[ESPN/Spears] Is this it for Melo? [How/When the decision was made to pull the plug]

We were the best half court team in the NBA last year, we brought GS to its knees without need contested mid range turnaround fadeaway post up jump shots. We lost because with Chris Paul we are less talented and need to outwork and outdefend them, and without Chris Paul there is not a chance in hell of doing that especially with Melo. The shot you are talking about is low efficiency, for over half a decade now, on multiple teams, with multiple coaches. We will never need that efficiency if the team is healthy, and if we are missing Chris Paul then Melo mid range turnaround fadeaway post up jump shots are not going to go in against Durant or Green. That's never happening. Steve Kerr would be on his knees praying to Michael Jordan for that to be the offense we go to. That shot is less efficient than every other shot we take. It is less efficient than all the shots all the rotation players choose to take.

THERE IS NOTHING HELPED BY A NET NEGATIVE WHO IS MORE NET NEGATIVE THAN ALL THE OTHER ROTATION PLAYERS. Do you understand this idea? Why do you keep cherry picking instances of Melo being positive when you know full well the net is negative? It's like saying heroine addiction should be maintained because you get to be high on heroine. To put it more simply, it's like saying "there's chocolate syrup in the pile of ****, so let's keep the pile of ****."

Now, back to the subject. If you are going to go at people for saying things that Woj/Shams didn't say, then stick to that principle yourself and stop making up conspiracy theories about MDA and Bzdelik. Start pointing the finger at the guy who had the control of the situation in his hands and decided to take a shot that made him so offensively flat that it could not mitigate his bleeding defense. That's on Anthony. If it doesn't work in the regular season against regular teams, it's not going to work against the playoff GS Warriors and YES, 100 times out of 100, we will take 3's over that Melo shot even if we missed 27 in a row once. Because we're educated people who understand statistics, and talent, and strategy and fatigue. And 100 times out of 100, there are at least 3 other players on this roster who we could make a mid range shot at a higher efficiency than this Carmelo Anthony. You are arguing a ridiculous notion. This is not superstar Melo. This is 34 year old, never-worked-out-properly, can't jump, can't move laterally Carmelo Anthony.

He is 100% capable of being a tremendous piece on a contender if he buys into taking 3's and destroying aggressive close outs with aggressive drives to the basket. He does not want that. Even if it means a resurgence for him and a boon for the team, he doesn't want it. He wants to play-act like he's 25. We don't have time for that childish stuff. Paul is old. Harden is getting old. They are going to become like Melo in just a few years. If the team was losing with him, wins better when he's gone, and his individual numbers are negative, and this is the 3rd team and 3rd coach this is happening with, then it's Melo who has to change. It's Melo who is doing something wrong. It's Melo who can't help 1 team trying to escape the dungeon and 2 teams trying to win a championship in 2 different modern styles. No one is going to adjust to him, what he brings is not worth adjusting to. Stop taking it so personal and digging your heels in. Wish him luck and be a fan of this team. No one here wants the Rockets to have less of a chance to win, including fans and coaching staff and management. We all want the ring, and were THIS close. This Melo gets us further.

 

I hate Karl Malone as much as the next person here but that dude was consistent as hell even as an old ****er.

 

Trade Melo to the Spurs for Jakob Poeltl. Aldridge/DeRozan/Melo...

 

Some players can make the transition from star to role player or bench player like Jason Terry or Vince Carter. Some can't like Kobe and Melo. I just don't get why Morey pursued someone who math says is literally the worst player in basketball over the last 2 seasons. I feel for Melo and respect what he has accomplished in his career.

 

C'mon man, MCW was the rookie of the year back in the day.

 

I'm sad it didn't work out for Carmelo.
I thought he was trying his best until the OKC game. Perhaps, he quit on the team that night. I'm not sure about that.

 

Yeah me too really.

 

I’m just glad this experiment is finally over, and I credit Morey for pulling the plug early instead of trying to pretend like things could work out over time

 

I want my five minutes back.

 

That makes perfect sense, it would been the lead on every sports show and the topic of every locker room interview.

Nobody needs that ongoing through the season.

It was not fair to the team and to Melo being constantly asked about it.

 

How is that a Rockets hit piece, I think it was fair to both.

 

I know it only been 4 games, but damn it's been like night/day with versus without him.

 

I don't understand why it isn't as simple as it obviously is.

He. Just. Didn't. Fit.

He's not a spot up shooter and never was a defender. Teams were pick and rolling him to death.

All the rest is emotion and drama. I think the Rockets did the right thing by him (and themselves) when they wasted no time in dissolving the relationship. I DO question the idea that they ever thought he was a fit in the first place. I wonder if they listened to CP3 about Melo and in an effort to make him happy (while in contract discussions) they promised they'd give him a shot.

 

I'd love to see Melo go to China and score 100 points in a game. Freddette scored 75 a few days ago.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...75-points-chinese-basketball-association-game

 

Because not a single word of it is true. The Rockets are smart right now. They are taking a very minor hit for sealclubbing Melo but he was not some angel in this. It was not nice and smooth. He resisted the role as a backup and assumed because of our deficiencies we had no excuse not to start him at the 3. He's very passive aggressive with the public. He knew he didn't fit and he didn't care. He didn't make changes to his game and just wanted his minutes and shots. It was OKC all over again. It is in the Rockets interest to give him a grand exit and remain friends and let him move on now that the team is back together. Don't for one minute think the team was simply in a funk from missing players. Everyone was made uneasy throughout the start of the season. This is a small mistake that has been rectified. Sometimes things are just bad timing and unavoidable. We wanted the Buckets trade, had new players, shortened offseason, and then Melo. The entire NBA has sucked up to this point. We were inconsistent at the start of last year. The chemistry problem was going to happen anyway because of the transition but got exacerbated far beyond the pale. This is also being done to keep things cool with CP3. We tried, it didn't work, no harm no foul.

I will freely admit I am one of the almost 90% here that wanted him and especially at the freebie vet min. He could have been valuable but had no interest in changing and it cost us practically nothing. It was worth the shot. I only wanted him in a 6th man role off the bench torching other team's 2nd units for instant offense which necessitated him as a backup to Tucker or in small ball that allowed Tucker to either be off the court or subbing Capela. He hated that role and then Gary Clark just made it painfully obvious that we had better options. I will let the people with far better information and credibility provide the details and refute any of what I have said but this **** isn't some secret. It's what you think it is.

 

Exactly. Who gives a sht1t. It didn't work. Doesn't matter why, doesn't matter if their is more to the story (sorry will), doesn't matter if he plays anywhere else. It's not Hakeem and it's not any of your relatives. Move the f on.

 

I did too at first, then I thought, he’s had a better career than most. He was a great scorer. He’s made millions. Could be worse.

 

Fertitta gave a lot of signs that Morey and D'Antoni are expected to produce results now, i.e. getting to WCF minimum. He is under financial pressure and he signs big checks for this team. This is a wake up call from the owner. I think it's going to work.

 

Melo wouldn't be bouncing around the league so much if he would just put his pride aside. That ISO ball BS isn't as effective in today's game. If he played even a little bit of defense he would be useful somewhere. He was never athletic to begin with. Now he's just slow and can't hit shots.

 

Using melo as the scapegoat is foolish