I think anybody with half a brain knew that. Sounds harsh, but as high volume low IQ chucker that has been shown to have a me first selfish attitude his entire career and been labeled a cancer isn't going to magically save us. Morey is a REALLY smart guy but I hope people understand he can be a dumbass too.
this is what i'm curious about... how is he being scapegoated? certainly no one from the rockets has outwardly expressed that our struggles are because of melo, and to my knowledge there hasn't been any anonymous reports reflecting that either. so i'm not sure where this "scapegoat" narrative is coming from even though it seems like everyone in the national media is running with that narrative for some reason. maybe MDA is black balling him - i suppose it's possible but with CP3 and melo being boys it'd be pretty damn shocking to see him openly defy his $160M pg for a personal grudge that very well could cost him his job if the ship isn't righted.
How do you know that there are chemistry issues related to his attitude and stature--whatever that means? Coach, CP3, and DM have said he has done everything expected of him and been a good guy.
The fans are scapegoating him. The fans are behind these ridiculous "anonymous" reports. I hope he goes somewhere and lights us up when we meet.
But none of this has much to do with why the Rockets are where they are. That's why he is being scapegoated.
Bottom line: Harden & CP3 have been mediocre thus far and the Rockets have a record that reflects their play. CP3 has been suspended & flat awful at times. Harden got injured but is playing like he's satisfied after winning MVP. Capela got his money and came back with freaking blonde streak in his hair. These guys act like they won something last year and they are getting their asses whipped on the nightly! That ain't Melo it's the apathy shown by the 3 highest paid guys on the team!
I would rather have Ryno than Melo at this point. Ryno just wasn’t worth his contract but he can still be useful with his spacing. His confidence probably got shot for being a constant subject of trade rumors and his contract. Wouldn’t mind bringing him back at the vet min of bought out...
Can’t argue with the drop in performance from the big 3. Injuries and suspensions have played a part, but those guys need to step up for sure. That said, we have no idea what goes on behind the scenes. If the Rockets are already willing to pull the plug on Melo, that indicates something serious. Also, it’s difficult to ignore the plus/minus stat which clearly shows that the Rockets are better without him. Fact is, he doesnt fit and his presence in no way helps the team. Remember... Presty is not stupid, there’s probably a good reason the Thunder basically paid him to go away. Maybe there’s a correlation between Melo’s subtraction and OKC looking solid this year.
like he lit up OKC? as much as our woes don't fall entirely on melo the notion that he is capable of "lighting up" anybody is absurd... he's simply not that player anymore and the sooner he comes to grip with that the better. and wtf does "the fans are behind these ridiculous 'anonymous' reports" even mean???
Melo shot better than 40 percent, averaged almost 14 points off the bench, and had three 20 point games during his few games. Those are the facts. Sure, he had a terrible game in OKC, but that was an outlier. His averages make that clear. As for the anonymous reports, I am convinced that several of these reports--which have very little information or sourcing--are fueled by the vitriol on this Board (and elsewhere) for the guy least responsible for this team's predicament.
Melo being less effective than Clark is not out of his hands. If he cut out the mid range, stuck to layups and 3's and bought into the defense a little bit more, he would be having a bounce back year and people would be praising him for reinventing his game and attitude. It's not that he can't do that. It's just that he prefers a different way - one where the person he's defending stays with him and is the worst offensive player on the other team, meanwhile on offense mixing between 3's and mid range contested fade aways against players who are more athletic than him. Not to mention needing rhythm shots just to get into doing THAT. The ball is in his court. Unless he had a significant bust up with a teammate or staff, I happen to think he might still return and help us. I knew it would be a rocky start and I wasn't expecting him to fit in till the latter half of the season. This team and coach lets players choose their offense, and when they don't meet a minimum efficiency they get benched. It's not personal and it's not selective, except for Harden taking mid range shots occasionally. Melo chose to stick with the style that has failed him for damn near 5 years. I've said it a million times this season. He is always bleeding points on the defensive end. So if he's not scoring efficiently, then he is a negative. There are 4 or 5 people in the world who can remain consistently efficient while taking contested mid range jumpers regularly, and Melo is not one of them. It's not worth 4 negative games for him to go off in the 5th one. There is no knock-on benefit to taking those shots, like there would be if opponents were respecting his drive or 3 - that opens things up for everyone else too, even when he misses. Teams are respecting him at the 3pt line and he's shooting a decent percentage. Too bad. I wanted him to succeed off the bench, torching teams with Eric Gordon and Chris Paul.
Hustle and laziness are both contagious. Unfortunately, Melo is more lazy than he is hustle. Hard to win consistently with multiple guys like that on your roster.
To be fair, some of us thought that coming to a team that almost won it all last year and had two elite-level players running things on court would make the leopard change its spots. We thought the situation was so golden that he would make a real effort to do what was needed and to find his happiness in that. The leopard either chose not to change his spots or is incapable of doing so. Were we totally unrealistic in thinking so? No, not totally. Just mostly.
On defence yes. I've seen possessions where he's been closing out a 3 point shooter on a kick out and he doesnt even contest it, just jogs right past him. It's infuriating, just put your ****ing arm up at least. For everyone giving the Rockets **** about this. Let's see who picks him up. Most teams won't want him, teams looking for anyone with a name like Detroit would, other than that it's just his good buddy LeBron who has shown over the years to be a crappy player/gm, and the Lakers don't really care about this season anyway from the looks of it. Like Paul George is sniping now? OKC would pay him $20m to not play for them anymore!
