I think that Russ has been the biggest disappointment out all of them so far tbh Melo seems to be an easy scapegoat since he’s not in the long term plans, and when u think of selfish play, lack of ball movement, and ISO u think of Melo Do u think that PG to LA is a done deal like most of the national media?
Yeah, I haven't watched them a lot this season so far. But PG's numbers are better than Melo across the board. He shoots better, scores a little more, has more assists and steals, and grabs about the same number of rebounds. Not sure what Codman is referring to.
I haven't seen this in the slightest. He is playing almost identical to how he has played the last 4-5 years, and he is actually shooting the three a bit better too, as well as being even more of a menace on defense. For me, he has always been super Ariza, and as such, a bit overrated.
Well we'd be very happy to take Paul George off their hands. German guy that hasn't played and a truck full of ipads for paul george...
I see this more selfish version of Melo is working out so far. PG is good as gone. Yet, I am sure there are those who still want Melo on our team.
Chemistry. It just takes time. Team meetings are part of doing the "right thing." But, sometimes it just isn't enough. The regular season is relatively short, when you consider creating a philosophy on both ends of the court where everyone MUST buy in. Basically, OKC has two superstars who are soon to be free agents. Both have plenty of game left, and both have A TON to prove. This OKC experiment is not going to show any progression of skill or leadership because the team has been built around WB for the year and into the future. Not to his fault, but WB does not know how to lead, other than actually dominating the ball and putting up crazy triple doubles. He doesn't know how to get a guy like Melo going by deferring to him until he's no longer hot. An example would be how Rudy T coached during the "Iso-Era." I loved it, while many hated the method. Anyway, Rudy would intentionally have Mo Taylor isolate on the left post and spread Cat/Stevie/Walt/Dream/Oz/Cato/Etc/Etc around the perimeter. MoTay would jab a bit, make a sweet spin-move and usually score. His jumpers were beautiful. Now, the brilliance of it was that Rudy T would continue the same Iso play, over and over, until MoTay missed 2-3 shots in a row. Afterwards, he'd go to the same ideology, but instead, he'd run everything through Cat or Steve. Until one of them missed a few times, that was the offensive game. It seems so simple that it's stupid, but really, it's a fairly smart offense if you have the right personnel. With OKC, you could technically do something similar and it would work towards the strength of Melo/PG and WB. Each can be a prolific scorer, but each needs space, repetition and consistency. As of now, from what I've watched and heard from various folks, there is no "bad blood" in that locker room. It's more frustration than anything. It's the frustration of learning to play together with guys who all need the ball, with guys who all have agendas OUTSIDE of the team and guys with so much PRESSURE to prove that they're worth the dough next year (excluding Russ---he's paid). Allegedly, the most unhappy of the big names is PG. That's understandable. Everyone knows he wanted to be out in La La Land. However, he's being a professional and doing the right things. Whether or not you follow him closely, it's obvious that his game is off. The focus, energy, intensity and drive are not even close to what you would expect in Indy. It could simply be an adjustment, but from what has been said, it's more of "This is a trial year; If we succeed, great. If we don't, I've got options." As for Melo, the guy wants to show the world that NYK wasn't his potential, and I think he's showing flashes of what he should have always been. The problem is time and age. He's got a GREAT leader in WB, but really, how much time do they have to make this work. My gut tells me that this is a one and done year. PG and Melo want a bigger market and to be either THE man or the second guy (Michael vs. Scottie sort of thing). There is time to fix this, but a trade doesn't make sense for OKC. It has to come from within. It has to be a team sacrifice, and I don't know who's willing to defer. The variables are too complex...even in a worst case scenario, where one of these superstars is injured, the rest of their career is drastically changed. I don't see either PG or Melo going "Derrick Rose" to prove a point this year. I see them as going through the motions, playing carefully, hoping for the best....because this year doesn't matter to two of them. The rest of their career is the focus. OKC is the pit stop neither selected as first choice (Exception:WB) . One wanted palm trees, the other wanted to be sittin' sideways, and cookin' with James and a fictional insurance agent off the court/literal insurance on the court. Sorry, it's late and these meds are BS. /Rant Love ya'll. -Cod
thanks Cod for the write up - that all makes sense now with the added info. It will be interesting to see what OKC does especially after dropping a very winnable game last night against a Pels team that was missing Boogie late in the game.
part of me still sort of thinks that he would be better here...look at all the guys who left OKC and are ballin...plus we have smarter players, more unselfish players, and a better system Melo might just be a lost cause tho who’s style of play is ingrained in his head
I’m seeing more and more OKC fans saying that Melo should come off the bench as if Melo would ever agree to such a thing...desperation must be starting to kick in I’m even seeing some of them go in on Russ
"George had a 13-point dud on Wednesday, but is still averaging 27.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 2.6 steals and 4.4 3-pointers on 47 percent shooting over his last five games." If Paul George is playing poorly, I must have missed it. What kills the Thunder is their incredibly terrible bench.
The problem is neither of the three make their teammates better. They are all good at making plays for themselves but they don't really know how to get other involved. Melo would be a lot better here because he would never be told to make something happen. He would play off of the 2 best playmakers in the NBA.
I don't know if Melo should come off the bench, but he should be running with the second unit instead of PG13. That second unit with PG13 is awful. They ALWAYS lose the lead. For some strange reason, PG13 doesn't take over running with worse talent. Melo would gladly take all those shots PG13 gives to Felton, Grant, PPat and Abrines. not that I want to give them any ideas.
I have to agree that they should look at substitution patterns and stagger WB and melo more. Melo should be the 1st option when westy is on the bench. PG should play more so as 2nd banana to both separately. If Paul is playing with melo he's the 2nd guy. If Paul is playing with westy he's the 2nd guy. Think of him like the okc Eric Gordon, except all 3 start. For example: 1st quarter Westy - all 12 Pg - comes out at 8 Melo - comes out at 6 2nd quarter Melo starts and comes out at 8 Pg - comes in at 10 Westy - comes in at 8 Melo comes back in at 4 Repeat for 3rd and 4th Just a general guideline to better stagger the stars and let melo "run the 2nd unit" aka the 6th man/bench role. Allows PG13 to be the more defined robin role. Doesn't really change anything for westy. All times are variable either way a couple minutes but you get the jist of it.
We talk about the OKC offense issues late in the game. But these numbers are really more damning. If "defense" is their calling card, why is it getting WORSE as the game goes on?
I have really changed my opinion on this issue. I agree that the BBIQ of the players is important, but the reality is that coaching makes a really large difference with certain teams. The reality is that OKC is running a mediocre offense, and some of that is the players but a lot of it is also the scheme and head coach. Look no further than the Rockets with McHale compared to Adelman or D'Antoni. Also, the GM deserves some blame as well. When a GM assembles a team, it needs to gel with the head coaches system and the players need to be able to play well with each other and maximize each other. That point is something that Morey learned after Howard; and it is something that the Warriors with Bob Myers preaches. He learned from Jerry West (and not trading Klay T) that sometimes it isn't as simple as player "A" is better than player "B". Having said that, OKC is capable of being the best defense in the NBA; better than Boston or San Antonio. They are very gifted defensively and capable of being extremely long and physical. Their offense doesn't have to be as smooth or as good as Houston or GS. The big problem I see for OKC is their bench. If they don't get a buy out candidate like Joe Johnson; they are going to break down in the second round of the playoffs.
Their defense gets worse because they all try to take over and they lack discipline. I am not concerned about there defense, when they focus they are very elite.
