The irony is Tmac actually didnt pull it off much either lol (He DID at ONE time, but got comfortable with that and ended up settling for rise-and-fire long shots instead of creating better shots.) Really Rudy Gay is the embodiment of McGrady shot selection (and statisically Gay might actually be a tad better at 'getting away with it".) McGrady is just much better in all the other areas of the game to compensate
the East teams face East teams in the playoffs, just saying... it doesn't make much sense to say that they are the 2nd least suckiest team in the conference so they are 1st round material or 2nd rd material at best
hes saying how the hell can a team predicated on two overhyped/overrated streaky chuckers manage to win 50 games? answer, east is crap.
the Pacers are a good team, Chicago when healthy are a very good team, the Heat are an amazing team, the rest of the least are crap.
Carmelo gets called a pure "scorer", not a pure shooter. The pure "scorer" is someone like a Jamal Crawford who can "create a shot" from anywhere (regardless of it they can actually make the shot or not). The pure shooter is mostly a good jump shooter from deep Glen Rice has Carmelo BEAT in "effective shooting %" combining 3's, and in "true shooting %" combining 3's and free throws. Basically Glen Rice's 45.6% is more potent cuz its adding in much higher 3 point percentages along with it, that even Carmelo's big advantage in free throws can't make up. Glen Rice led the league in 3pt% 1 year, Carmelo will NEVER do that. But Carmelo has Rice beat in most all the other areas of basketball. (The whole Carmelo commands "double teams" and the "gets other team in foul trouble" to open it up for his team argument)
We've seen Melo's ceiling and it's losing in the 2nd round of the Eastern conference playoffs. That block may end up being the play that defines him. I know that's how I'll remember him. Given the right supporting cast, he could be the best player on a championship team, but given the salary-cap mess the Knicks are in (some of that blame falling on Melo's shoulders), that's not gonna happen within his window. Enjoy 4-5 seasons of early playoff exits New York. You wanted a Melo-centered team, you got it.
You are correct on one is a pure shooter and the other being pure scorer. He thrives on Team USA as 2nd or 3rd option. IMO If Melo wants to win a ring, he absolutely can NOT be the best player on a team. He has no leadership and can never lead by example. The best player on any championship team is mentally tough and will play both ends of the court. Carmelo is not that player. I truly feel for their fans. Lots of dieharders. Most of them had never experienced what it feels like to win a championship. Knicks are nothing but a pretender for as long as they are his team.
I am not a big Melo fan, but seriously guys did any one of actually watched any of the games. Melo was getting fouled something chronic and not getting the FT calls at all, which is a shame as it impacted his shot selection. Compared to some of the calls that Durant and Harden and to a certain extent Lebron, it was definitely disrespectful to the league's leading scorer. Why take it to the hole strong if you're going to get knocked sideways. Admittedly it was a great block in game 6 from Hibbert. But Melo carried the Knicks for the first half and then Shump and him carried the Knicks for the third quarter. He was gassed in the fourth and probably should have tried to take over a bit more, but he played well.
FTs or not, the guy consistently takes BAD shots, and A LOT of shots. His assist numbers are embarrassing
I think it is more a testament to how crappy your team is if JR Smith is your second best player. You can do it with one "star" - Mavs and Pistons proved that. By and large agree with you though...
jr smith is NOT the second best player that goes unquestionably to Tyson Chandler, who is arguably the best player on the team considering defense and fg% tyson played poorly but so did carmelo, smith, and kidd if they are willing to swallow it, they should amnesty amare and bring in a good pf
it really goes back to the owner. They could've gotten Lin for MUCH cheaper, (we agree Lin is having an average-above average season, imagine what MSG will be like if he produce these number at a much cheaper contract) and his numbers would've been inflated playing there vs here. He might've actually get into the allstar game.
