Most people would agree that Lebron is the better player of the two. Especially after the comments that Melo has been making after the Olympics, not to mention all the other immature things he has said/done, I don't think there is a question as to who really is the better player. There's been so much talk about the great rivarly that will take place between the two, but do you really think that will happen? Individually, they will both be great players, and if they were playing one on one, it might be exciting, but I don't know if they will ever have the type of rivalry Bird and Magic had. Bird and Magic both played for great teams with great legacy, and they met numerous times on the biggest stage - the NBA finals. Do you see that happening with these two? I can see Denver becoming a contender in a few years. They have two great point guards in Miller and Boykens, a serviceble 2 in Voshon, Melo at 3, and a big rotation of KMart, Nene, and what looks like a healthy Camby. I thought that Cleveland could become a contender also, but now I'm not so sure. They have two decent veteran PG in Snow and McInnis, and Gooden is a decent replacement for the Boozer debacle which I will not even comment on here, but outside of that, they have an old Z who can't play any D and a couple of unproven young players. Wagner has an attitude and is always hurt, Diop only shows glimps of promise before reality hits, though Jackson could end up being a nice pick up. What do you all think? Are these two ever gonna meet in the finals? Will either one or the other or both ever win a title?
I think Lebron is the better player hands down, but he doesn't step up in big situations as well as Carmelo. And IMO lebron will never win as many games nor championships as Carmelo. Carmelo just has that win attitude and fire, that lebron just doesn't have as much of.
I personally think Carmelo had the better rookie season, but Lebron got more accolades because he was straight out of highschool and he had better dunks. It's tough to say who'll have the better career after only one season. Carmelo will definitely have the better team next year, and I think the Cavs will miss the playoffs again. But who knows, maybe Lebron will become the next Magic Johnson and Carmelo will only become the next Glenn Robinson.
I think on the Bird/Johnsons scale, LeBron is probably one of very few players that deserve that mention. He can be a leader that a team can build around. He's not a Jordan-like player that can carry his team. He's more of a Magic-like player that can lead a dynasty if surrounded by Worthy, Kareem, etc. Melo, on the other hand, is more a Dominique, Vince Carter, James Worthy type player. But that's a perfect fit for the team he is on. The players you mentioned on Denver are probably more similar to the guys Worthy was surrounded by than what Dominique had to work with. Unfortunately for LeBron, he doesn't have those weapons, and he's not the kind of player that will carry the team. I think as time goes on, these two names will no longer be linked as they were. Their careers will take separate paths, more like Jason Kidd/Grant Hill than Bird/Johnson (not trying to say one or the other will be Grant Hill, I hope not!). The NBA has tried to revive this formula many times, and it probably never will happen again.
They are both great players,their rookie seasons were almost identical.Most say Lebron is beter but I cant choose who is better out of these two amazing players. One thing that gives Lebron an edge is expierence,while Melo played a year of college,Bron was still in HS playing against a lower level of compition,but Bron still put up numbers as good as Melo's even though he had less expierence. Carmelo does have one thing over Lebron and I think its his offensive game,it comes to Melo more easy then it does Lebron,Melo just has that smooth offensive game,while Bron has the energetic offensive game. For now Melo is going to see more sucess because the Nuggets have a better team then the Cavs do,and the Nuggets could have a chance to go deep into the playoffs.In the end Bron and Melo will both be very sucessful,but we should enjoy the rivalry of these two players for years to come.
I think that Melo even could be better, but Olympics only proved that he is kind of rebel type of guy. Fact is that Denver did not base all game on Melo, but Clevland did it on Lebron. Basicly Lebron made most impresive dunks, but who cares about Melo jump shoot?
Anthony may have the better education, but James has the better game overall as I think he will rack up better statistics and achievements by the end of his career. We have seen many Carmelo Anthony's while only 1 Lebron James comes around every decade.
one thing about Lebron is that he hustles for the ball. he shows passion on the court when he's playing. but i think that Melo will probably have a better season than Lebron, unless Lebron suddenly develops Jordan like qualities then it may turn out otherwise. who knows?
It's a draw to me between these two. But with Cleveland missing Boozer they may not make the playoffs again. But if they do, then Lebron probaly will be a bit more respected and not called over hyped all the time. I expected James to put up big numbers though. Numbers I don't think Melo will get. But his team still will be better. So they'll probaly just end up being equals again this upcoming year.
Individually, I think that James in the better of the two and will have more achievements and stats under his belt than Melo will by the end of his carrer. However, teamwise, I think that the Nuggets will beat the Cavs in a game. They have better depth and are jsut better basically.
i dont think that lebron has the same passion for basketball that carmelo has. lebron is more talented but carmelo is a better player.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting celtfan:</div><div class="quote_post">Most people would agree that Lebron is the better player of the two. Especially after the comments that Melo has been making after the Olympics, not to mention all the other immature things he has said/done, I don't think there is a question as to who really is the better player. </div> well i dont think you can judge how good a player is on how "immature" he acts. And i saw a quote on melos website that lebron admits carmelo is the best player hes ever played against. Now, im still not quite sure who is a better player, itll take more than just a rookie season to decide whos better but we can be sure of this, there are both incredible players and if they keep playing at the asme level future hall-of-famers
I think that Carmelo will definetely see more success, considering he stays on the Nugs and Bron stays on the Cavs. Lebron could be more succesful if he could develop as a member of a team instead of a leader. Carmelo gets to be aongside many other great players. Which, while he may not have 40-pt games, allows him to be a contributor and develop as a player more. Then maybe he can eventualy mature into the leader. As for a rivalry, no. I dont see that ever happening. Mainly because they are in two entirly different situations. A forward on a stacked up team and a guard on a completely bare team dont have much chance of even evolving into rivals. I dont think that the Cavs will ever make the playoffs(unless there ae major changes) and the Nuggets could be a healthy title-competitors. I don't think there will be rivalries in the games where they meet either, because I dont honestly think either of them are interested in one.
Denver has a pretty amazing team right now, with the addition of Kmart (and not losing any major pieces).. Talent-wise they've already proven that they can hang with the big boys, and the longer this team stays together, the better they will become. Cleveland on the other hand has only managed to somewhat salvage the Boozer situation, but it goes without saying that a Boozer/James combo growing together would carry greater expectations than the current group. James' all around game and athleticism give him almost unlimited potential. With some luck and hard work, it's very possible for him to become a legend in his own right.. Carmelo on the other hand, seems to me like someone who will put up the numbers year after year, but doesnt have the flash necessary to keep him in the spotlight. I'm thinking along the lines of Jamal Mashburn before he ran into injury problems (although Melo is blessed with a far better team than Mash was ever part of in his prime--maybe if it hadn't been for chronic issues while he was on Zo's heat)
Jamal Mashburn is a good player man, I do think Melo will be better than him, but you made it sound like Mash is not that good. Anyways, I think Melo will have better team sucess because he has a better team, at least for now. Individually I think Lebron will have better sucess because he's able to put up better assists numbers. Neither to me look like an MJ type player, but I agree with what SunshineRain said that Lebron is not that Vince, Iverson, Baron Davis type guy who will carry a team himself, he's more of a guy that will be a major contributor while having other good players with him. Melo isn't a guy that can do it himself either, but can fit that role more readily than LJ, and can be compared more to those guys in terms of what he can do for the team. Melo is more outspoken, he speaks his mind and doesn't take us in circles like most NBA players do. Does that make him immature? Maybe, but at least he's truthful. I don't feel he has the leaderships skills though, he might have at Syracuse, but he hasn't shown it all the time in the NBA, though he's had flashes. Lebron has the leadership skills, as he has also shown many flashes of it, he seems to be a step above Carmelo in that area. He's also more composed, and though he might now speak his mind as much, sometimse it's good to be quiet.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting og15:</div><div class="quote_post">Jamal Mashburn is a good player man, I do think Melo will be better than him, but you made it sound like Mash is not that good. Anyways, I think Melo will have better team sucess because he has a better team, at least for now. Individually I think Lebron will have better sucess because he's able to put up better assists numbers. Neither to me look like an MJ type player, but I agree with what SunshineRain said that Lebron is not that Vince, Iverson, Baron Davis type guy who will carry a team himself, he's more of a guy that will be a major contributor while having other good players with him. Melo isn't a guy that can do it himself either, but can fit that role more readily than LJ, and can be compared more to those guys in terms of what he can do for the team. Melo is more outspoken, he speaks his mind and doesn't take us in circles like most NBA players do. Does that make him immature? Maybe, but at least he's truthful. I don't feel he has the leaderships skills though, he might have at Syracuse, but he hasn't shown it all the time in the NBA, though he's had flashes. Lebron has the leadership skills, as he has also shown many flashes of it, he seems to be a step above Carmelo in that area. He's also more composed, and though he might now speak his mind as much, sometimse it's good to be quiet.</div> While Melo isn't that much of a leader, he certainly showed Kobe-like skills by hitting shots and leading Denver to victory at the end of the year. And while he was nagged by an ankle injury last year, he still performed well. I will agree that LeBron might be a born natural leader. However, I don't expect a 20 year old sophmore to be a leader like Jason Kidd or something, nor do I expect that yet from LeBron either.
Well, looks like we have another LeBron vs. Carmelo debate on our hands. Well, I suppose it's time to throw my opinion in on this. I believe that LeBron is the better player, however, I believe that Carmelo had the better rookie season and did get robbed of ROY. I think LeBron got it soley because of all the hype and what not and the fact that he was just as good if not better than advertised. But, now if we go down as far as teams go, Carmelo, hands down, has the better team. I believe that they could be a contender next year in the west with a starting front line of Melo, KMart, and Camby. I think that could easily be the best front line in the NBA. Plus, Andre Miller is a great point guard and Voshon Lenard isn't terrible. The guy can still hit the long ball so he works. All this ties into the fact that Denver is far and away the better team, granted I think everyone knew that. I think that Denver is easily a 50 win team this year, even in the stacked Western conference. On the other side we have the question mark that is the Cleveland Cavaliers. I know all you Cavs fans are still venting after the loss of Carlos Boozer, but, you guys got Drew Gooden. Gooden is a fantastic ball player. He's much like Carlos Boozer except he's not nearly as much of a hustle player. However, with him at starting power forward standing 6'9", you're no longer undersized there.....Utah is now. But, aside from that, I don't see Cleveland winning too many more than 40 games. I think they'll win enough to get in the playoffs this year, probably squeeze in as a 7 or 8 seed, but, they don't have enough to go any further than that. LeBron is great and all, but, aside from him, you have Drew Gooden, whom I believe is a fantastic player, but he has proven nothing thus far on the NBA level, and you have Zydrunas Ilgauskus, a guy who, to my knowledge, no longer has the greatest knees in the world, and to top that off, is getting a bit on the old side. So really, aside from LeBron, you are really low on options. I do also realize that Z did have a great year last year and I believe he can do it again, but, you never know. And of cours Drew Gooden is that unknown in this equation, but, I think he'll be fine now that he might have found a place that's going to start him. After all this ranting, it still doesn't change that Denver is the better team. They have more talent, more depth, everything. I think they have the potential to win home court advantage out West this year, that's how good I believe this team can be. Can they win it all? Probably not this year. San Antonio is still too strong as is Minnesota, plus with the recent acquisition of TMac down in Houston, that makes them stronger. So, the fact that the West is still stacked and talent laden, I don't believe that Denver can win it all this year. But, they sure as hell will be a contender.
