Pippen in his prime had no first step but if he was easily considered a top 25 player. Do you consider Bird a wing player? Melo can get his shot off on almost anyone which is all that matters. He takes what the defense gives him and never really has to force it.
I addressed Bird in one of my earlier posts in this thread, and Carmelo is a good shooter, but I don't know if he will be as good a shooter as Bird. As far as taking what the defense gives him, to be a Franchise player in the NBA, you have to be able to create your own shot. Franchise players force double teams which in turn creates more opportunities for teamates. Shooting 15 foot jumpers doesn't force double teams.
I guess we don't pay much attention to history here, otherwise we would realize that the ROY race is about more than Bron and Melllo. Last year at this time, everyone was talking about Yao and Jay, but it was Amare who won the hardware. While Mello has looked good, so have Bosh and Wade. I think they both have a much better shot at the award than Bron, especially since Bosh has a great shot of helping his team into the playoffs...
I wonder how many double teams he'll draw when he takes those first step small forwards into the paint for the 6 foot turn around jumper. He's 234 pounds. They can't handle him. And he can pass. Then you combine that with his rebounding ability. That a few buckets each night as well. Then he can take you outside and hit the shot too. I mean what can't he do. He does what Antoine Walker and Tim Thomas fail to do. He manages his size to its full advantage. Imagine Antoine Walker with a post game. He'd be averaging 25-30 ppg and would be shooting a higher percentage.
Mashburn has never really had a great first step and he has, at times been a top 25 player - injuries have prevented him from consistency. G Robinson never had a first step but was a 20-25 ppg guy, his attitude keeping him from real stardom. Reef when he played SF had no first step and he was been a good scorer. He just has no real passion for the game. I don't know if Carmelo will be a true great, but he will definitely be solid and should have some All-Star games in his future. I have not seen LeBron play enough to guage him.
Jamal Mashburn is a good comparison, if Carmello ends up being that strong he maybe can be a superstar in the league. Reef is a power forward. And Carmelo doesn't play that position nor is he capable of playing that position. That's the problem I have with the "he can play in the post argument". He's a tweener. There's a reason that the Shareef Abdul Raheems and Glenn Robisons don't live up to fans' expectations. There is no position for them. Glenn is too slow to play against 3's and too weak to play the 4. That doesn't mean I think he will be a bust. I just don't see him having the physical ability to dominate at either position. LeBron has the physical ability and skills to dominate at three positions. The 1,2, and 3. That's the difference between the two.
Carmelo is only like 19 years old, no reason he can't be as strong as Mashburn. Also, he is much further along as a long range shooter than Mashburn was at his age, and Melo at 19 probably has a better court sense and passing ability than Mashburn does today. Agree the Bird comparisons should end because that is like comparing James to Jordan. Let guys prove in in the NBA 5-10 years before you compare them with some of the greatest players ever at their positions. I here ya'll talking about SAR, Mash & Robinson, but to me the one guy missed in this talk about Carmello is Glen Rice. Glen Rice wasn't among the best athletes, nor had the best first step, but he was a darn fine player. People forget that Glen Rice about 8 years ago or so was arguably the most difficult SF in the league to content with. Pippen and Grant Hill got the press, but as an individual offensive player neither was as tough to stop, especially in clutch situations. If there is a player in the NBA he most reminds me of him going into his rookie year it is Rice, except Melo is probably the better overall athlete (stronger, quicker) and has better court vision and passing ability. Myabe not quite the dead eye Rice was, but fairly close and you have to figure again Melo is like 19 and Rice was 22 upon entering the league. A slightly more dynamic version of Rice who isn't so unlucky with his health will well be worth the #3 pick, maybe the #1 pick. I wouldn't bet against Melo being the best player out of this draft. Lebron has more upside, but has a lot more potential to fall flat as well by being on of these great athletes who never is a outstanding player because he can't shoot.
All doubters, tonight Melo proves you wrong. And tomorrow, he guarantees you, and the country, sees it as he takes it against the Rockets on TNT.
Good points, esp. about Duncan. Now that DR is gone, he's probably the only guy in the league right now that can guard Shaq and not get steamrolled. He did it a couple of years ago - Game 2 in the 2nd round of the playoffs I believe - SA lost, but Duncan went head-to-head and guarded Shaq for large stretches and outplayed him on both ends.
The only shots Carmelo made were layups tonight. Just comes to show that there is a lot of ball to play before you can say anyone is the clear-cut ROY.
What did he prove tonight? He is good but tonight he was so so. We will see tomorrow. Wish we could play Spurs this early in the season and collect easy wins.
Yeah, but 12 and 7 is good for a first night in the nba. And he took the baseline. Yao will shut his ass down tonight, but after that, I think Carmelo will pick it up again.
Bash his stats from last night all you want, but he was being mugged by the Spurs and still getting shots off. Not his best game, he even admitted it. However, he showed great court vision, grabbed 7 boards, and played solid D. And we won.
Carmelo is going to be a great player in the nba. He has already showed that he can win collage. We are looking that the new age of bird and magic. I glad that am going to be able to watch James And Melo go at it for many years to come.
And Carmelo's team knocked off the defending champion while the "other rookie" had the individual stats but his team got smoked by an opponent w/o their best player.
