Found this article on Bleacher Report. They argue that the Rockets are slipping. The part about Carmelo aligns with what I feel about him. He'd be a defensive liability in their switching defensive scheme. He was horrible against Utah and, in my opinion, a key reason why OKC was bounced in the first round. Plus, he still believes he's a starter and doesn't want to come off the bench. I just can't see how this would work - especially against GS. Take it for what it's worth: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...ckets-the-biggest-fa-loser-in-the-west#slide0 The Rockets Are Slipping The Houston Rockets' increasingly disappointing offseason underscores the importance of seizing the moment. Just over a month ago, Houston had the Golden State Warriors on the ropes—up three games to two and heading to Oakland for Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals. The Rockets had two cracks at eliminating the eventual champs, probably should have advanced...and didn't. Houston missed its moment. And now the greatest challenger the Dubs (Kevin Durant version) have ever faced is receding into the rearview. This might feel overdramatic; we're only talking about Houston losing Trevor Ariza to the Phoenix Suns and Luc Mbah a Moute to the Los Angeles Clippers, per a report from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Neither player is a star, and the Rockets were significantly better against the Warriors in the playoffs when those two were on the bench. Still, at a time when the entire league is scouring the landscape for rangy defensive aces who can also hit a three, the Rockets just lost two of them. Ignore the small conference finals sample suggesting Houston doesn't need its top two wing defenders. Length and versatility keyed a switching Rockets scheme that stifled most opponents, contributing to a No. 6defensive rating during the regular season. Mbah a Moute could credibly guard five positions. Ariza handled four. Both were integral to an approach designed specifically to disrupt Golden State's attack, and it's worth wondering whether the Rockets will even try to employ the same strategy now that their most useful defenders are gone. Chris Paul is due for decline entering his age-33 season, and physical breakdowns are now the expectation for his playoff trips. James Hardenmay very well reprise his MVP efforts, but what if he's suddenly tasked with expending effort on both ends? Chances are his offense will take a hit if he can no longer pass off assignments via switches and/or hide while others do the real heavy lifting on D. What if Clint Capela—currently getting hosed by bad timing, leaguewide empty pockets and the general inequity of restricted free agency—isn't the happiest camper if he returns next year on his qualifying offer or a below-market deal from the Rockets, who haven't even had to consider matching an offer sheet yet? Carmelo Anthony, a reported target of the Rockets, simply cannot see the floor in meaningful minutes against Golden State. The Oklahoma City Thunder were 2.6 points per 100 possessions better on defense without Melo last year, and he ranked 72nd among 82 power forwards in ESPN's Defensive Real Plus-Minus. Twenty-four players took at least 1,168 shots last year; Anthony's effective field-goal percentage ranked 24th in that group. He will not help. In the absence of Ariza and Mbah a Moute, Houston will have to either play objectively worse wings or cull a rotation that was already painfully thin. Is Ryan Anderson going to see high-leverage minutes? Gerald Green? As bad as that sounds, it beats the alternative of leaning even more on Paul and Harden, who didn't hold up last year under the strenuous demands of a playoff rotation trimmed to seven players by the time the Rockets met Golden State. Houston may still be the second-best team in the West, but it has lost critical pieces while the Warriors have retained their entire core and pocketed a playoff wild card in DeMarcus Cousins. This is lamentable on several levels, but the fact that money seems to be the driving force behind Houston's personnel losses only makes it a bigger bummer. Because as the Warriors plunge deep into the tax ($40 million and counting), adding Cousins and re-upping with Kevin Durant, Houston is operating more carefully. How else to explain its failure to beat one-year offers for Ariza and Mbah a Moute? Houston owner Tilman Fertitta said in February he'd pay the tax to field a championship contender. To his credit, he green-lit a new deal for Paul and will have to shell out more for Capela. But Ariza and Mbah a Moute are gone because the Rockets chose not to spend what it would have cost to keep them. Ironically, the Rockets are going to pay a heavy price for their thrift. They've fallen off the Warriors' level and back into the clump of nonthreatening pseudo-contenders.
MDA and melo have bad history together. Hopefully CP3 can control melos selfishness when he butts head with the coach
It's nice having you on the forum. I think I can speak for most when I say that your posts have really upped quality here, and we're all better off by having read them. Thanks. Everyone needs a reminder of what Lakers fans can be like when they are relevant.
Bleacher report is the worst of the worst. I hate that these guys get paid for what they do. (Do they get paid?)
Might be but this take on Melo is absolutely dead on. He is absolutely unplayable against the Warriors. They will abuse him on defense.
Low risk high reward. We don't run a motion/pace and space offense, we take 3's and iso. Perfect fit.
It's 'dead on' as a description of current Melo. It doesn't even try to speculate that anything would change (especially shot selection) in a Rockets uniform. I will give him points for even listing any stats (impressive for Bleacher Report), but for a piece that is supposed to be about the new season, it's completely about last season. The past is never a perfect predictor of the future. It reminds me of the poorly written pieces about Harden and Paul's fit last season. Lazy takes that didn't resemble reality when all of the pieces realign. You just never know. I feel like a speculation piece should at least explore multiple scenarios.
I think that Harden and Melo are also pretty cool with each other. If they want to make it work, it will. I can understand him getting frustrated in NY and subsequently OKC. Regular season I think we could just plug in Melo for Ariza and blaze out 60 wins with Green/Some defensive wing/Gordon/someone being a 9 man rotation. The playoffs are where it will get hard. Maybe Melo rises to the occasion defensively. Maybe Melo becomes more willing to move to the bench after 50 or so games of it not working well enough defensively. He can ride out for a legit shot at a ring and then leave next year.
Yes if I’m getting the hungry do whatever for the team “hoodie” Melo No if I’m getting “gotta get my touches” as a starter Melo
Few reasons why I would like to have Melo on the team. Better mid range game than Ryno Better post-up game than Ryno On a switch everything offense, he'd be very effective in isolation vs a smaller player If an opposing all-star SF/PF ends up guarding Melo, perfect stretch 4 situation, keep them away from the paint where they can get blocks and rebounds. PnR game is probably better than the high screen pick n pop that Ryno does because all Ryno can do is shoot 3s after the pick, and Melo can at least dribble it a few times and make a play. The biggest downsides of Melo are less than desirable 3pt%, and unreliable defense. But that's almost Ryno. I think my point is I hate Ryno so anything else to replace him will be fine for me. Unfortunately, it still means Ryno will get PT because we still need to "showcase" his talents. I wish there was someone out there dumb enough to take him off our hands.
Once a loser, always a loser. Where are the people who believed he was humbled and would actually accept a lesser role? Melo is just one of those guys, waste of talent like T-Mac.
