More disappointing career Ewing vs Carmelo

[BattleTested]

Ewing came in a hugely hyped big man. He was supposed to save the Knicks. He sort of did, but he never really lived up to what he was supposed to be because of injuries and teammates.

Carmelo was thought of as on the same level of Lebron coming out and in that first year. At the very least, he was supposed to be a great player who was a winner (won a national title with Syracuse then made the playoffs in his rookie year.)

Ewing had a better career but he was also supposed to be on a different level as a great big man. So who came up shorter of expectations. Obviously Carmelo's career isn't over but it's been 10 years. We basically know what he is.

[RayBan-Sematra]

Probably Melo.
Ewing was a hard worker who I felt got everything out of himself.

With Melo I always felt he had untapped potential that he was unable or unwilling to fully bring out of himself.
He is so absurdly talented and at times utilizes that talent and dominates like few individual can in this league.

[Juggynaut]

Patrick Ewing was a monster especially in his early years and pre injury. It's a shame that the Knicks build a championship team around him when he was older and not as good. I thought the 1994 Knicks team was better than Houston, they just choked.

[BattleTested]

Patrick Ewing was a monster especially in his early years and pre injury. It's a shame that the Knicks build a championship team around him when he was older and not as good. I thought the 1994 Knicks team was better than Houston, they just choked.

That's what I'm saying. The world expected so much from him coming off of national titles at Georgetown and playing well his first few seasons, but he just never made that next step and took gradual steps backward as an individual player after that banner 1990 season where he averaged 29/11 and took a team with Gerald Wilkins as its second best offensive player to the second round.

[Laimbeer]

Ewing, pretty easily. He was considered a franchise player, a consensus number one better than most number ones, a guy that would bring you titles. Melo wasn't that highly regarded.

[JordansBulls]

Not sure how you can say Ewing's career was disappointing. He generally lost to guys clearly better than him.

[Not Bias]

Don't know where to lean toward, but the thing with Ewing is you gotta look at both sides of the coin throughout his career to really evaluate him. First off, he was considered a franchise player and he was so good coming out of college that Stern supposedly rigged the draft in order for the Knicks to get him knowing that it would change their fortunes. It is disappointing that a guy like that can't win the title. But on the contrary, Ewing did play in the era that perhaps had arguably the greatest dynasty and greatest player of all-time. Also considering that he ran into a Hakeem that went "god mode" throughout the playoffs. Take it for what it's worth, Ewing's second best player during his big playoff runs was John Starks, good solid player but nothing special. What I'm trying to say is you could call Ewing a disappointment based on the hype he got before ever coming into the NBA, but the thing is you got to consider all of the circumstances surrounding him around the time before you judge.

[MeloMIracle]

Melo still has at least 3 more prime years left in him so this thread is irrelevant really. Also much of Ewing's success came after he turned 30, melo won't be 30 until the end of next years playoffs.

[dreamchaser]

In terms of the competition they faced it's harder to say who had a more disappointing career because Ewing's Knicks had to go through Jordan's Bulls in which MJ's Bulls were far more superior than Ewing's Knicks back in the 90s. Carmelo had to go through the a much more superior Spurs & Lakers out on the Western Conference when he was playing for the Denver Nuggets...

But after last night I don't see how would fail to put Carmelo over Ewing because the Knicks were a better team then the Pacers and IMO they should've won that series. #2 seed finishing with a record of 54 wins loses to a #3 seed who finished with 49 wins and on top of that the Pacers team has no real superstar...

[Amare_1_Knicks]

This is too early. Carmelo's game isn't based on athleticism, so barring any injuries, we could see 25/7 production potentially into his mid 30's.

Who's to say what will happen later in Carmelo's career? If he brings a title or two the city as the man, or in a 1A/1B scenario, then how could it be considered a dissapointing career if he manages to win big ?

Just saying, his team got ousted and the Knicks were exposed -- wasn't his fault.

[BattleTested]

This is too early. Carmelo's game isn't based on athleticism, so barring any injuries, we could see 25/7 production potentially into his mid 30's.

Who's to say what will happen later in Carmelo's career? If he brings a title or two the city as the man, or in a 1A/1B scenario, then how could it be considered a dissapointing career if he manages to win big ?

Just saying, his team got ousted and the Knicks were exposed -- wasn't his fault.

That's a big if.

This postseason was the 6th time out of 10 trips for Carmelo that he shot sub 50% TS. His team is 3-10 in playoff series.

As for not being exposed, he kind of did. It's hard for a team to win when their best player shoots <50% TS on 26 shots. Not only that, but he led the league in usage for the regular season and for the playoffs but he averaged 2.6 and 1.6 APG respectively. I know assist totals can be tricky business but when you have the ball that much and the number is that low it says something about your ability to create for teammates.

[Dr Positivity]

Well Ewing was supposed to be another Russell, Kareem, etc. dominant player of his generation. So the answer is probably him.

Carmelo would get my pick for bigger "underperformer" for his talent level, however

[Amare_1_Knicks]

It's a huge if honestly.

As for the TS% thing -- Melo isn't the player to dominate when he doesn't have a strong secondary scorer/option offensively. Thus far in his career, when he's had help offensively -- in terms of a good second option, he's actually done well in the playoffs.

In '07, though his Nuggets lost in 5, he played pretty well. And the years he had Billups in Denver, he had two phenomenal playoff series( '09 and '10 ). So far in New York he had to play a series missing Billups AND Amare(2011), a series missing his starting PG, missed Amare for a game plus had a depleted bench(2012). And this year, they had a legit shot to make the ECF but he really had no help. I mean, his second option was putting up 14PPG on 33%FG and 27%3pt -- and Chandler was averaging 5/7 on 53% down from 10/11 on 64% during the RS.

I'll be the first to say when Melo has a bad series, but context is very important as well.

[E-Balla]

How did a player that's generally seen as top 25 underachieve? I don't know what they expected coming in the league but it couldn't have been more than that.

Melo on the other hand has underachieved. He's a step below where most thought he would be at (stuck in the pseudo-star territory). In any case he's coming off his best season and still has many years left so calling him an underachiever is a bit premature.

[GSP]

Ewing was a win and bad starks game away from a chip. He anchored historically dominant defenses
Melo was supposed to be Lebrons rival and has the worst winning percentage in playoff history

[therealbig3]

Ewing, pretty easily. He was considered a franchise player, a consensus number one better than most number ones, a guy that would bring you titles. Melo wasn't that highly regarded.

Huh? Melo was supposed to be on the same level as LeBron.

[ronnymac2]

Patrick Ewing was supposed to be a dominant defensive big man coming out of college. He was supposed to have little more offense than Russell. That's really it.

Well, Ewing anchored some of the GOAT non-Russell defenses, and he also became a much bigger offensive force than he was supposed to. He worked hard to become one of the better shooting centers ever. Averaged 29 points per game one year. Averaged 22-24 points per game on solid efficiency on contending teams with below average offensive support around him relative to some of the other greats.

Patrick Ewing did not disappoint. He overachieved.

[Laimbeer]

Ewing, pretty easily. He was considered a franchise player, a consensus number one better than most number ones, a guy that would bring you titles. Melo wasn't that highly regarded.

Huh? Melo was supposed to be on the same level as LeBron.

No. LeBron was seen as a once every ten years kind of prospect and the consensus number one all along.

Simply one of the best high school players in the last decade. Whatever you have heard about him is true. He’s so gifted it’s scary. As a scorer, his range extends to 3-point land. He’s a terrific passer and is quite unselfish. Simply put: his talents are on another level. We can list schools with him until we are blue in the face, but in the end this is the best high school-to-NBA prospect since it became chic to make the jump. LeBron James is a special basketball player, good enough to don the cover of Sports Illustrated as a junior in high school.

http://scouthoops.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=8&c=1&nid=220292

[therealbig3]

Ewing, pretty easily. He was considered a franchise player, a consensus number one better than most number ones, a guy that would bring you titles. Melo wasn't that highly regarded.

Huh? Melo was supposed to be on the same level as LeBron.

No. LeBron was seen as a once every ten years kind of prospect and the consensus number one all along.

Simply one of the best high school players in the last decade. Whatever you have heard about him is true. He’s so gifted it’s scary. As a scorer, his range extends to 3-point land. He’s a terrific passer and is quite unselfish. Simply put: his talents are on another level. We can list schools with him until we are blue in the face, but in the end this is the best high school-to-NBA prospect since it became chic to make the jump. LeBron James is a special basketball player, good enough to don the cover of Sports Illustrated as a junior in high school.

http://scouthoops.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=8&c=1&nid=220292

Yeah, and Melo was seen as a similar caliber player...LeBron was the most highly touted high school player ever, but Melo was seen as a guy with a more refined game after spending a year in college, and I remember quite a bit of debate surrounding the two, especially after Melo led Syracuse to the national championship. At the very least, it was an Oden-Durant situation, where Oden might have been the consensus #1, but Durant was seen as a can't-miss franchise player in his own right. Melo never lived up to that either.

[E-Balla]

Ewing was a win and bad starks game away from a chip. He anchored historically dominant defenses
Melo was supposed to be Lebrons rival and has the worst winning percentage in playoff history

Outdated. 5th worst now. People mention that but all it proves is that he plays better teams. It's pretty impressive that he's made the playoff 10 straight years but 22-42 is horrible. Only Stacey Augmon has more losses in the top 10.