The super Melo to Portland thread + The Big Blockbuster

C A R M E L O

 

Can we rename this thread the Carmelo Anthony Appreciation Thread?

 

No!

 

Once again....

 

NEW GAME:

How many points does Melo score tonight? Predict Rebounds for tie-breaker

Game #39 Pelicans at Portland

17 points
6 boards

 

I gotta say, Melo has been damn good the past month or so. He actually is looking to pass the ball and is playing defense.

This Melo.... i really enjoy. The guy who chucks every chance he gets, not so much.

 

Don’t look now but Melo is having his most efficient season since his last year with the Knicks, when he was an all star.

When Nurk comes back I still think he should start. Would balance the two lineups out a bit more. Would also make it harder to force feed him and he can play off everyone else, which is when he’s at his best imo.

 

move RoCo to the bench or Jones?

 

Agree mostly to avoid the Melo/kanter lineups

 

Guys there are not two lineups. This is some kind of fallacy that has grown like a cancer in this forum. Melo starting does not in any way decrease the likelihood that he plays with Kanter. Stotts chooses who to sub in and sub out and when he does it. So there really is no reason to start Melo. He's doing great in his role as scoring off of the bench. We need that scoring off of the bench. I wish Stotts would get away from these mechanical rotations and play the guys when their strengths are needed. He's been doing that more down the final stretches of the games but I'd like to see him do it anytime after the first ten minutes.

If you are going to start Dame and CJ, which we know has to happen, then we have to start our best defenders around them. I don't want a shooting contest and layup drill at the beginning of every game.

 

it does when Nurk returns, smart guy. Actually, by playing Melo/Roco more at center lately, Stotts has made a conscious effort to go away from the Melo/Kanter pairing.

 

I'm pretty sure Stotts can avoid the Melo/Kanter pairing even if they both start the game on the bench. What I see is Melo, CJ and Dame all starting, all iso players and all bad at defense. I would like to see us stay away from Dame/CJ/Melo and Melo/Enes. I don't think that is impossible or even that hard to do.

 

It’s absolutely time to sit this man down.
Done with the legacy minutes.

 

He's legitimately looking washed up lately. I think his age is really starting to catch up with him.

 

Totally Washed.

 

This thread was a curse. Can we change it to the 'No-D, Inefficient Melo Needs to Retire' thread?

 

Melo just had his best month in March where he shot 47% from the field and 39% from three, so I’m not sure washed is the word I’d use here. He’s just not a good fit with the way the roster is constructed. If we had Zach we could maybe hide him better. But he can’t play with Kanter and he’s not really a fit with Dame and CJ either because that puts too much pressure on Roco and Nurk defensively. So unless Zach comes back this season he really shouldn’t be playing.

 

It’s not complicated. Melo sucks. He’s bad defensively. He’s inefficient offensively. He’s perfectly willing to jack up large numbers low percentage contested fadeaway two pointers. It’s not about pairing with Enes, though that certainly compounds the problem.

Melo is good at getting a shot up (like if your offense broke down on a play and you need to bail out) and a decent three point shooter. That’s it. We’d be better off if he weren’t on the team. I said that from the beginning and it’s true. Who knows where Little would be by now if he got to play Melos minutes. Every minute DJ and
/or Little plays in place of Melo we are a better team AND we are investing in the future.