Question about Carmelo Anthony

[IMAN5]

Hey Nuggets fans, just a quick question from a Knicks/Raptors fan here.

I used to watch Nuggets games back in the day whenever I could and loved the team play. Even the run to the western conference finals I thought had them going far. Great team work from all around.

My question is, since I only watched a few Nuggets games, was Melo always this selfish of a player or he is only become like this in New York? I know he's a scorer but I never knew he had an Allen Iverson style of play.

[David Campo]

What you're seeing is what Melo basically is. He hasn't changed. George Karl was always on him to play more team-oriented, and on occasion, he would switch up and pass, defend, etc. However, he would always slip back into ISO-ball, as that's what he knows, that's what he likes, that's what he's comfortable with, and that's what he feels made him a star. Good luck.

(we in Denver were ecstatic with the trade when it went down, and we get happier as every day passes)

[eathb_au]

He was a ball stopper in Denver but not to the Knicks extent. We were able to mask it.

Billups often froze him out on offense and ignored him to emphasize more ball movement. Our roster had so many players that could work off the ball (Billups, Afflalo, Nene, JR Smith) so iso Melo was harder to deal with as he could pass out of the double to excellent finishers.

The biggest factor though is that he became a perimeter player at the Knicks. He's ferocious when he attacks the basket and is one of the best post players in the league. Playing him at the perimeter and making him rely on jumpshots and 3s is not playing to his strength. Nor is making him a point forward which is just dumb.

[youngthegiant]

yeah i never watched a nuggets game and thought, melo needs to pass the ball. that team though was built for melo and he made those guys better.

[Manimal]

He was a ball stopper in Denver but not to the Knicks extent. We were able to mask it.

Billups often froze him out on offense and ignored him to emphasize more ball movement. Our roster had so many players that could work off the ball (Billups, Afflalo, Nene, JR Smith) so iso Melo was harder to deal with as he could pass out of the double to excellent finishers.

The biggest factor though is that he became a perimeter player at the Knicks. He's ferocious when he attacks the basket and is one of the best post players in the league. Playing him at the perimeter and making him rely on jumpshots and 3s is not playing to his strength. Nor is making him a point forward which is just dumb.

This.

For the most part, our Nugget teams over the years were always built pretty well to his strengths(sans the Iverson year). It didn't work out as well the first few years with Andre Miller at the point because we didn't have the shooters to spread the floor, which allowed teams to really pack it in on Melo. But with Billups/Afflalo/JR, it worked out a lot better. Especially since Chauncey really isn't a true PG who has to have the ball in his hands to create and be effective. We also had quite a few role players who did the little things on, particularly defensively with Martin/Nene/Camby/Birdman in the paint, and Afflalo/Buckner/Najera on the wings.


I think Melo and Amare could work off each other much better than they do, but a lot of it is coaching philosophy. And of course right now, the pressure from the losing is making it even worse for Melo. I agree with eath especially on the point that Melo needs to get back into the paint and utilize his back to the basket game much more than he has been. He's a decent shooter, but not a great one. Where he is great is using his size/speed combination to get into the paint and finish. And that way, teams will be forced to double him more, which will enable to find open teammates for better looks.

What the Knicks need is a D and 3 point guard, along with some tough nosed bigs who can rebound and defend(not that Harrellson dude who chucks up more than half his shots from three), and a new coach who is willing to implement a system that actually fits the players on his roster.

[corona]

i've only watched a couple knicks games....so i don't know how much he's changed his game.
i can only think of a handful of times the other night where he caught the ball on the wing without using his dribble inside 18-20 feet. in denver, apart from fastbreaks he rarely had a possession where he wasn't put in that position.

i never thought he was really selfish here or took more bad shots than any of the other top scorers in the league. in fact most of the time i thought he was great at staying in his comfort zones and attacking from those positions. as long as other guys were cutting and flashing to the paint as well as able to shoot 3's.....the offense was pretty darn effective (except against san antonio)

he was never good off the dribble from 20+ feet or doing much creating out of the p&r though. the offense would always stall in those scenarios or turnovers/wasted possessions would result.

this is one of many reasons why i thought this pairing would be a failure...and its looking to be true.
melo/stat aren't all that different. they're great catch and quick first move players inside 18 feet with superb midrange games who will score very efficiently with a good/great point guard that knows how/where to get them the ball where they like it, and who can run the p&r with stat. together....they occupy the same spots, won't work off each other or get the other involved, turn the ball over too much and don't create enough for others.

baron davis should straighten some things out....but he's too old, injured and crappy of a shooter to make them anywhere close to competitive in the playoffs.

[KAVK]

He was not a ball stopper when he came to the league after his NCAA championship run. He did not have that hold down the ball thing first when he came, it was slower pace of this league compared to college + crappy Nuggets team roster helped to shape him into being a assertive scorer on a nightly basis is one of the big factor imo to turn him into such self dependent player.

Karl managed him much better than D' Antoni probably more to do with improving roster around him then Billups came in a woke up his fading will to compete that year Nuggets went to the WCF & he came in a terrific shape & condition the next year best i have seen him other than his rookie year when all things just piled up on Nuggets & CBA pressure HE WANTED OUT.

He is a good passer and can do it under managed system if he is comfortable with. NY needs a PG bad and Davis is not gonna cut it. Those 3 big contracts are gonna be hard to deal with anybody other than a NY.