This Melo scoring bonanza is worrying me

SnakefromHell · Post #1 » by **SnakefromHell** » Sun Nov 29, 2009 2:44 am

It worries me... I know I know you'd probably think it's Snake hating on Melo again...

But no, I think Melo is playing fantastic, and I don't think he's necessarily selfish as he's just taking what the defense gives him.

But, now I see guys rebound the ball, pass to Melo and just watch. Instead of moving to set picks or get open, they just watch and clear out.

Gradually, as he keeps scoring so easily, the more they go to him, but you know if the machine shuts down and doesn't operate for some time, it's bound to rust. Right now, the ball movement is put to rest and the team watches Melo score, score and score some more. Our ball movement is getting rusty imo...

Again this is not a thread hating on Melo as he's scoring however he wants, but the point is, winning doesn't come from one guy... Melo is at the point of his career where I trust him to drop 45 nightly to will us to victory every single game... however I'd rather see the team work together with Melo, rather than watching him.

This scoring is becoming Allen Iverson like where the other 4 guys just watch... it's not that bad, but I'd take a team effort with a superstar in it anyday than just a superstar working solo. E.g. rather than see him score 50 pts for 5 more times this season, I'd much rather see Melo, with his ability to draw defense, passes to Afflalo who drains consistent 2-3 3 pt makes, or to Nene who has 3-4 dunks every night consistently, or out to Billups/ Smith who knock down outside shots.

It also says a lot when your team needs more output from one guy than ever... as Karl says often this season, Melo is a horse, and they're going to ride him, but a horse is bound to get worn out and tired... we need to let the horse sit on a field of grass once in a while so it relaxes and rests...

You guys worried?

KAVK · Post #2 » by **KAVK** » Sun Nov 29, 2009 3:27 am

SnakefromHell wrote:It worries me... I know I know you'd probably think it's Snake hating on Melo again...

But no, I think Melo is playing fantastic, and I don't think he's necessarily selfish as he's just taking what the defense gives him.

But, now I see guys rebound the ball, pass to Melo and just watch. Instead of moving to set picks or get open, they just watch and clear out.

Gradually, as he keeps scoring so easily, the more they go to him, but you know if the machine shuts down and doesn't operate for some time, it's bound to rust. Right now, the ball movement is put to rest and the team watches Melo score, score and score some more. Our ball movement is getting rusty imo...

Again this is not a thread hating on Melo as he's scoring however he wants, but the point is, winning doesn't come from one guy... Melo is at the point of his career where I trust him to drop 45 nightly to will us to victory every single game... however I'd rather see the team work together with Melo, rather than watching him.

This scoring is becoming Allen Iverson like where the other 4 guys just watch... it's not that bad, but I'd take a team effort with a superstar in it anyday than just a superstar working solo. E.g. rather than see him score 50 pts for 5 more times this season, I'd much rather see Melo, with his ability to draw defense, passes to Afflalo who drains consistent 2-3 3 pt makes, or to Nene who has 3-4 dunks every night consistently, or out to Billups/ Smith who knock down outside shots.

It also says a lot when your team needs more output from one guy than ever... as Karl says often this season, Melo is a horse, and they're going to ride him, but a horse is bound to get worn out and tired... we need to let the horse sit on a field of grass once in a while so it relaxes and rests...

You guys worried?

Melo is doing great. i do not think he prefers to be a scoring machine, he said recently how the team is becoming active on cuts and rolls when he and other guys get the ball and draws defenders. i have seen him taking over when team is not executing on the offensive end couple times but still yes others gotta get going rather than clearing out of the way. I am sure coaches are working on it.

Nene needs to have at least AT LEAST 10-12 shot attempts especially down low EARLY. He is like a women you treat him good then he comes through! I hope he overcomes his emotions and man up but we need to give him sufficient touches to make him feel better , feel trusted by the team. Unless we get 15-20 easy points from Nene it is gonna be hard.

Exec76 · Post #3 » by **Exec76** » Sun Nov 29, 2009 4:54 am

Nuggets offense basically consists of pass and watch...whether it be Melo, Billups or JR.

If anything should be worrying you it should be REBOUNDING...if they could have kept the Knicks off the glass the game would have been put away by the 3rd qtr and Melo/Bullips could have sat the entire 4th.

Post #4 » by **corona** » Sun Nov 29, 2009 6:03 am

knicks didn't double him that much for whatever reason.

if they had, i'm sure melo would have given it up (like when he went to andersen for the 3 point play, when he was doubled on the baseline)

wolves threw a number of guys at melo, and we saw the result which was a bunch of nene dunks, along with melo scoring at will.

as the season goes on and teams adjust to how much and how efficiently he's scoring...they'll send more doubles, and melo will adjust by passing out of the doubles more. why worry?

there's not a huge point of melo throwing it cross court to AA if he's under single coverage. would you rather have melo making a move 1v1 from the midpost, or AA taking a contested 3? i know my choice.

Shady08 · Post #5 » by **Shady08** » Sun Nov 29, 2009 6:22 am

SnakefromHell wrote:It worries me... I know I know you'd probably think it's Snake hating on Melo again...

But no, I think Melo is playing fantastic, and I don't think he's necessarily selfish as he's just taking what the defense gives him.

But, now I see guys rebound the ball, pass to Melo and just watch. Instead of moving to set picks or get open, they just watch and clear out.

Gradually, as he keeps scoring so easily, the more they go to him, but you know if the machine shuts down and doesn't operate for some time, it's bound to rust. Right now, the ball movement is put to rest and the team watches Melo score, score and score some more. Our ball movement is getting rusty imo...

Again this is not a thread hating on Melo as he's scoring however he wants, but the point is, winning doesn't come from one guy... Melo is at the point of his career where I trust him to drop 45 nightly to will us to victory every single game... however I'd rather see the team work together with Melo, rather than watching him.

This scoring is becoming Allen Iverson like where the other 4 guys just watch... it's not that bad, but I'd take a team effort with a superstar in it anyday than just a superstar working solo. E.g. rather than see him score 50 pts for 5 more times this season, I'd much rather see Melo, with his ability to draw defense, passes to Afflalo who drains consistent 2-3 3 pt makes, or to Nene who has 3-4 dunks every night consistently, or out to Billups/ Smith who knock down outside shots.

It also says a lot when your team needs more output from one guy than ever... as Karl says often this season, Melo is a horse, and they're going to ride him, but a horse is bound to get worn out and tired... we need to let the horse sit on a field of grass once in a while so it relaxes and rests...

You guys worried?

How is the ball movement getting rusty? We had 30 assists vs the Knicks and Melo had 5, while dropping 50. I think Melo is moving the ball better than he ever has. We are top 5 in the NBA with APG...

Nutty Nats Fan · Post #6 » by **Nutty Nats Fan** » Sun Nov 29, 2009 10:56 am

Another Snake thread, LOL.

Melo was passing the ball against the Knicks, there was ball movement, guys were cutting, and the team had 30 assists as Shady just mentioned. But yeah, totally worried.

eslr · Post #7 » by **eslr** » Sun Nov 29, 2009 6:58 pm

LOL....I think Ive seen more off the ball movement and cuts to the basket from the Nuggets this season than any season in recent history. Its part of the reason Melo is starting to rack up the assists.....

pickaxe · Post #8 » by **pickaxe** » Sun Nov 29, 2009 9:13 pm

^ this

I have seen many spots where the offense is standing and watching, but more than ever I am seeing them recognize they are doing that and adjusting. The problem in the past is they were'nt even aware that they were and needed to move.

As long as Melo is comfortable with where to pass out of the double/triple team, the cutters will come.

As for Melo being ridden like a horse....if we're using that analogy, this guy is a thoroughbred and very sturdy. He could average 35 ppg and I wouldn't be surprised. No one man can win a game with 50 points, but thankfully there were a handful of others that spotted the team another 75+ ...

If we see them standing around...yeah get out the kickstart.

JustAwesome · Post #9 » by **JustAwesome** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 6:12 am

It would be better for the team if he scaled back just a little bit. Look at how well that worked out for Bryant last year.

Post #10 » by **MHZ** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 6:16 am

The problem is that the Nuggets don't have a second option showing up night in, night out. Both Chauncey and JR have been really streaky, Nene has been passive, etc. A lot of these nights, he's needed to carry the scoring to keep us around. If Chauncey were stroking like he was late last year and into the playoffs, I imagine you wouldn't see him take as many shots. You saw him deferring to Chauncey a bit late against Phoenix.

pickaxe · Post #11 » by **pickaxe** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 6:33 am

JR was 0-fer eight or nine or something like that. He does that.....but that usually means there's a monster game coming up.

They need to create what they want to do on offense. They could really go to anyone in the starting lineup to score, but who do they want to go to most frequently.

Melo also tried taking a step back last season. We had enough scoring for it to work - including for a while, Kleiza.

Melo can now shoulder the load of scoring he is capable of (~30 ppg) and also take care of what Kobe can. Thing is, some games where Melo could score 30+ last season he didn't go for it. He needs to answer whatever call comes his way on any given night. If he's asked for 40, asked for 30, or someone else gets hot settle for 20.

Post #12 » by **MHZ** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 6:35 am

The thing I want to see is a more focused effort on the defensive glass. He should have 7-8 boards every night.

pickaxe · Post #13 » by **pickaxe** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 6:45 am

MHZ wrote:The thing I want to see is a more focused effort on the defensive glass. He should have 7-8 boards every night.

That is what he is capable of - 7-8 rpg, but doesn't it take away from Nene's efforts? If someone else is grabbing the rebound then Nene doesn't go for it. I would think we would want to encourage Nene to own the boards.

Well, let's put it this way: would we be happy if Melo grabbed 8 rpg, Nene grabbed 8 rpg, Martin grabbed 7 rpg, and bird grabbed 7 rpg? That's only 30 rebounds.

b-lawson · Post #14 » by **b-lawson** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 6:48 am

A.I also averaged a nice amount of assists when he scored. Sometimes they stood around and watched him, but he made things happen cause the ball was in his hands as he brought it up

Difference is that most of the time Melo gets the ball in the wing cause thats his spot. So its harder for people to move cause its an ISO on one side of the court. When Melo gets the ball at the top and gets a pick or ISO it allows others to move around, and let him be the distributor

pickaxe · Post #15 » by **pickaxe** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 7:24 am

even billups feeds melo in the wing almost automatic......i don't have a problem with it except the predictability of our team goes way up when we continually do that and don't have a ton of other effective sits

even if they all moved 1-2 feet in the direction of an open spot on the floor that would be enough movement to kind of make melo's decision more dynamic

SnakefromHell · Post #16 » by **SnakefromHell** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 2:14 pm

I kinda take back what I said about Melo in this thread... initially I was worried it'd go into one-on-one stats penchants, but it's clear to me Melo is on a mission. He's playing very much like MVP, and I can confirm this guy is scoring 30 yet is so unselfish and is about winning.

If you notice the Suns game, late, Melo would motion Billups to hold the ball and attack because he was hot.

Imma go as far as saying when Melo holds the ball, I don't care if the ball movement gets stagnant, that's MELO, he's gonna do something productive for this team.

The other guys, on the other hand, I'm concerned now that the 4 guys without the ball are standing and watching the guy with the ball more than ever. We need to keep moving the ball and people... not taking 1-on-1 turns... "here Nene, this possession it's your turn, we're gonna watch, show us what you can do" "here J.R. have the ball, show us ur stuff". MOVE!