NBA playoffs: greatest show on Earth | Page 24 | Syracusefan.com

NBA playoffs: greatest show on Earth

OrangeDW said:
It was debatable early on. Their rookie stats were almost identical. Melo had extremely advanced footwork, offensive skills for such a young player.

And even well into their careers, you could argue Melo was a more dangerous scorer.
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It was never debatable.

I guess you can debate that Mitch Richmond is as dangerous a scorer as Melo.

Outside of Syracuse fans, watching Melo and LeBron, I don't see how it's a debate now or ever.
 
two3zone said:
It was never debatable.

I guess you can debate that Mitch Richmond is as dangerous a scorer as Melo.

Outside of Syracuse fans, watching Melo and LeBron, I don't see how it's a debate now or ever.
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I remember during one of the olympics Lebron saying Melo was greatest offensive player in the world.
 
two3zone said:
It was never debatable.

I guess you can debate that Mitch Richmond is as dangerous a scorer as Melo.

Outside of Syracuse fans, watching Melo and LeBron, I don't see how it's a debate now or ever.
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Melo scored more, rebounded more and shot better as a rookie. LeBron got 508 points in rookie of the year votes, Melo got 430. Relatively close. That wasn’t Syracuse fans voting for Melo.

As late as 2006-07, Melo averaged 29, 6, and 4 and shot 48%. LeBron averaged 27,7, and 6 and shot 48%. It was fairly close. It became clear pretty quickly that LeBron was the more well rounded player(assists, defense) and had the higher ceiling. But there was also a time where LeBron had zero post game and really wasn’t all that great of a shooter either and it could be argued that Melo was the more skilled scorer and that LeBron relied
more on brute strength and athleticism to score his points while Melo was the b-ball purists guy with all the shots, footwork, moves, etc.

I’m sure it’s changed drastically in the last 5 years, but I’m pretty sure I remember there was a time well into their careers where Melo’s teams lead the head to head matchups by a solid margin and Melo had a number of huge performances and big shots in the head to head matchups.

We don’t need to pile on Melo because he’s faded like a normal star and LeBron is superhuman. LeBron vs Melo is like Jordan vs. Dominique or Barkley.
 
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Wonder if a Paul George for Cousins trade is possible? Imagine N.O. with an all star wing that can defend and shoot the 3? That’s the exact piece they need!

And if OKC is going to lose George anyway they get a stud big man for him. George has one year on his deal and might leave anyway, and Cousins is coming off a major injury and plays the same position as one of the few players at his position that’s better than him in Davis, so both teams could have motivation to move their guy.

And imagine the guaranteed comedy of Russ and Cousins being teammates. No matter what direction that one takes(whether it works perfectly or is disastrous) it will be entertaining and as a fan that’s all you can really ask for.
 
So the Houston vs Jazz game on Sunday night was a perfect example of how huge a deal having Chris Paul is for the Rockets. In the second half, Harden was on the brink of the full "I dont care anymore" Harden collapse. He frankly looked like he didnt care. He was dribbling balls off his foot, making uncontested direct turnover passes to Utah, and single handedly keeping Utah within hailing distance. But Paul sort of righted the ship by taking primary ball handling responsibilities and made a ton of mid range shots to keep Utah at bay.
 
STEVEHOLT said:
So the Houston vs Jazz game on Sunday night was a perfect example of how huge a deal having Chris Paul is for the Rockets. In the second half, Harden was on the brink of the full "I dont care anymore" Harden collapse. He frankly looked like he didnt care. He was dribbling balls off his foot, making uncontested direct turnover passes to Utah, and single handedly keeping Utah within hailing distance. But Paul sort of righted the ship by taking primary ball handling responsibilities and made a ton of mid range shots to keep Utah at bay.
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And Chris Paul's brother was ejected too for a bit of comic relief.
 
two3zone said:
It was never debatable.

I guess you can debate that Mitch Richmond is as dangerous a scorer as Melo.

Outside of Syracuse fans, watching Melo and LeBron, I don't see how it's a debate now or ever.
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It was mostly Igor, who was pumping up Melo to downgrade JB's title.
 
two3zone said:
It was never debatable.

I guess you can debate that Mitch Richmond is as dangerous a scorer as Melo.

Outside of Syracuse fans, watching Melo and LeBron, I don't see how it's a debate now or ever.
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I think there was a debate about Melo being a better scorer for a little bit, but I never really understood it; maybe a more versatile scorer but even before he developed his jumpshot, Lebron's ability to finish around the rim made him a much better scorer than Melo.
 
STEVEHOLT said:
So the Houston vs Jazz game on Sunday night was a perfect example of how huge a deal having Chris Paul is for the Rockets. In the second half, Harden was on the brink of the full "I dont care anymore" Harden collapse. He frankly looked like he didnt care. He was dribbling balls off his foot, making uncontested direct turnover passes to Utah, and single handedly keeping Utah within hailing distance. But Paul sort of righted the ship by taking primary ball handling responsibilities and made a ton of mid range shots to keep Utah at bay.
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Well said.
 
Melancer46 said:
I think there was a debate about Melo being a better scorer for a little bit, but I never really understood it; maybe a more versatile scorer but even before he developed his jumpshot, Lebron's ability to finish around the rim made him a much better scorer than Melo.
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Yes, a lot of people will often confuse versatility in scoring with efficiency or whatever. (bad cross sport example of this; was Mariano any less of a pitcher because he only had one pitch? if anything, people seemed to give him more credit)

Melo had a better true shooting than Lebron in their first year, he never had a higher one after. There were 2 years that they were tied. Melo's career high is 56.8%, Lebron has been below 56.8% 3 times in his career (also hit it on the # twice), and all 3 of those seasons happened in 06-07 or earlier. So as far as pure scoring goes, they were probably pretty close for a few years.
 
MikeSU02 said:
An NBA Final Four of GSW/Houston and Cs/Bron is a huge, huge win for the NBA.

Maybe Philly v Bron is a bit bigger, but it's still a great final four for them.

Also:

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I loved those quotes from Silver. I love him all the time, except when he stumps for the owners during a lockout.
 
NBA will probably love the markets, the biggest question is the competitiveness of the series.

I still have a feeling the Warriors are going to roll through everyone. Boston could probably give Cleveland a run. Maybe you can get the conf finals to go at least 6 games.
 
Knicks411 said:
NBA will probably love the markets, the biggest question is the competitiveness of the series.

I still have a feeling the Warriors are going to roll through everyone. Boston could probably give Cleveland a run. Maybe you can get the conf finals to go at least 6 games.
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LeBron not having to face Philly lines up nicely for him to join them in the off-season.
 
OttoinGrotto said:
LeBron not having to face Philly lines up nicely for him to join them in the off-season.
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I have to say, obviously Philly should still get him if they can, but after watching this series, I'm beginning to see more the idea of Lebron and Simmons not meshing well. (which is more because of the shortcomings of Simmons. And I still think the dude is going to be a fantastic player. just saying)
 
Knicks411 said:
I have to say, obviously Philly should still get him if they can, but after watching this series, I'm beginning to see more the idea of Lebron and Simmons not meshing well. (which is more because of the shortcomings of Simmons. And I still think the dude is going to be a fantastic player. just saying)
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Oh I agree, I don't think Philly should do it. They should build around their core, not hand the keys to someone new.

But Cleveland is a wreck. It's not interesting having James on that team.
 
OttoinGrotto said:
Oh I agree, I don't think Philly should do it. They should build around their core, not hand the keys to someone new.

But Cleveland is a wreck. It's not interesting having James on that team.
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I think Philly should get him if they can, I just see more what the problems could be.

The Cavs really are a trainwreck. I know it's funny to say that as they are on the verge of sweeping Toronto. But Lebron is just doing everything for them
 
Knicks411 said:
I think Philly should get him if they can, I just see more what the problems could be.

The Cavs really are a trainwreck. I know it's funny to say that as they are on the verge of sweeping Toronto. But Lebron is just doing everything for them
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KLove is good in the right series (like Tor), plus his hand was really messed up.

George Hill has been legit, as well.

Otherwise, I'm with you. I think Bron can handle Boston just because of the C's youth, but if they have to face GSW, I don't know how they win more than one game unless Korver goes insane from three or something like that.
 
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