I don't see it this way at all. That season, they were low energy, no hustle, low effort, bad body language. This team looks to me like one that is trying, but flat out can't score the basketball despite getting good looks. I'd be less concerned if energy was the issue.
there was hustle back then...a lot of hustle....dont tell me brewer didnt hustle... its just that shots werent falling (unlike our opponents shots) and bbiq wasnt there
Dantoni better not be trying to cover his ass. Why TF do players like Green have the “green light?” Is he going to do some actual coaching? Letting the players chuck it up is not that
Amazing how this thread that seemed preposterous trollish and based on some semirandom twitter posters,turned out to be true.
Melo certainly isn’t the problem based on what I’ve seen, but it’s important to note that we don’t know exactly how he or others might be impacting the chemistry is very unsubtle ways. Passive aggression is a big issue in sports which leads to communication breakdowns and discombobulated play on the court/field. Much like Parsons’ last year here where we didn’t really find out about his free agency positioning impacting their play on the court till the end of the season, it could be that later on we find out about some of these personality issues. Could be Melo... could be Eric Gordon... or could be a combination of players. Melodrama or not, I don’t believe he looks like the clear one to blame, but there is clearly something more going on this year beyond just shooting the ball like crap and missing layups.
Idk anything about that... the only thing i've heard regarding Melo being a distraction is SAS running his mouth and people automatically assuming it came direct from Melo... They're all big boys (Melo, MDA, DM, etc...) - let them do their thing... 'in morey we trust,' right? He's a min contract... if they decide he's more trouble than he's worth - they can send him home - end of story... but without knowing the reason/motivation for any discussions, we're just speculating...
awesome insight,! having said that theres always a lot of things going on wherever and whenever humankind is involved BUT if the shots were falling we wouldn't be wondering if there is something going on behind the scene and it wouldn't mater anyway
Roles are pretty well defined on this team. I know I sound like a broken record player, but everything this team has going on right now is the shooting slump they are going through. They can't make ****ing shots. The offense won't work if you can't make threes, if you are missing layups, if you are not getting to the line enough (even when they do, they can't hit free throws). Melo, the only issue with him on this team is that he is not used to being a role player and it is apparent that he is having a hard time adapting to being just a role player. The majority of Clutchfans tried to tell me that Melo could be Olympic Melo here. I initially believed he could be Olympic Melo with us, but that was before the OKC trade. After the OKC trade, the Melo quotes started rolling out and immediately it seemed obvious that Melo still believes he is a superstar in this league. Even though he may not be the main offensive weapon, in his mind he believes he still has to be given the kind of touches he has had all his career. We've seen it in our offense, he doesn't always want to take the wide open shot and instead wants to step in. Mentally, I feel he is struggling to understand the player that he is now. The problem with Melo is that he wants to play differently than the Rockets system. With the way everybody is struggling to score right now, he probably believes Rockets needs to try a different approach. It's probably why he approached Morey and Mike and wants to talk role. He sees the Rockets losing and he obviously feels that he needs to have a bigger role, but the Rockets obviously do not want to change his role. They want him to be a back up 4 while Melo probably wants to start. He believes he can be the spark. If Rockets would have started off the season the way they played the preseason, we probably would have not been having this conversation right now. Crazy how bad shooting has been.
Not using Melo correctly.....he is a rhythm guy down on the low post. He gets a touch or two down low and that is it. The Rockets knew this and honestly we have too many players that don't fit. MCW, Hartstein, Chris, and Ennis cant even stay on the floor. Guy is a foul waiting to happen. There is no swagger and no fight there is something bigger at least that is what we are thinking but the coaching staff and mgmt. have to look at themselves in the mirror and try to do something and not sure what that is.
how is he any worse than Ryan Anderson that yall were praising and Melo essentialy replaced? He is a backup stretch 4 at this point and he plays his role appropiate. It's Moreys problem that he didn't deliver starting wing, backup center and backup point guard and if someone is to waive it's Daryl.
Isn’t a better shooter. Worse defensively. Inefficient. Pretty much most of it right there. It’s funny how those high pre season expectations of him have now had to shift dramatically bc now ppl who actually watch him on a nightly basis see his drop off
LMAO at that last sentence. A lot of u Melo defenders are just scrambling for excuses and justifications at this point. there are already issues regarding Melo and his role, and we’re not even to the middle of November yet... he is horrible on both ends, but will occasionally drop a 20+ point game
A lot like he was last season in OKC, yeah. It was really interesting when I looked up his college highlights from Syracuse. He's always been doing the same thing: midrange iso. That's his entire career. He used to be absolutely elite at it (especially against scrubs while at the 'Cuse and then when young and swift at Denver), hitting tough turnarounds or dribble-pull-ups right in peoples' faces. But now he's not that good at it, but it's what he does. Could be useful it we create the right matchups for him a few times a game, but no championship contender is going to be playing him more than 20 minutes a game, period.
pretty much...what he’s most comfortable doing, he can no longer do at a high enough level to help a team win Melo is just not comfortable being a role player and doesn’t really want to deal with all the things that being a role player can come with...lower usage, lower shot attempts, reduced minutes, or even DNPs...he should be getting 15-20 mpg max unless he’s having one of those 20+ point nights, and he’s the type that should be excised from the rotation once the playoffs start since he’s a walking liability that doesn’t do anything aside from inefficient scoring
Well said, B-Bob. It's a pity that we have "Melo Only" fans here, apparently, who wasted no time in blaming Morey for any problems the Rockets have integrating Melo into the team we have now. Doing that is absurd, in my opinion.
