NFT: 12/12: Lakers (10-15) vs Knicks (13-13) 7PM

Carmelo is now shooting 40% on the year (and dropping), scoring 14.5 points/game over his last 10 games.

Westbrook is having an awful year too. You always hear talk of superstars making guys better around them....is it fair to argue that Carmelo and his iso/ball stopping actually makes players around him worse?

What a disaster of a trade for OKC.

In comment 13736895 Tesla said:

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Carmelo is now shooting 40% on the year (and dropping), scoring 14.5 points/game over his last 10 games. Westbrook is having an awful year too. You always hear talk of superstars making guys better around them....is it fair to argue that Carmelo and his iso/ball stopping actually makes players around him worse? What a disaster of a trade for OKC.

Melo was an all-star, never a superstar IMO.

is very bad for his team and teammates. I've said this before, but all of his shots are coming from far away and all of his teammates are usually standing on the perimeter when he shoots. He has the ball, he dribbles, his teammates stand around and watch and he misses. Easy rebound for the defense. In the past, he had the ball close to the rim and players were cutting and crashing the rim. Carmelo is a bad, bad basketball player right now.

I'm ready to watch the Ingram and Porzy show.

Have to get these next 2 games against Lakers and brooklyn..

with westbrook it would be very different. Its not really fair to act like this version of Melo is the same as Melo from 5-10 years ago.

In comment 13736903 LawrenceTaylor56 said:

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In comment 13736895 Tesla said: Quote: Carmelo is now shooting 40% on the year (and dropping), scoring 14.5 points/game over his last 10 games. Oh please. You always thought Melo was a superstar. We�ve had this argument for years she I always said trade him Westbrook is having an awful year too. You always hear talk of superstars making guys better around them....is it fair to argue that Carmelo and his iso/ball stopping actually makes players around him worse? What a disaster of a trade for OKC. Melo was an all-star, never a superstar IMO.

looks like a future star

In comment 13736895 Tesla said:

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Carmelo is now shooting 40% on the year (and dropping), scoring 14.5 points/game over his last 10 games. Westbrook is having an awful year too. You always hear talk of superstars making guys better around them....is it fair to argue that Carmelo and his iso/ball stopping actually makes players around him worse? What a disaster of a trade for OKC.

Melo appears to be on the decline, but the relative success of the players OKC traded away in both deals has to figure into the evaluation of what's happening there. At what point do they take a hard look at how Russ plays the game? Or you can just blame OKC's struggles on the fact that fat Ray Felton is prominently involved.

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Carmelo Anthony left the arena tonight before the locker room was open to reporters for postgame availability.

In comment 13736971 Earl the goat said:

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Oh please. You always thought Melo was a superstar. We�ve had this argument for years she I always said trade him. What a disaster of a trade for OKC.

You've got me confused buddy. I never said Melo was a superstar. I might have said not to trade him a few years ago, but I never said he was a superstar.

Is
1. Paul George doesn�t want to be there. Half of him is already in LA
2. Russ cannot play with other stars
3. Melo is a ball stopping me first self proclaimed superstar who never played defense

Everybody was putting Sam Presti on Mt Rushmore but he may find himself unemployed at the end of the season

.

the rat found a good one in Adebayo. Kid is going to be a very solid NBA player.

In comment 13736984 DanMetroMan said:

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Royce Young‏Verified account @royceyoung Following Following @royceyoung More Carmelo Anthony left the arena tonight before the locker room was open to reporters for postgame availability.

the one thing the NY writers could agree on was that Melo was ALWAYS available to the press and would politely answer every question.

Tatum with a rare stinker 4 and 10

Don't look now but Kris Dunn is suddenly playing pretty well. 16 and 7 over his last 5, shooting 39% from 3 on the season

Rondo almost had a "quadruple double"... 13 points, 12 assists, 12 boards, 8 turnovers

E'Twaun Moore wow 15-20 36 points 3 assists 3 boards

Jrue Holiday has been a beast lately... 37 4 boards 5 assists 4 steals, last 5 games 29, 5 and 4 on 61/46!

Adebayo 14, 4 and 4 with 2 assists 2 steals

Monk has been AWFUL lately shooting 18% from the field, 17 % from 3 last 5 games. Willy for Monk!!!!!

Jordan Bell 11 and 6, 1 assist, 1 steal :(

until THJr returns and Kanter is healthy again. They had a nice starting five going, now not so much. I expect Lance starting for THJr again, and to see a lot of KOQ, who's sometimes good but not consistent.

the Frank/Baker backcourt looks good.

But was never a superstar? What bullshit

In comment 13736994 GiantFilthy said:

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.

Only until next July ...

In comment 13737062 nygiants16 said:

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But was never a superstar? What bullshit

I don't know if this is sarcasm or not. But I firmly believe he was never a superstar in this league. An AllStar for sure.

In comment 13737060 LawrenceTaylor56 said:

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the Frank/Baker backcourt looks good.

They did look good the other night, but that was against Atlanta and is a small sample size. Don't get me wrong, though - love to see them do it again.

In comment 13737063 JonC said:

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In comment 13736994 GiantFilthy said: Quote: . Only until next July ...

In comment 13737067 LawrenceTaylor56 said:

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In comment 13737062 nygiants16 said: Quote: But was never a superstar? What bullshit I don't know if this is sarcasm or not. But I firmly believe he was never a superstar in this league. An AllStar for sure.

Never? How about the fact he carried Denver to the playoffs every single year in a tough weather conference...

He carried the Knicks to 54 wins and was 3rd in mvp and a scoring champion..

In comment 13737060 LawrenceTaylor56 said:

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the Frank/Baker backcourt looks good.

Baker sucks. It was one ok game against a lousy team. He's the 6th or 7th best guard on the roster.

better than he was as a rookie and he's added a major weapon to his game that he didn't even have in college (pick and roll jump shooting). I don't necessarily see that as a failure of OKC or Westbrook... just the natural improvement of a young player.

it's safe to say the east is every bit as good at the top, middle and bottom as the western conference. I'd even say the east is better although Golden State's star power trumps all. Celtics are rolling though.

Took a while but the east finally caught the west. At least it looks that way:


BOS
23 6 0 12-2 11-3 7-3 W1
TorontoRaptors

TOR
17 7 3.5 9-1 8-6 8-2 W6
ClevelandCavaliers

CLE
19 8 3 10-4 9-4 9-1 W1
MilwaukeeBucks

MIL
15 10 6 9-4 6-6 7-3 W3
IndianaPacers

IND
16 11 6 10-4 6-7 7-3 W4
WashingtonWizards

WAS
14 12 7.5 6-5 8-7 5-5 L1
DetroitPistons

DET
14 12 7.5 8-4 6-8 3-7 L6
New YorkKnicks

NY
13 13 8.5 12-5 1-8 4-6 W1
MiamiHeat

MIA
13 13 8.5 5-6 7-7 5-5 W1
Philadelphia76ers

PHI
13 13 8.5 7-6 6-7 4-6 L4
BrooklynNets

BKN
10 15 11 5-7 5-8 4-6 L1
OrlandoMagic

ORL
11 17 11.5 6-6 5-11 3-7 L2
CharlotteHornets

CHA
10 16 11.5 8-6 1-10 3-7 L3
AtlantaHawks

ATL
6 20 15.5 3-9 3-11 3-7 L1
ChicagoBulls

CHI
6 20 15.5 3-8 2-12 2-8 W2
WESTERN CONFERENCE


HoustonRockets

HOU
21 4 0 8-3 12-1 9-1 W9
Golden StateWarriors

GS
21 6 1 8-3 13-3 8-2 W6
San AntonioSpurs

SA
19 8 3 13-2 6-6 8-2 W4
MinnesotaTimberwolves

MIN
16 11 6 9-4 7-7 6-4 W2
DenverNuggets

DEN
14 12 7.5 10-2 4-10 5-5 L1
PortlandTrail Blazers

POR
13 12 8 7-8 6-4 5-5 L4
New OrleansPelicans

NO
14 14 8.5 7-7 7-6 5-5 W1
UtahJazz

UTA
13 14 9 11-5 2-9 6-4 L3
Oklahoma CityThunder

OKC
12 14 9.5 9-3 3-10 5-5 W1
Los AngelesLakers

LAL
10 15 11 6-7 4-8 4-6 W2
Los AngelesClippers

LAC
9 15 11.5 5-7 4-8 4-6 W1
PhoenixSuns

PHO
9 19 13.5 4-11 5-8 2-8 L3
SacramentoKings

SAC
8 18 13.5 4-7 4-11 4-6 L1
MemphisGrizzlies

MEM
8 19 14 5-10 3-8 1-9 L3
DallasMavericks

DAL
7 20 15 5-10 2-10 4-6 L3

next to the streak (W or L) is last ten.

In comment 13737074 nygiants16 said:

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Never? How about the fact he carried Denver to the playoffs every single year in a tough weather conference... He carried the Knicks to 54 wins and was 3rd in mvp and a scoring champion..

Elite scorer? Yes. Superstar? No. He made it past the first round of the playoffs only twice in his career. Never made his teammates better, killed off Linsanity, and chased money over winning in NY. Iso, 6x jabstep contested jumper, no defense. He hasn't carried shit in NY. He is a HOFer.

is close to a HOF player. He's a guy who plays losing basketball, but sure did get a lot of shots up. Talented and skilled scorer but never that interested in the team concept to be a winning player.

He won at SU, and he won some gold medals with a stacked team.

In comment 13737329 Pep22 said:

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is close to a HOF player.

then you don't know much about the HOF.

In comment 13737288 LawrenceTaylor56 said:

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In comment 13737074 nygiants16 said: Quote: Never? How about the fact he carried Denver to the playoffs every single year in a tough weather conference... He carried the Knicks to 54 wins and was 3rd in mvp and a scoring champion.. Elite scorer? Yes. Superstar? No. He made it past the first round of the playoffs only twice in his career. Never made his teammates better, killed off Linsanity, and chased money over winning in NY. Iso, 6x jabstep contested jumper, no defense. He hasn't carried shit in NY. He is a HOFer.

Look at the team's he lost to in the playoffs..

He lost only twice in the playoffs where his team was favored, pavers series and Utah series...

All the other times he lost to the apura, lakers, Celtics or heat...

that Melo better individual career than Paul Pierce. The only difference is that the Celtics got Garnett in his prime, Ray Allen, a young Rondo, and a great defensive coach in Thibideaux to create championship-caliber team whereas a young Melo played for the Nuggets in a stacked West and then came to the laughing stock franchise of the NBA whose best point guard was the two weeks they had Jeremy Lin.

In comment 13737378 Enzo said:

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In comment 13737329 Pep22 said: Quote: is close to a HOF player. then you don't know much about the HOF.

If the criteria jacking up shots and bleeding the shot clock while 4 other guys are stationary -- for person rather than team gain, then he's in.

rather than team gain.

but I think you are being unfair to his career. He wasn't always this kind of player and I think it changed when he hurt his knee. He used to score a ton in the paint which is great for team ball. He wasn't always a stop the ball, stand around and shoot long jumpers kind of player.

if fitness, defense, passing and transition play don't mean anything to you, then there is a HOF spot for loser players like him.

In comment 13737382 nygiants16 said:

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In comment 13737288 LawrenceTaylor56 said: Quote: In comment 13737074 nygiants16 said: Quote: Never? How about the fact he carried Denver to the playoffs every single year in a tough weather conference... He carried the Knicks to 54 wins and was 3rd in mvp and a scoring champion.. Elite scorer? Yes. Superstar? No. He made it past the first round of the playoffs only twice in his career. Never made his teammates better, killed off Linsanity, and chased money over winning in NY. Iso, 6x jabstep contested jumper, no defense. He hasn't carried shit in NY. He is a HOFer. Look at the team's he lost to in the playoffs.. He lost only twice in the playoffs where his team was favored, pavers series and Utah series... All the other times he lost to the apura, lakers, Celtics or heat...

Also lost to the Clippers when they were the higher seeding. Point is, you would think a Superstar would make it out of the first round more than twice in his career. He's an elite scorer, who won an NCAA championship and 3 Gold Medals at the Olympics.

didn't make it out of the first round that often. Semantics...labels...whatever...at his peak Melo was a tremendous player. He was as good a scorer the NBA has ever seen. If he landed on another team with talent and leadership and a system he would have won plenty. At his peak Melo never played with a legit #2.

In comment 13737592 LawrenceTaylor56 said:

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In comment 13737382 nygiants16 said: Quote: In comment 13737288 LawrenceTaylor56 said: Quote: In comment 13737074 nygiants16 said: Quote: Never? How about the fact he carried Denver to the playoffs every single year in a tough weather conference... He carried the Knicks to 54 wins and was 3rd in mvp and a scoring champion.. Elite scorer? Yes. Superstar? No. He made it past the first round of the playoffs only twice in his career. Never made his teammates better, killed off Linsanity, and chased money over winning in NY. Iso, 6x jabstep contested jumper, no defense. He hasn't carried shit in NY. He is a HOFer. Look at the team's he lost to in the playoffs.. He lost only twice in the playoffs where his team was favored, pavers series and Utah series... All the other times he lost to the apura, lakers, Celtics or heat... Also lost to the Clippers when they were the higher seeding. Point is, you would think a Superstar would make it out of the first round more than twice in his career. He's an elite scorer, who won an NCAA championship and 3 Gold Medals at the Olympics.

So Chris Paul not a superstar?

In comment 13737597 djm said:

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didn't make it out of the first round that often. Semantics...labels...whatever...at his peak Melo was a tremendous player. He was as good a scorer the NBA has ever seen. If he landed on another team with talent and leadership and a system he would have won plenty. At his peak Melo never played with a legit #2.

That's because Melo is a legit #2. Never was an alpha dog. But I agree, tremendous player. I guess Superstar is how one would define the word.

got to play in Thibs's scheme and got to join up with Pierce, Allen, and Rondo otherwise people would never call him a superstar either.

Is Anthony Davis a superstar? He's been in the league for six seasons and has yet to win a playoff GAME!

Look at the point guards he played with in NY. It's arguably the worst collection of PG play over a six year period in recent NBA history.

In comment 13737599 nygiants16 said:

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So Chris Paul not a superstar?

The guy who's made it out of the first round multiple times? Also made multiple all NBA Defensive Team while being a team player? Yeah.. that guy is a superstar.

he was a tremendous scorer at times who never cared about developing his game beyond the one thing he did well

and for several years now, he's been too slow/apathetic to run the court and has never defended or shared the ball

In comment 13737603 PaulBlakeTSU said:

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got to play in Thibs's scheme and got to join up with Pierce, Allen, and Rondo otherwise people would never call him a superstar either. Is Anthony Davis a superstar? He's been in the league for six seasons and has yet to win a playoff GAME! Look at the point guards he played with in NY. It's arguably the worst collection of PG play over a six year period in recent NBA history.

Kevin Garnett also played defense. Having an elite chucker who doesn't make teams better doesn't carry around the superstar nametag.

that Garnett played, and with all the ways he made teammates better, why did he have an abysmal playoff track record until he joined a "super team" in Boston?

In comment 13737603 PaulBlakeTSU said:

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got to play in Thibs's scheme and got to join up with Pierce, Allen, and Rondo otherwise people would never call him a superstar either. Is Anthony Davis a superstar? He's been in the league for six seasons and has yet to win a playoff GAME! Look at the point guards he played with in NY. It's arguably the worst collection of PG play over a six year period in recent NBA history.

>> while its true those PGs were bad, Melo is not a guy that benefits from good PG play. Because he doesn't run the court or move off the ball, he doesn't get the easy buckets most get when playing with a facilitating PG. Melo's buckets generally come from ISO play. You can see it now, he's with a guy that racks up assists very well, but Melo's (efficiency #s and PPG) numbers are down. Plus, as one would expect, his new team is worse for having him and his old team is better for discarding him.

he's one of the best PFs in NBA history.

But this argument that Melo is not a superstar applies requirements on him that are not required of other players.

Is James Harden a superstar? Is Westbrook? Neither of them play defense. Was Steve Nash a superstar? What about MVP season Derrick Rose? Was he a superstar that season?

In comment 13737622 PaulBlakeTSU said:

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that Garnett played, and with all the ways he made teammates better, why did he have an abysmal playoff track record until he joined a "super team" in Boston?

He was an MVP before joining Boston. He was a #1 seed in Minnesota before leaving for Boston. He also a defensive player of the year. He carried Minnesota both offensively and defensively to the playoffs for many years. His best player was Stephon Marbury, who us Knicks fans like to shit on.

To try to compare him to Melo who isn't even interested in defense is laughable.