LaMelephant: The LaMelo Ball Thread (#2)

[HornetJail]

one of these things is true
a) The front office has ordered the medical staff and the coaching staff significantly limit melo's Minutes to Ultimately improve draft position
b) Eight months after his last minor surgery almost two months after his tweak of that ankle, he is still on a minute's restriction set by the medical staff, in good faith, because they don't believe he can handle any more minutes without re aggravating the ankle. there's seemingly no end in sight of that in minutes restriction. The minute's restriction has not been lifted or reduced since he returned.

is there a 3rd option?

3rd option is the most likely to me:

This is the reality for the rest of his career. Minutes restrictions will always be a thing because he just cannot hold up to the grind.

that sounds exactly like (b)


--

for the record, i think there's probably some truth to this, and am not opposed to minutes restrictions. but the fact that Lee is utilizing those minutes in the absolute worst way possible tells me there's a ton of (a) going on too

[fatlever]

one of these things is true
a) The front office has ordered the medical staff and the coaching staff significantly limit melo's Minutes to Ultimately improve draft position
b) Eight months after his last minor surgery almost two months after his tweak of that ankle, he is still on a minute's restriction set by the medical staff, in good faith, because they don't believe he can handle any more minutes without re aggravating the ankle. there's seemingly no end in sight of that in minutes restriction. The minute's restriction has not been lifted or reduced since he returned.

is there a 3rd option?

3rd option is the most likely to me:

This is the reality for the rest of his career. Minutes restrictions will always be a thing because he just cannot hold up to the grind.

that sounds exactly like (b)


--

for the record, i think there's probably some truth to this, and am not opposed to minutes restrictions. but the fact that Lee is utilizing those minutes in the absolute worst way possible tells me there's a ton of (a) going on too

Exactly. That is option B. If the medical staff is the one that is determining his availability and minutes. And if the medical staff thinks this is the only way keep him on the floor, and this doesn't seem to be a short term minutes restriction, Then we are left with the idea that this is the new normal for his career.

And if that is the case then the Hornets really need to prioritize having a high level backup that run the offense. Not a combo card masquerading as a point guard. They need an actual legit veteran point guard behind Lamelo. it Is long overdue that the franchise invest resources in a quality backup point guard.

[SWedd523]

I read option B as short(ish) term strategy due to recent(ish) injuries.

I'm phrasing it as he could never get injured again and this will never change.

Not sure if that meets the intent of what you said. Either way, I don't see it changing anytime soon

[fatlever]

I read option B as short(ish) term strategy due to recent(ish) injuries.

I'm phrasing it as he could never get injured again and this will never change.

Not sure if that meets the intent of what you said. Either way, I don't see it changing anytime soon

we're on same page.
i agree. i think we're past acute short management. this looks like long-term chronic management. something that will potentially be how he's managed this year, next year and beyond.

and MUST be factored into team building

[Braggins]

I don't mind the general idea of managing his minutes but I feel like its becoming pretty clear that bringing him off the bench to accomplish that is not the way to go about it.

[fatlever]

I don't mind the general idea of managing his minutes but I feel like its becoming pretty clear that bringing him off the bench to accomplish that is not the way to go about it.

certainly not with sion as "pg"
which in practice is actually miller and miles taking turns trying to iso while kon is relegated to the corner
kon is the 2nd best passer/court vision on team, he needs to be more involved in those non-melo minutes

[Braggins]

I don't mind the general idea of managing his minutes but I feel like its becoming pretty clear that bringing him off the bench to accomplish that is not the way to go about it.

certainly not with sion as "pg"
which in practice is actually miller and miles taking turns trying to iso while kon is relegated to the corner
kon is the 2nd best passer/court vision on team, he needs to be more involved in those non-melo minutes

Idk if the idea behind bringing him off the bench is so he can close games, but they can easily accomplish that if he starts too.

If its a back to back and they want to keep him at 24 minutes, he can play the first 6 minutes of the 1st/2nd quarter, then in the 2nd half just do first and last 3 minutes of 3rd quarter and last 6 minutes of 4th quarter.

[Liver_Pooty]

I don't mind the general idea of managing his minutes but I feel like its becoming pretty clear that bringing him off the bench to accomplish that is not the way to go about it.

certainly not with sion as "pg"
which in practice is actually miller and miles taking turns trying to iso while kon is relegated to the corner
kon is the 2nd best passer/court vision on team, he needs to be more involved in those non-melo minutes

Idk if the idea behind bringing him off the bench is so he can close games, but they can easily accomplish that if he starts too.

If its a back to back and they want to keep him at 24 minutes, he can play the first 6 minutes of the 1st/2nd quarter, then in the 2nd half just do first and last 3 minutes of 3rd quarter and last 6 minutes of 4th quarter.

Exactly. Thats why everyone is confused and damn near laughing at us over this little experiment. Its not rocket science here lol.

[HornetJail]

And if that is the case then the Hornets really need to prioritize having a high level backup that run the offense. Not a combo card masquerading as a point guard. They need an actual legit veteran point guard behind Lamelo. it Is long overdue that the franchise invest resources in a quality backup point guard.

that was supposed to be Sexton, who is not perfect, but is definitely a better player than he's shown in the role he's played. But beyond that, there needs to be a secondary playmaker somewhere on this team, preferably from the frontcourt. Kon, while smart, hasn't really shown that yet. Tre has been a catastrophe. Miller and Bridges are the opposite of playmakers. Nobody else on the roster can dribble, let alone playmake.

Ironically, Nurkic has been solid lately out in Utah and has done what the Hornets organization thought Plumlee could do. Not to say he is the solution to that problem, but he'd actually be a small step in the right direction.

[fatlever]

And if that is the case then the Hornets really need to prioritize having a high level backup that run the offense. Not a combo card masquerading as a point guard. They need an actual legit veteran point guard behind Lamelo. it Is long overdue that the franchise invest resources in a quality backup point guard.

that was supposed to be Sexton, who is not perfect, but is definitely a better player than he's shown in the role he's played. But beyond that, there needs to be a secondary playmaker somewhere on this team, preferably from the frontcourt. Kon, while smart, hasn't really shown that yet. Tre has been a catastrophe. Miller and Bridges are the opposite of playmakers. Nobody else on the roster can dribble, let alone playmake.

Ironically, Nurkic has been solid lately out in Utah and has done what the Hornets organization thought Plumlee could do. Not to say he is the solution to that problem, but he'd actually be a small step in the right direction.

you mention nurkic...
While everyone laments the loss of Mark Williams, nurk Is the one I wish was still on this roster. In hindsight I would not have done that trade. Sexton is a solid 6th man, But I think we could have prioritized a backup point guard in free agency.
And sadly, if Chris Paul didn't go ring chasing to LA, he would have actually fit pretty damn good as the veteran backup point guard.

Regardless, Sexton is clearly a combo card and doesn't have much feel for creating for others. His first second and third instincts are drive and try to get to the rim or try to get to that free throw line pull up. It's a nice weapon to have on a team desperate layers that can get to the rim. Doesn't really do much to get others involved in the game.

sion Can really only function as a point guard next to Heliocentric point forward type

mann Is legitimately unplayable

I'm curious How Spencer would have performed this season. probably would have been a train wreck.

[HornetJail]

And if that is the case then the Hornets really need to prioritize having a high level backup that run the offense. Not a combo card masquerading as a point guard. They need an actual legit veteran point guard behind Lamelo. it Is long overdue that the franchise invest resources in a quality backup point guard.

that was supposed to be Sexton, who is not perfect, but is definitely a better player than he's shown in the role he's played. But beyond that, there needs to be a secondary playmaker somewhere on this team, preferably from the frontcourt. Kon, while smart, hasn't really shown that yet. Tre has been a catastrophe. Miller and Bridges are the opposite of playmakers. Nobody else on the roster can dribble, let alone playmake.

Ironically, Nurkic has been solid lately out in Utah and has done what the Hornets organization thought Plumlee could do. Not to say he is the solution to that problem, but he'd actually be a small step in the right direction.

you mention nurkic...
While everyone laments the loss of Mark Williams, nurk Is the one I wish was still on this roster. In hindsight I would not have done that trade. Sexton is a solid 6th man, But I think we could have prioritized a backup point guard in free agency.
And sadly, if Chris Paul didn't go ring chasing to LA, he would have actually fit pretty damn good as the veteran backup point guard.

Regardless, Sexton is clearly a combo card and doesn't have much feel for creating for others. His first second and third instincts are drive and try to get to the rim or try to get to that free throw line pull up. It's a nice weapon to have on a team desperate layers that can get to the rim. Doesn't really do much to get others involved in the game.

sion Can really only function as a point guard next to Heliocentric point forward type

mann Is legitimately unplayable

I'm curious How Spencer would have performed this season. probably would have been a train wreck.

nah i think you can do both. trade for Sexton, who is really just Terry Rozier packaged a bit differently- a SG in a PG's body. and also use the MLE on a playmaker. We just didn't bother to use the MLE.

I don't miss the version of Nurkic we got in Charlotte. And I certainly don't regret cutting Dinwiddle, there's plenty of options that aren't actively toxic.

[SWedd523]

I'm not necessarily advocating for a trade for KAT, but having someone like that who can truly be an offensive hub sure would help offset LoadManagementMelo. It'd also push Miller and Miles further down the pecking order and balance the attack when they're in a die by the three game

[wilson115]

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

[Skybox]

Is this nut still available?

He looked like Haliburton last night. He looks wild, inefficient goofball...but the numbers don't support it. Is he maturing (on-court at least)?

[Liver_Pooty]

Is this nut still available?

He looked like Haliburton last night. He looks wild, inefficient goofball...but the numbers don't support it. Is he maturing (on-court at least)?

Nah they aren’t moving him.

[fatlever]

Just like Evan sidery tweets have been basically banned from this board. I think we should put in place a similar soft ban for anything from Kyle ingram. He is the biggest Melo Stan on the internet. Everything he posts is through an extreme Melo bias, anti hornets, anti lee bias. Occasionally he will post an interesting Melo stat or highlight, which is fine, but beyond that, he's best to avoid. He has an agenda.

Sent from my SM-G973U using RealGM mobile app

[wilson115]

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

[EmpireFalls]

All the 'trade him now', 'losing player', 'holding the franchise hostage' people changed their tune, huh?

Or maybe they just stopped posting. Not sure. Whatever it is, if you wanted LaMelo traded, just understand that you were completely wrong.

[Bassman]

All the 'trade him now', 'losing player', 'holding the franchise hostage' people changed their tune, huh?

Or maybe they just stopped posting. Not sure. Whatever it is, if you wanted LaMelo traded, just understand that you were completely wrong.

I only advocated trading Melo for a REALLY GOOD return, and I’d still consider it for an even BETTER RETURN. No doubt he’s playing and orchestrating this team pretty well. Love his effort, his attempts to play stronger defense, and I really LOVE it when he’s a creator on offense. I still despise his clownish circus shots way too early in the shot clock, the moments he doesn’t value possessions well enough, and the needless antics that result in turnovers.

Having said all that, his weaving within this starting five is instrumental to the magic being concocted by these Hornets!

[wilson115]

Read on Twitter