IMO the post season is about defense. If you can shut down 3 & slow down a 4th, then that 5th player (superstar or not) isn't going to beat you in a 7 game series.
The Nuggets made the WCFs a couple of years ago and had a legit shot to beat the Lakers. Guess what, Melo played a "significant role". You have officially lost your mind. I'm definitely no Melo fan, but comparing him to Landry Fields is just crazy. If you want to say Melo isn't a top 10 player, fine. But Landry Fields? Give me a break.
This is why I still don't think Melo is about winning. Going to the Knicks is not about winning. If he wanted to win, he should have just stayed in Denver. Denver has had some nice talent around him to contend. If he couldn't win in Denver, winning in NY isn't very likely either.
But on the contrary I can see why he left for NY too 1. Madison Square Garden 2. Ride someone else's coat tails (Stoudemire) 3. Have fun while working/chuck up shots without backlash (D'antoni system) 4. Endorsements will be huge if successful 5. Get out of the West 6. Avoid domestic abuse from wife 7. If some kind of miracle happens (water to wine type), and they win championship, he will be immortalized in NYC Wouldnt you leave too??
Very true. But given the recent phenomenon of players wanting to play in a major city plus banding together in a superstar coalition, Melo's choice to play in NY makes sense. Getting CP3 or DWill might not happen, but if it does, Melo has a much better chance to win in NY than in Denver. If it doesn't happen, then yes, unless they drastically improve the depth of the team, Melo being in NY is no different than his former situation in Denver.
never like karl personally, but you have to respect him as a coach, especially now after what he has been through. props to him
My feelings exactly. I despised George Karl the most when he coached the Sonics. But I can't deny the guy knows his stuff and when he isn't playing public mind games with his players, he's as good as anyone. The cancer episode and the post-Melo success have really raised his stature. It also seems to have seriously mellowed his attitude.
Legit shot? I don't think anybody took them seriously, maybe I was wrong but they were more of a speedbump then anything else. Also the Nuggets were stacked, they had Camby, Nene and Kenyon Martin as a frontline, a pretty good tactician in Karl and a veteran leader in Billups. Fields plays both ends of the court all the time. Melo doesn't. Just because he has more hype doesn't mean he's better. I already showed you their production (outside of ppg) is extremely similar, except that Landry gets more rebs, is more efficient and plays better D. If their tangible results are similar, and Fields has better intangibles, why is Melo the superior player? Because he makes 20M a year? Because he takes 25 shots a game? Or is because he's such a great closer? Considering the Knicks have gone under 0.500 since he came onboard, his closing skills definitely need more work if you ask me.
People kept making fun of me, leading up to the Melo trade, when I said they had a really solid all around team and people were SIGNIFICANTLY overrating Melo's impact. Good to be proven right.
Pre trade people were talking about how the Nuggets weren't very talented, and that Karl's system was the reason why Melo was shooting inefficiently. Talk about drinking the kool-aid juice. LOL! Fool's Gold used on the right player: http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/23950/carmelo-anthony-superstar
