Feigen: Rockets want Melo off the bench, may sign with Miami

My edit was too slow!

 

"The Rockets envision Anthony playing at small forward and as a backup power forward"

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sp...oser-in-their-pursuit-of-Carmelo-13090281.php

This time, the Rockets’ pursuit of Carmelo Anthony is not a drill.

The Rockets moved a step closer to realizing their long quest to land Anthony on Thursday when the Oklahoma City Thunder dealt him to the Atlanta Hawks, who intend to waive Anthony to make him a free agent.

That move could lead to the Rockets landing Anthony as a free agent to team him with former Olympic teammates James Harden and Chris Paul and reunite him with Mike D’Antoni, his coach in New York for parts of two often difficult seasons.

Anthony would have to clear waivers to sign with the Rockets, but he could reach an agreement at any time, having met with officials from the Rockets and Miami Heat.

Rockets general manager Daryl Morey, vice president Gersson Rosas, owner Tilman Fertitta, D’Antoni and Paul, long a friend of Anthony’s, met with Anthony in Las Vegas this month. An individual with knowledge of the meeting said the Rockets remain optimistic they will be able to sign Anthony, though he is also considering a move to Miami, where he could play with another friend, Dwyane Wade, assuming Wade re-signs with the Heat.

[...]

The Rockets envision Anthony playing at small forward and as a backup power forward, the position they hoped to have him play when they sought a deal with the Knicks and that D’Antoni thought ideally suited him in New York, among the sources of their disagreements in the 2011-12 season.

D’Antoni told ESPN last season that he resigned as Knicks coach when Anthony told management that either he or D’Antoni would need to leave. But according to multiple individuals with knowledge of the Rockets’ planning, D’Antoni had enthusiastically endorsed the Rockets’ pursuit of a trade for Anthony last summer and has again as Anthony moved closer to free agency.

[...]

Since the departures of small forwards Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute, the Rockets had signed James Ennis, who could remain a candidate to start at the position with Anthony, if signed, potentially a backup at both forward spots.

The Rockets had chosen to try to land Anthony before Mbah a Moute’s departure.

The addition of Anthony would be a boost to the Rockets offensively after a Western Conference finals series against the Golden State Warriors in which they fell far short of their regular-season success. Anthony is adept as a catch-and-shoot threat from the 3-point line, both from the corners and on top, while bringing ability to get his shot the Rockets have lacked off the bench, especially in the frontcourt.

He could benefit from the Rockets’ offensive style, built around Harden and Paul’s playmaking and at a pace and with spacing that suits him better than the Thunder style built around Westbrook.

Vulnerable on defense

But he also would challenge the revival of the Rockets’ defense, built around a switching style that exposed Anthony’s lack of quickness defensively while with the Thunder.

That was especially true against the Rockets during the regular season and against the Utah Jazz in the playoffs, with both teams seeking to isolate him on switches against their brilliant one-on-one scorers.

But the Rockets have been steadfast over the past year that Anthony would bolster them in the Western Conference arms race.

Wherever he lands, Anthony is not expected to play the role he had as one of the league’s most unstoppable scorers. But the Rockets believe he has enough left to be worth the wait if this time they get him.​

 

Nice.

 

Honestly think I’d trust Tucker at the 3 more then Melo. Guess it will be situational no matter what.

 

Are we going to have this stupid threads a d posts where fans try to start internal wssrs with "fans" of players on the Rockets like people did with Lin and McGrady and others? Childish and a waste of time and energy.

 

do you even know what you're even talking about. i suggest you read all the melo threads before and catch up

 

In a switching defense what does it matter who plays the 3 or 4. If they want to ISO Melo on a player they will just run screen and roll action with the player and force Melo to switch onto him. His position 3 or 4 will not matter.

 

in a switching defense, if you have multiple guys who aren't exactly known as defenders then that defense becomes mediocre which obviously isn't good enough to matchup with GS

 

I bet you anything that he plays center in the playoffs for a bunch of minutes against Golden State.

 

whoever starts at the 3-4 doesnt really matter. its tucker and melo. two guys who have played both positions. it will be situational as far as who is guarding who

 

Like what you’re saying but we don’t have a champion on the roster with or without Melo.


By the end of next season the whole roster will be champions with or without Melo. I believe

 

Well, at least it doesn't sound like he's guaranteed a starting role.

 

I can't understand why you wouldn't start Melo. Who would be the starting 5 if he's not in there?

CP3
Harden
Gordon
Tucker
Capela?

CP3
Harden
Tucker
Ryno
Capela?

CP3
Harden
Green
Tucker
Capela?

None of those make sense to me. Gordon is really effective off the bench when he's pushing the offense against a tired defense(because of his slightly weaker ball handling). Ryno is a good at stretching the floor, but I think Melo would be too. Green's defense is more suspect to me than Melo's.

Something tells me that if Melo is coming off the bench, it's not to have our best lineup out there at the start, but to beat teams up later with our talented bench (Melo/Gordon). If it's me, I use Melo like Trevor in the starting 5 on offense. Just use him to spread the floor. When someone rests, you can let him go to work.

There's too much offense in Melo not to use his skillset for me. He's a solid go to player when the ball isn't falling and you need a slump-buster. Kind of like CP3 or Harden when they use the post to get much needed points. Unless he's taken some downward turn at this age.. but I doubt it.. he's 34 not 36, but I think he's a solid player to start. People judge him as the superstar he was, not the player he can be right now as the 4th best offensive option (Capelly-oop being opt 1).

Look at the shot charts for the combo of Tucker and Melo.



They're like the perfect combo in the corners. Run PJ down to the left if the play calls for it or Melo to the right corner if the play calls for it. I'd start them together personally... if Melo wants to be here.

 

Plus if you want to tether him to CP3 you kind of have to start him.

Harden/EGO man 1 unit, CP3/Melo man the other.

 

The 1:56 mark summarizes Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah Moute series with Golden State. Ariza fading away left on his brick 3 point shot and Luc turning the ball over

 

I'd like to see a points per minute chart plotted over the 48 minutes of a game to compare so you could see what minutes in the game these guys are the most effective. Like do the bulk of Gordon's points come when he's in the game at the 15th minute or does he get more towards the beginnings of games (when he starts)?

So like over the season, how many points did EGo score in the first minute. Divide that by the total number of first minutes of the game he played combined, etc. Plot each player and I think you'd get a decent idea of when guys are most effective.

 

Watch First things First and listen to Chris Carter. Expecting a guy in his 15th season to do things differently is just silly. He had his chance in OKC. I know we’ll probably sign him since we chose him over Luc, big mistake and typical of Morey, but for all the people who still stubbornly believe Melo will accept a bench role and just buy into a role player just watch that show. Or just listen to what Melo himself said all of last year.

 

This isn't what you're looking for but I just did some research and check this out.

Melo had 15 games last year where he played 20-29 minutes

27mpg
17ppg
6rpg
46/46/78 FG/3P/FT
59.4 TS%
115 ORTG, 104 DRTG
+21.8

George Karl once said Melo is the best player on the court the first 25 minutes he plays. I think 25-32mpg is perfect for him at this stage of his career.

 

Cris Carter was a crackhead, I don't listen to current or former crackheads.

 

This also shows that Carmelo Anthony has a propensity for scoring buckets in the first quarter.

So Melo averaged 5.1 points per first quarter in 9.5 minutes played. Eric Gordon scored 4.0 per 7.1 minutes played. It's a pretty close comparison, but keep in mind that Melo was playing against starters in all of his first quarter games because he started 78/78 games. EGo started 30/69 games.

Second quarter EGo was scoring 5.2 per 8.9 minutes whereas Melo was 3.8 per 7.0 minutes.

Third quarter EGo was scoring 4.5 per 7.2 while Melo 4.9 per 9.7 minutes.

Fourth quarter EGo was 4.4 per 8.0 and Melo 2.7 per 6.6 minutes (serious decline for Melo).

To me you start Melo and finish with some other players like Gordon and Green who can give bursts of scoring late. That's the tough sell to me is telling Melo he won't be finishing every game. Either that or you lighten his load so he stays effective.

(Melo is at .54 ppm in the first, .54 second, .51 third, .41 4th)