgery just a year ago. Also at some point I'm sure his minutes will be cut as well to help keep him fresh.

 

[SUFan44]

I think the bigger issue is the games played. Guys start to get banged up as they get older and he had knee surgery just a year ago. Also at some point I'm sure his minutes will be cut as well to help keep him fresh.

60 games is not a lot. That's less than his 69 games already.

He's going to be above 20 for the next 3-5 years, unless something crazy happens. Then he'll have reduced minutes and will score less.

Regardless, he's going to be anywhere from 5-10 all-time on the list. That's really good.

 

[Knicks411]

60 games is not a lot. That's less than his 69 games already.

He's going to be above 20 for the next 3-5 years, unless something crazy happens. Then he'll have reduced minutes and will score less.

Regardless, he's going to be anywhere from 5-10 all-time on the list. That's really good.

This is cherry picking, but he's averaged 60 games a year for the 4 years prior to this.

I'm just saying, I think averaging 60 games a year for 8 years after you turn 32 is really difficult. That's all. Agree he'll be top 10 or so by the time he retires