when it comes to melo i think there is one question to ask

[Knicks411]

I don't think we should be praising anyone for sharing the ball on the Olympic team. That's like praising Billy Joel for not hogging the microphone on We Are The World.

Yeah, I really don't think the Olympic team should be used as evidence of anything. There are what, 2 competitive teams that we face? (Argentina and Spain)

 

[newmexicuse]

Have you ever heard of a stat called TS%? ( TS% = Pts / (2*FGA+.88*FTA))

Kevin Durant had a TS% of 65% this year, which is basically the highest TS% in history for a guy who shoots as much as he does. LeBron's was 64%, also historically off-the-charts.

Melo's was 56%, which is respectable considering his role on the team, but pretty average among 25ppg+ scorers.
Essentially, every time Durant/LeBron take a shot, they score 1.3 pts. Melo, Wade, Kobe, Pierce, etc average about 1.1 points per shot. That difference alone is worth about 4 points a game, which is huge over the course of a season.

Oh yeah, Durant was also the leading scorer on the Olympic team. Melo had one game where he hit like 10 threes in 15 minutes against a terrible team, but Durant and LeBron were the best players on that team, too.

Deceiving stat - When Melo drives & misses he so often gets an O board & a putback bucket. So on possession basis his scoring percentage is 100% in those situations, but on a FG% basis it is only 50% or sometimes even 33%. As good as Bron & Kevin are you do not see that aspect to their games with such regularity. I do not know how to get the info, but any perecentages relating to Melo should be adjusted to a per possession basis rather than on a straight percentage basis for a meaningful comparo.

 

[Knicks411]

I don't know of anyway to actually do it, but i don't think it's going to change the analysis all that much.

Carmelo grabs 1.9 offensive boards per 36, Lebron grabs 1.2, Durant 0.5. Not sure of any way to see how many of each come off their own misses

A better point in Melo's favor is that his TO% was lower than both guys this year. But it's not making up the difference in the true shooting%.

 

[44cuse]

Well, thank you, sir.

I do think it is a valid point to suggest that Melo may have been playing with some talented teammates, but who from Denver or the Knicks is a hall of famer? Teams that win the whole kit and kaboodle tend to have at least two. Kobe/Shaq, Wade/Shaq, Lebron/Wade, Duncan/Ginobli(?), Jordan/Pippen. I don't think Durant's going to get there without Westbrook.

Durant is more efficient. He, like a number of players (Curry, tonight) can have off games, but because they don't dominate and freeze the ball, they're not going to warrant the harsh criticisms.

Couldn't have said it better myself. 100% agreed. I love Melo and defend him more than most. But as I have always said, Melo's best chance to win will come later in his career when he's the "2nd" star. And that will only happen when the ball doesn't stop at him.

44cuse

 

[quentin cassidy]

I don't know of anyway to actually do it, but i don't think it's going to change the analysis all that much.

Carmelo grabs 1.9 offensive boards per 36, Lebron grabs 1.2, Durant 0.5. Not sure of any way to see how many of each come off their own misses

A better point in Melo's favor is that his TO% was lower than both guys this year. But it's not making up the difference in the true shooting%.

I have made this exact point when people try to label him as 'inefficient' (54.5% for his career). I'd guess that most of those 1.9 boards are off his own misses (let's say 1.5), and that would move him from 56% to about 59% this year, which is very good, but still a long ways from LeBron and Durant. My other favorite stat regarding his efficiency is that the Knicks were the 3rd most efficient offense in the NBA this year, behind, you guessed it, Miami and OKC. While he doesn't get many assists, the extra attention he gets from opposing defenses makes his teammates better.

 

[quentin cassidy]

Couldn't have said it better myself. 100% agreed. I love Melo and defend him more than most. But as I have always said, Melo's best chance to win will come later in his career when he's the "2nd" star. And that will only happen when the ball doesn't stop at him.

44cuse

He has played his entire career with max contract PFs who produce at a level of less than half their value. Kenyon Martin got injured a lot while he was in Denver, and Amare has been practically useless since Melo arrived in New York (granted, Melo made a conscious decision to come to NY to play with Amare).

In the next year or 2, if they can replace Amare's $20m+ salary with a couple of good players, I think they would have a legit shot at a championship with Melo as their best player. Looking at bad teams who've got expensive guys locked up beyond 2014/15 (when Amare's deal runs out)...if the Sixers are in rebuilding mode, maybe next summer the Knicks could turn Amare and Felton into Jrue Holiday and Thad Young, which would cost the 76ers about $5m in 2014/15 but save them about $25m over the following 2 seasons.