Melo is way better then rynos defense. Melo isn't bad really he suffers from the same symptom as harden and that's effort
Optimistic don't get rebounds and stop opponents at the rim. Oh, I'm optimistic about the team since we solved one of our major issues from last season by adding a superior playmaker who will help Harden score the ball more and do it more efficiently by helping Harden cut his turnovers and bad shots. But I'm also realistic about whether or not we've fixed our terrible interior defense and rebounding from last season. What do i expect from Capela and an upgraded perimeter defense??? I expect we'll have an incremental improvement in our interior defense with Anderson gone, Melo here, Capela a year older, and the additions of Tucker and LMM. I don't expect it is enough to get us past the Warriors however. I expect we'll still have to finally get another upgraded to the defensive interior before we can get past them.
I think ppl are seriously underestimating Capela's potential. After the Allstar break he averaged 13.8 ppg and 9.3 rpg in 25.1 mins. If he could increase his mpg to 30mins and keep the same level of production he would average 16.5 ppg and 11.1 rpg THEN favor in that he shot 75% on passes from Harden and only 55% on passes from all other players and consider that CP3 or harden will always be his pg and you realize his ceiling as an elite Pick and roll big is only limited by how much we want it to be!
he is already better than dwight, lamarcass aldridge. its not just that harden and paul make him better. he makes them better by giving them space, with his ability to roll. this doesn't show up in his stats. plus he runs the court like a 3, and has the vertical to contest most centers in the paint. lets just hope that weight he gained pans out. and if somehow he develops a 15 footer, he's an all-star.
Ummmmmmmmmmmmmm, He does NOT run the court like a three. In actuality his overall speed up and down the court is very middle of the pack amongst NBA bigs. He does NOT switch from defense to offense quickly and he only has the stamina to make two rim to rim runs at most before he is gassed and needs a blow. He is not a fast player.
That might have been Clint's best showing against M. Gasol of his career (though clearly the Grizzlies limited Gasol's preseason minutes). What encouraged me the most was Clint's growth as an offensive player and his teammates' confidence in his ability off the dribble. The scouting report will get out pretty quickly about his going to the baseline with his right (and he'll need to be able to take a bounce with his left), but I love seeing him take a dribble or two and get to the rim. He's athletic enough to do that, and if he makes a quick decision, his chance of turnover will drop. If he can keep people honest and draw fouls (like the 5 he had last night on a good Memphis team), the court is going to open up a lot more. I know there are fans calling for our guards to take more mid range shots, but I'd actually like to see Capela call for the ball more just outside the paint--either off the box or the free throw line. Give him one dribble to cover some ground and that shot will look a lot better to me than a rushed, first-look three. In the past, we have treated Clint as either 1) a definite alley-oop threat or 2) a safety valve, translated as--"throw it to me if you're in the air and don't have anything, I'll give it back to you so you can throw it to a 3-point shooter." We're never going to reach the next level as an offense if these are the narrow choices. NBA teams are simply too good in the playoffs to get picked apart by a rim-running big. And if all you are is a safety valve, with no real teeth that can draw fouls and get to good looking shots, you'll be either ignored or preyed upon. To me, Clint looks ready to do some damage. On D, he still a young big trying to figure out how to contest without fouling. He's gotten a lot better. With the body he has now, when he has fouls to give, he can really challenge. PS. Did anyone catch that shining second half moment when Harden actually got in a defensive stance? It looked awkward for him, but it caught my eye!
I'd like to see Clint getting more starter-like minutes this season. If he was at 24 minutes a night last season and posted 13/8/1/1, I'd like to see him play 28 minutes a game and get something closer to 15/10/2/2.
I'd love to see Clint develop a jump hook and a little 8-10 foot facing-the-basket jumper. In our system, he doesn't need the kind of range Gasol has, but something closer to what Nene can do facing the basket would be nice. As it is, when he has the ball his defenders can pretty much sit in that area within 5 or 6 feet of the hoop and wait.
