LaMelephant: The LaMelo Ball Thread (#2)

[fatlever]

Read on Twitter

The Great Lamelo debate. Is this a good shot or a bad shot?
good shot - He's very capable of making that shot. Look at the other four teammates on the floor do you want any of those guys shooting? We suck who who cares. He need reps to get back in Rhythm. Pad those stats and get that All-star game.
bad shot - 20 seconds on the shot clock contested step back one footed three pointer without passing to any one. Maybe you don't want the other four players shooting, but he can get that shot anytime he wants. Why settle for it with 20 seconds on the shot clock? Reinforces selfish behavior from the rest of the team. Ball movement and unselfish play start from the leaders of the team.

I'm pretty firmly in the Bad shot category. Even if he makes that shot I think it's a bad shot. If he was on a roll and maybe had hit a few shots prior to that then maybe it's OK as a heat check. Otherwise it's a pretty terrible shot. 20 seconds on the shot clock zero attempt to swing the ball side to side to get the defense moving. Again he can get that shot any time he wants why not at least try to get a better look. Even if he gives it up there's a good chance it comes back to him with defenders in a worse position. When we talk about him just cutting out three or 4 of these ridiculous 3 pointers on a nightly basis, these are the perfect examples.

[fatlever]

But this is who Lamelo has been his entire life. This is how he was taught at a play basketball growing up. I'm not sure if there's a coach out there that can get him to take these shots out of his game. Maybe one day there will be a coach that can harness the brilliance of Lamelo while at the same time helping him see the difference it would make on his teammates and the winning of the team to have better shot selection.

[JDR720]

I think it'd be smart to acquire a PG and let Melo be the SG to help mitigate these types of things.

[KingCat]

Read on Twitter

The Great Lamelo debate. Is this a good shot or a bad shot?
good shot - He's very capable of making that shot. Look at the other four teammates on the floor do you want any of those guys shooting? We suck who who cares. He need reps to get back in Rhythm. Pad those stats and get that All-star game.
bad shot - 20 seconds on the shot clock contested step back one footed three pointer without passing to any one. Maybe you don't want the other four players shooting, but he can get that shot anytime he wants. Why settle for it with 20 seconds on the shot clock? Reinforces selfish behavior from the rest of the team. Ball movement and unselfish play start from the leaders of the team.

I'm pretty firmly in the Bad shot category. Even if he makes that shot I think it's a bad shot. If he was on a roll and maybe had hit a few shots prior to that then maybe it's OK as a heat check. Otherwise it's a pretty terrible shot. 20 seconds on the shot clock zero attempt to swing the ball side to side to get the defense moving. Again he can get that shot any time he wants why not at least try to get a better look. Even if he gives it up there's a good chance it comes back to him with defenders in a worse position. When we talk about him just cutting out three or 4 of these ridiculous 3 pointers on a nightly basis, these are the perfect examples.

This isn't just a Lamelo debate, this is the modern day game debate. There are over a dozen guys in today's NBA that take shots like that when just about ten years ago, a shot like that would get you benched.

[KingCat]

I think it'd be smart to acquire a PG and let Melo be the SG to help mitigate these types of things.

This is a interesting question. The king of heliocentric offense, James Harden had his best years when he played next to a great PG in Chris Paul.

[fatlever]

I think it'd be smart to acquire a PG and let Melo be the SG to help mitigate these types of things.

That's been my theory with him for a couple of seasons. It was my core argument for why scoot would actually pair well with him when most people say they were incompatible. Obviously I'm very happy we took Miller instead. But my rationale remains the same. I think he is a wonderful off ball player. I think he would be tremendous as a secondary playmaker. He makes split decisions. Pairing him with a smart point guard would also take some of the wear and tear off of him having to navigate fifty possessions as the primary ball handler. the problem has always been that you have to pair him with someone who defensively can handle the point of attack, while simultaneously complementing him. Ideally we're talking about a solid defender, someone with an at least respectable three point shot and an absolute must have is a guy who puts a ton of pressure on the rim. Think it's the defense moving get the ball to Lamelo with defense Scrambling or with a big switching out on him and let him work his magic. And of course pairing him with lonzo would probably be great as well.

[MasterIchiro]

With Donovan Mitchell getting downhill Garland is living a country club life at the perimeter. Nobody touches the guy. He just sips his martini planted there and scores effortlessly, while LaMelo claws and bends and scratches his way around a defense, gets pushed, shoved, bumped, falls to the floor.

Miles is supposed to be creating that rim pressure but for some reason Lee has greenlit Miles to shoot threes.

I definitely want Dylan Harper. He has an NBA body as-is and he gets to the free throw line at a high rate. Like Scoot he's a good playmaker but Harper has higher IQ about shot selection plus greater ability as a shot-maker.

LaMelo would thrive off-ball 50% of the time. If LaMelo had the strength to be a locomotive and get to the rim with bodies bouncing off him, he could justify playing ball-dominant. But he doesn't. Harper does. The bet was Scoot figures out shot selection and improves shooting (he's not).

I believe Harper is more like Harden than Scoot. You'd have to watch Harper to appreciate his feel, how he uses his body to get downhill, how he uses it to shield the ball, yet can still turn on a dime and draw an easy foul if you're smothering him the way a defense does LaMelo. Your guards have to be able to handle the ball, break the defense, draw and absorb contact through traffic.

[KembaWalker]

But this is who Lamelo has been his entire life. This is how he was taught at a play basketball growing up. I'm not sure if there's a coach out there that can get him to take these shots out of his game. Maybe one day there will be a coach that can harness the brilliance of Lamelo while at the same time helping him see the difference it would make on his teammates and the winning of the team to have better shot selection.

In his all star year, 75% of his 3s were assisted and he was hitting them at 39%, he seemed like he was on a good development path toward being an efficient 25/10 type guy if he had stayed on that trajectory and improved his drive and finishing to what we have today.

Instead at some point, hard to pinpoint with all the injuries he decided or it was decided for him that he needs to be an iso volume scorer. Kind of disappointing because I genuinely think he was on a better path and his passing and general playmaking and game management seems to be regressing to me.

Maybe early years Melo was unhappy with his playstyle and this is the real Melo, or maybe we contributed to putting him on this path. Hard to say

[MasterIchiro]

Simple solution, we need a system that supports more assisted threes. We need to add playmakers capable of getting LaMelo cleaner looks off ball.

We need to start with this blueprint of dual playmaking in the backcourt like the Cavs have.

But one of those guards has to part the Red Sea. That is not LaMelo. I honestly think short of getting Harper we'd be better off getting Lonzo as PG2 and running Mann alongside LaMelo as an in-house solution that preserves draft capital.

[SWedd523]

But this is who Lamelo has been his entire life. This is how he was taught at a play basketball growing up. I'm not sure if there's a coach out there that can get him to take these shots out of his game. Maybe one day there will be a coach that can harness the brilliance of Lamelo while at the same time helping him see the difference it would make on his teammates and the winning of the team to have better shot selection.

In his all star year, 75% of his 3s were assisted and he was hitting them at 39%, he seemed like he was on a good development path toward being an efficient 25/10 type guy if he had stayed on that trajectory and improved his drive and finishing to what we have today.

Instead at some point, hard to pinpoint with all the injuries he decided or it was decided for him that he needs to be an iso volume scorer. Kind of disappointing because I genuinely think he was on a better path and his passing and general playmaking and game management seems to be regressing to me.

Maybe early years Melo was unhappy with his playstyle and this is the real Melo, or maybe we contributed to putting him on this path. Hard to say

if I had to guess, he got tired of being on one of the worst teams in the league every year, surrounded by Jalen Green and KJ Simpson and is now regressing to "**** it I'm gonna get mine"

So many reasons why that's a bad shot and shouldn't be a thing 99% of the time, but here we are.

Yet another reason why playing the whole just be patient we'll be mediocre next year is a stupid idea. Question now is can it be rolled back or has that ship sailed?

[EmpireFalls]

LaMelo is not really a heliocentric player but has been molded into one by Clifford and now Lee. It’s a travesty. Bring back Borrego tomorrow.

[Braggins]

I'm not sure if there's a coach out there that can get him to take these shots out of his game. Maybe one day there will be a coach that can harness the brilliance of Lamelo while at the same time helping him see the difference it would make on his teammates and the winning of the team to have better shot selection.

I think Lonzo is the best answer

[Braggins]

LaMelo is not really a heliocentric player but has been molded into one by Clifford and now Lee. It’s a travesty. Bring back Borrego tomorrow.

I unironically want them to bring back Jay Triano as top assistant. Triano's offense plus having Lonzo to reign him in on the court and be the bridge between LaMelo and the coaches is the simplest solution imo.

[JMAC3]

Read on Twitter

I don't love this shot, but you also have to look at the group we had on the floor. Tiddy, Vasa, Martin and Richards, if there is a time for LaMelo to shot hunt and try to get hot that is the group to do it with.

[HornetJail]

Read on Twitter

I don't love this shot, but you also have to look at the group we had on the floor. Tiddy, Vasa, Martin and Richards, if there is a time for LaMelo to shot hunt and try to get hot that is the group to do it with.

yup, i trust zero of those guys to do anything with the ball, and LaMelo really shouldn't either. That's not a combo of players that should EVER see the floor together. We had all three of Melo/Miller/Miles playing tonight, there's no real excuse for not having two shot creators out there at all times (even if Bridges sucked for most of the game)

That's also not even that tough of a shot for him, LeVert barely even contests the shot. If it was more heavily guarded, then yeah bring it back and reset the offense and run a play

[fatlever]

Read on Twitter

?t=0uRkfbf_s8QeUbOjtarhiw&s=19

Interesting comments from Kemba here. I guess you can look at this two ways. One, lamelo is putting in the extra work this year to get better, which is great to hear. Or two, sounds like lamelo wasn't putting in the work before this year, which is disappointing, but maybe not that surprising.

Sent from my SM-G973U using RealGM mobile app

[HornetJail]

If LaMelo got to the level he was playing when he was healthy last season (better than what he's doing this year) without "putting the work in", that might be even more impressive

[Bassman]

I ragged on the kid because his focus was having fun and just ballin’ without putting in the work to get better, stronger, etc. He’s clearly doing much more of that. Now he will have to put all of this together into a complete package. Totally agree with Kemba that he is special. But it takes more to reach the highest achievement.

[MasterIchiro]

0% chance Charles Lee is LaMelo's last coach. We can start with Mike Brown, and should Brown want to bring on Borrego, ownership must deliver the funds.

Former Hornet Malik Monk, who played under both, said after the Brown firing, that the Kings offense became too predictable. At least there was structure in the first place. But Borrego preached about keeping the offense unpredictable so that they were harder to scout in advance of games. The JB offense drove scouts nuts.

He did more than Clifford and Lee with less. He took a pretty bland roster around LaMelo and Miles as the young core, and found competitive advantages over better teams.

I know injuries are a huge factor limiting the win totals of Clifford but Clifford had 48 wins in 2 years to JB's 43 in his farewell tour before he was fired for losing one game. Lee has 7 wins. How many more will he get this year and next? Not enought to compare favorably to Borrego.

[wilson115]

I think it'd be smart to acquire a PG and let Melo be the SG to help mitigate these types of things.

I'd also look for some veteran floor-general types to manage games for us, if only to keep the offense from going in the tank whenever LaMelo goes off-script. Thought Grant filled the role to some extent before he went down.

Read on Twitter