Pretty good I think. They actually punched above their weight class for a team that more or less sucked.
I will call out nonsense when I see it, especially if you’re quoting me with it that point is straight up nonsensical...only the biggest of Melo fanboys would use that as a legit argument...if Harden made 1 more three a game he would’ve been a 47% 3 point shooter on 10 attempts a game...even Curry would be looking at him like I wonder what every other player in the NBA would be shooting from the field if u just added an extra made field goal? Lol, add an extra made field goal for freaking Mudiay and he goes from 37% from the field to 47%. The facts are that Melo finished the season shooting 40% from the field which is atrocious... when people bring up things like Melo’s terrible DRPM, u ignore it to tell us that he and Ariza had similar DRTG’s...the same Ariza who is the primary defender on the opposing team’s best wing player every game... next u tell me that OKC lost game 6 because Melo was on the bench when he was getting roasted defensively and was a team worst -19...OKC makes their big comeback in game 5 once Melo hits the bench...I point that out to directly contradict what you’re trying to sell me, and it’s crickets from u... If you’re watching games, why didn’t u notice that Melo was struggling on both ends against Utah in the playoffs? I hope for the best when Melo comes here...I pray he balls out because I’m desperate for a championship...I hope he can give us anywhere from 16-18 ppg, 6, and 3 on good shooting splits and Morey, D’antoni, CP3, Harden, and Melo can all cement their legacies with a title, but all this caping for Melo like you’re his momma or his agent when Melo was out there looking like a 3 legged dog with worms and an ear infection last season has me like
Okay man I aint reading all that, did you really go find some gifs to make me laugh? You win man, if you putting in all that work I concede.
Maybe you should look at Melo as the Ryan Anderson replacement. As we hope Morey can move Anderson plus a pick for a 3 & D replacement for Ariza like a Bazemore So.... Bazemore replaces Ariza Ennis replaces Luc Melo replaces Anderson And we are better
1st Point regarding the FG%- You are simply missing the point which I'll try to state another way. 50% is generally considered a great FG%, fact. If you give me 10 shots and I hit 4 I'm a 40% shooter and by general standards inefficient because of the 6 misses. However just changing 1 of those misses to a make will have me considered efficient as a shooter, 1 damn shot. So as an analytics student I play the numbers with Melo's shooting stats. Melo for his career scores at a 45% clip, 9 out of 20 from the field on average. So I ask why would he make 4 out of 10 shots instead of 5, is it shot selection on that potential 5th make? Did he miss and get the rebound, miss again and get the board then score as he usually does? Was it a heave from deep with the shot clock running down? All things to look at that statistics do not show. I also look at the spacing when he isn't playing catch and shoot basketball, is he driving into help, does he have to fall away, etc.. All of this matters in context. I will not simply look at his FG% and let that be my judgment on him as a scorer or player. I'd have the same opinion whether he shot 40% or 46% because 1 FGM would not change much in my perception but to the masses he's now efficient or slightly more efficient than he's been in his career. You see how wide that spectrum is? For the DRPM vs DRTG you bring up Ariza defending the best player on the opposing team and I just don't care. Team defense is more important than individual defense and Melo's team defense resulted in OKC having a top 12 defense with him on the court. This isn't a game of one on one where Ariza's would actually hold some merit. I don't ignore it, I simply do not value it enough because its not like a Cornerback playing Cover 0, Melo will have the help around him and will be fine in that regard. I never said OKC lost BECAUSE Melo was on the bench, I said they lost with him on the bench, they lost with him in the game, they won with him on the bench and also won with him in the game. Point is that team has/had issues deeper than Melo but he did get the brunt of the blame for some reason even though Mitchell and Rubio were killing Westbrook and Ingles had Playoff P missing in action. Melo was struggling but it was a mix of things, things I've already stated and will not repeat. Things that he had control of and things he also didn't. Not much more to say here. As for your last part I resent your personal attack on me. So I will refrain from responding. I never called you anything outside of your name please do not attack me personally. I'm not his mother, I'm a fan, a huge fan and at times passionate one but I've followed him enough to have a better grasp on his game than any of you. I did not come here telling you guys about Harden, Capela or anyone simply because you have more knowledge on their games than me and I respect that. I just wish you respected my Melo insight the same way. Nice gifs.
I’m not missing the point, it’s just not a valid argument. Melo’s been below league average in efficiency the past 4 seasons. You’re basically telling me to add 78 more made field goals for Melo over the course of the season in order for him to go from terribly inneficient to efficient. Let’s add 70+ more made shots to every other player and let’s see what their shooting percentages are then. We are worse defensively, especially if you’re putting Melo in the starting lineup next to Harden. That is what I care about. We are replacing the defense of Ariza and Luc with Ennis and Melo. Even if Melo puts in more consistent effort than he did in OKC or than he has for most of his career, the dude is 34. At some point, you just become a liability due to age and decline. It’s not like Melo is known for staying in top shape to begin with. OKC’s defensive rating improved from 105.6 to 103 when Melo was off the court according to NBA.com. In the playoffs, the defense improved from 109.7 to 98.2, but u keep trying to tell me that Melo wasn’t a liability defensively. Utah was picking on him defensively, and Utah isn’t even a good or overly talented offensive team. Of course the team had deeper issues than just Melo, and it would be foolish to place all the blame on him, but he wasn’t good last year, and that’s just facts. Melo will get a lot of blame when he’s dropping 12, 6, and 0.3 on 38/21/73 shooting splits while playing 32 mpg and killing them defensively in the playoffs.
I see it different. PJ replaces Ariza. Ennis or Melo replace Ryno as starter (whichever fits in best with starters) Everyone replaces Luc (More minutes for Gordon, Melo, Ennis, etc) Ryno still plays backup minute occasionally with matchups he can help with.
Look here people. If you don't like Melo, fine. But please stop calling those that would not mind him being on this team a Melo lover. Talk about some childish rhetoric.
theres people that justify melo sensibly which is fine, and theres others that just disregard any concerns or criticism despite being legitimately warranted. pretty well known group of those
thats a debate to you? LMAO. you couldn't even read what he posted because its either your attention span can't last that long or you just refuse to understand it. or actually it just doesn't apply because it has legitimate facts. FOH
Thats a 6 game stretch, I can't only blame Melo for that. PG went 2/16 when it mattered most, Westbrook took 43 shots. Adams was nonexistent. Again Melo wasn't a defensively liability, you can say it 100 times tho keep going. OKC's defense having a 2.6 jump kinda proves my point, its a single possession better/worse. If they had a better system offensively it likely offsets that. I'm not telling you to add 78 more FGM, in a vacuum thats asinine but what I'm saying is dig into why he didn't have the 78 or 80 additional makes. Let me put it this way, if Melo shot 46% you still wouldn't be happy with him being a Rocket. Thats why you keep saying he's a bad defender or doesn't play defense. You just don't want him here and you'll be negative all year in regards to him.
