Melo is a great player and is overall playing really well, this team is just nowhere near a cohesive unit. I think D'Antoni is being exposed. His system requires a great PG. Somebody who can make great & quick decisions on the fly, distribute the ball and get teammates involved. As much as I like B-Diddy, I just don't think he can be that guy, he can be Starbury-esque at time and we all know how terribly the D'Antoni system worked with Starbury at the point (especially at this age and with his injury history).
Melo is great, if not one of the most skilled offensive players in the league. Thats where it ends, HE is cold blooded and he can make shots that not many people can, which is a curse in some ways because he trust himself in low percentage shots even he is that skilled, they are just low percentage shots(kobe has this problem too, these guys are so sklled they trust their their doubled teamed fadewaways over an open scrub), Kobe adapted at times, alhtough he falls into it, and learned to do what it takes to win. Another thing is his commitment to Defense. Melo does not have that and that just hurts the team. The difference between bryant and anthony, both who are extremely dangerous offensively and can hurt themselves this way, is that kobe is the hardest working player on the team. That is why GMs voted kobe among the best leaders, its obviously not because he is a nice or fun teammate, it is because when your best player is working harder than everyone else, every one in the gym steps it up. Melo on the other hand coasts at times and seems to think he is above playing defense
Before his injury Amare could do anything on the court. After his injury Amare just focused on finishing plays. It meant he needed a pass first pg, but it also meant that he can go off on average pgs, just as long as they can make decent passes (ie. Felton). I attribute most of their problems to Melo, to be honest the Knicks were slowly becoming a force before the Melo trade. Before Melo got there nobody was calling D'Antoni dumb, in fact they were talking about how guys like Felton or Gallinari and Wilson Chandler were blossoming under the D'Antoni system. Melo is not a fit on any team because he doesn't play D, still doesn't have any working jumpshot and has more QUIT in him than Tmac. Did he even work on his game? LBJ worked on his post offense and 3 pt shooting skills, all the stuff I see in Melo today I saw during his rookie year.
LOL. Yeah it's funny. They have Carmelo taking on almost the whole team in overtime. Stoudemire wasn't going to touch the ball. D'Antoni is a horrible coach. If he doesn't have a good PG, he doesn't know what to do. Is this what the Nuggets call the Triangle defense? Is this football?
And these are players that a lot of Clutchfans thought were 1st-tier stars and should have traded for, and would have made the Rockets championship contenders. And the Knicks also have Chandler, another player Clutchfans wanted. Is Deron Williams really a "superstar", or is he just fools gold? Be careful Clutchfans, you just might get what you are wishing for.
Both Melo and STAT were close to the finals. You put the right guys around these 2 and you will have a contender.
That looks a lot like the Oilers 70's playbook. 1. Earl Campbell left 2. Earl Campbell right 3. Earl Campbell up the middle :grin:
You could say that about any two players in the league. The problem is that the Knicks are handcuffed by having to pay two players over 36 million per year. The Knicks are really stuck. If the Knicks can't make the playoffs in the extremely weak Eastern Conference this season, I guess they will try to blow things up and start from scratch. Good luck in trying to con some team in taking Stoudemire in a trade.
The problem with the Knicks is that Amare and Melo don't work well together. Amare needs a good PG to run the floor with him and make good decisions. Melo needs a solid supporting cast and a good defensive team. Then just let him take over in the 4th.
Everybody talks about the Knicks offense, but that lazy mentality stems from the effort their superstars give on defense. If Melo and Amare don't care about that end of the floor, it gives the other guys no reason to care about much of anything. LeBron had back to back 60+ win seasons playing ugly ISO-ball, but it worked (regular season, at least) because he was a great passer and he was a part of a team that had a commitment to defense.
