Except that Denver is a team, and I'm sure other people like Billups and the bird-man affected the TEAM results as well. LOL at arguing numbers. Please make an argument why 1+1 doesn't equal two.l
he's an elite player, but primarily b/c he's an elite scorer. if he doesn't score, he really doesn't impact the game. guys like lebron, kobe, wade, paul, howard... can still impact a basketball game when they do not score b/c they do other things
By this logic Adam Morrison is a much better player than Melo. After all he's a two time NBA champion on the perennial champion Lakers. How many players can say that? Unlike Melo who hasn't even set foot on an NBA finals game. Even more important, the Lakers won their championships when Adam Morrison came to the Lakers. He's obviously the one who put them over the edge.
Melo is definitely elite, but what limits him from being the best of the best is his very average court vision and ball handling.
Of course, in an ideal world, you'd prefer your high volumne shooter to also have high efficiency. However, I think there is some value to a high-volume iso-heavy average-efficiency guy. The thing is, a team's offense, no matter how clever, is not going to work 100% of time. We are not going to get a fast-break layup, an open 3, a backdoor dunk, etc. in a lot of possessions, and it helps to have a guy who can at least make an decent number of shots when you give him the ball with 10 seconds on the clock and depend on him to make something happen. Remember how Trevor Ariza looked trying to create off the dribble in isos? Carmelo Anthony taking a lot of these kind of possession produced a mediocre 107 ORtg. Trevor Ariza trying to do some of the same things produced a 99 ORTG, which was just terrible. Ariza had a 112 ORtg as a shooter/slasher the year before.
I believe that Anthony's inefficiencies are attributable to his situation wherein he is asked to create his own scoring opportunities through isolation plays. LeBron goes off on isolation plays all the time, but his efficiency rating is so high because his both his ball handling and court vision are superior to Melo's. Same with Wade. Bosh is also an isolation player, but he starts at the free throw line extended down. One mistake by the defender and it's one dribble to the basket. Bosh also crashes the offensive boards much more than Melo (being a PF he's nearer to bucket to begin with), so his efficiency rises with those put-backs. Carmelo, to me, is elite right now in that he makes the opposition plan their defenses to accommodate his scoring prowess. That takes them out of their comfort zones and creates opportunities for the rest of the Nuggets. As Herrera posted, a lesser player put in the same position (Ariza) would not be able to produce as prolifically as Anthony. I believe that Melo would do well to take a page out of Kobe's playbook and start his offense at the post more often. All his quick threes are definitely hurting his percentages and his team.
I wouldn't call him elite. There are 5 guys IMO clearly better than him--Lebron, Durant, Wade, Howard and Kobe (listed in order of PER/oPER & +/-, also happen to be clearly the 1st team NBAers). He is in the 2nd tier with Dirk, Duncan, Paul, Nash, Williams & Roy--and I couldn't make a strong argument he is at the top of this pack. He might be among the best of 2nd group, but it is more obvious he belongs in the 2nd group than the top (elite) group above.
The argument isn't just that he made conference finals but that he was critical on the team that made a conference final.
lebron, wade, kobe, melo, durant IMO are the top 5 players in the league today. paul, DH, and company looking in.
i think ppl seriously overrate durant so much. he is a really really great player. but he's not really that much better than melo. I would definitely put Deron Williams and Chris Paul ahead of him. Those two point guards impact the game much much more than Durant does.
durant > melo. they're both elite scorers, but durant is more efficient. plus durant is a better rebounder and defender.
People underestimate Durant. He is a crazy efficient yet high volume shooter and scorer. He solidly beats Anthony is virtually every scoring category, shooting % from 2s, 3s, FT, PPS, TS%, total scoring, also leads him in blocks, steals, boards--and only trails (slightly) in assists and TOs. You can look at even more objective metrics. Durant has the #2 Roland ranking (combines PER, opposing PER, on/off court +), slightly ahead of Wade and only behind Lebron. With Howard and Kobe rounding of the top 5. Consider with Durant on the floor OKC is 16 points better, Anthony is only +3.4. Durant is +18 versus his opponent while Anthony is, impressive for more most stars, +9--and they play the same position with the same competition. Yes Durant is better than Anthony. The only way to overrate Durant right now is to say he is the best player in the league. He is certainly one of the best players in the league, an elite player.
one thing against durant is he struggled mightily in the playoffs v. the lakers. shooting 35% is not a good look, even if it's your first series. stars usually don't have a drop off in production like that. i'm sure he'll get better.
You don't think there is a difference between a guy leading his team in melo versus a benchwarmer in morrison. Think before posting garbage next time
He is behind James and Durant. But solid 3rd best SF in the game. I think you have to put him in elite status...but not convincingly...
When he doesn't score I think he does rebound pretty well and I think he getting better at playing D.
