Carmelo: "I'm not going to (come off the bench) in a situation where I still know my capabilities"

If Capela said he'd only sign with us if he could have the offense run through him, I wouldn't expect anyone to say "as long as we win I don't care." And that's because we wouldn't win that way; that's not how the Rockets would be at their best.

Similar deal here.

I'm not worried about it though. We started last year with RA starting at PF and used an RA injury as an excuse to put PJ in his starting spot permanently. We can do the same with Melo this year*. That might be the only way to move him to the bench without upsetting his ego.

* If we get a SF that's worth a damn

 

I’d rather have Ariza and Luc

 

Melo didn’t say anything about shots or the offense running through him.

He just doesn’t feel like he’s a bench player but then again I also think his perception of what a bench player is is off.

But even still you all know better than most how MDA runs his rotations and in terms of his minutes he should definitely start so he can be attached to Paul vs 2nd units.

And like many have said, it’s about who finishes.

 

Why are you so sure of this? Because he played lock-down D and rebounded like a boss from that position against golden state?

I see your point, but frankly i think he was playing out of position due to luc's injury and ryno's suckage, and its just a testiment to how versitile of a player and defender he is.

I see Tucker as a 3/4 who will play a lot of minutes at both positions. But i see melo at this stage of his career as a 4. He is not wuick enough to stay with 3s. Tucker is.

 

3/4 is interchangable much like Harden/Paul at the 1/2

It all depends on who they defend and who defends them.

 

OKC had 28 MILLION reasons to

 

That plus if George walked I doubt they move Melo.

They actually had 100M reasons to after PG re-signed

 

Melo needs to read The Daily Stoic daily.

 

I think some of us are too quick to react to Melo's stance on starting. One, who on the current roster right now is better suited to start over Melo? Two, I'm not going to use his lone season in OKC as the end-all assessment of where his career or production is going. Three, if it doesn't work out and Melo is more of a minus than a plus then, just like @Clutch wrote in his article, we cut bait .

Sometimes I think the collective here is rooting against this team's success moreso than the media.

 

The point was that (IMO) we'd be at our best with Melo as 7th man. But, again, this assumes (/hopes) that we would somehow acquire a starting caliber 3+D SF.

Anyway, I'm not worried about it.

The most troubling aspect if that it seems like Melo thinks that Melo knows best, regardless of what his team might tell him. But there's no reason to really worry about that right now either. I trust that this team will be well-run.

 

Starter? Bench? Who fking cares. All I know is coach needs to monitor his team mins and only push for more mins if needed. He doesn't have the luxury of Ariza soaking up heavy mins anymore.

 

Start Anthony at 4 and Ennis at the 3. Tucker comes in and relieves either if they're not cutting it. Maybe there's another Morey move for another defensive wing. There are a ton of variables.

 

It's not about starting. That matters very little. It's all about minutes distribution, and closing out games. I trust MDA, Morey, and the players to come to the correct conclusion. We aren't in the McHale era anymore......TRUST THE TEAM!

 

You had me until the last lines. Joe Johnson was A Star that had hit rock bottom. Melo is currently rolling down the hill. Superstar shouldn't be mentioned anymore or have an factor in expectations. Super role player or at least being able to make a case for the all star team is the goal. Anything beyond that is gravy and That would be a step up from his last couple of years in NY and OKC when he was in the middle or third quarter of the league in a lot of efficiency and value metrics.

 

Oh my God, we might have to cut him and lose our $2.4M investment.

 

When GS signed Cousin I thought it was over. This is the only move that gives us a chance. It might not work but there is no way in hell we had a chance without Melo. Now at least there is a chance. This is a totally different team than OKC. Melo has never had a player like CP3 or Harden setting him up. Now he has both.

 

Should Melo not be confident in himself ? Besides replacing ariza in the starting lineup with Melo is an upgrade. Think we’ve had enough of these melo off the bench threads.

 

Idk how you can say you’d be at your best with him as your 7th man. There’s nothing tangible that can really support that.

I think Melo knows more than us about where he is as a player physically and mentally, we can’t really argue that. And I think Morey and MDA know how he fits best on this team as well and they’re all on the same page.

If things aren’t working out and if part of that is Melo’s fault then adjustments will be made accordingly. But if things aren’t working out and it’s not on him say Capela is playing like crap or Harden is in a slump then what? I wonder what happens then.

 

Oh there’s more coming. Media and fans won’t sleep at night until he comes off the bench.

 

at this point starting or coming off the bench is whatever. His comments are beyond that. this selfish dwight esq attitude is what is terrible and the exact questions/concerns that have been raised for months now. He's not above any team, especially an aging 34 year old. hes no star. The goal is to win. You want players to buy in, especially coming into a new team. The team isn't supposed to be adjusting to you first. They were already a championship contender without Melo. Melo is supposed to be adjusting to the rockets and see where he fits the best and can contribute to actual winning basketball. You want guys to come in and put the team first and acknowledge that they'll do whatever the team needs them to do.

Selfish me and I players, I can always do without any day on my team