Nene

[stevemcqueen1]

Melo is today's Dominique and LBJ is Bird

Melo is like Bernard King if Bernard King had stayed healthy.

I think King was more efficient than Melo. Melo probably rebounded better.
King was sooo dominant just before his knee blew out....more than Melo.
His pix was in the dictionary under unstoppable.

I think the differences in the eras account for the differences in numbers. King didn't shoot threes and defense was different back then. Aside from those things, they're similarly smooth and ultra-gifted scorers. Triple threats. Post ups. Pull ups. drives, all there. Melo has a stronger body so he's more of a PF tweener type, that is another difference.

King's '85 season is great but probably only a little better than Melo's season from last year when you consider the difference in pace.

[tontoz]

King had 3 seasons with a TS of 60% or better and that was without shooting 3s. Melo has never gotten close to 60%.

I agree with the Nique comp. Nique could be a chucker no doubt but i was absolutely sick when he got traded for Danny Manning. I HATED Manning. Such a puss. I was living in Atlanta at that time and it was really hard for me to watch the games after that trade.

[Dark Faze]

I think Wall and Melo would help each others games a lot. Just as a stretch 4 Melo could open the lanes up much more for John and John would get Melo easier looks.

We'd absolutely need a defensive focused C though and I don't think we have that in Gortat. If we had Asik I'd pull the trigger all day.

[mhd]

Melo at Nene's salary is fine. Melo at 20+ million is NOT.

[hands11]

there you have it...

Nene does an excellent job of getting his teammates good shots
out of his postups. If only KS could do this. KS gets his opponents
better shots out of his postups.

He is like having a PG sitting in the post sometimes.

So when he and Wall or on the floor together, that's when you see all those open corner 3 balls.

But if he doesn't ever clear the post, Wall has no place to drive. Specially if Gortat is down there. Then Wall takes more mid range shots because the post is crowded.

This is in part why this team hasn't come all the way together yet. Specially with Nene in and out of the line up. They can't get things established. With Nene out, Gortat needs to be away from the basket more so Wall can drive. With him in, the post is clogged more and its the corner 3 that is supposed to open the floor.

One game this. Another game that. Two different way to run the offense. That's why I like them mixing up Wall between the different styles and moving lesser player into the starting line up. With Beal, Trevor A, Nene and Gortat, Wall shooting isn't as important and him driving is harder. I think that's when you see him force his shot on the elbow some. He can drive easily and there are better shooters out there. So what is left for him. The elbow jumper with the defense playing back.

I don't think this is all worked out smoothly yet. In some way they might be better off with

Wall, Beal, Webster, Booker and Ves That leaves the lane open for Wall to drive and get fouled while having shooter out their for his to kick to the corner 3.

How exactly? Ves is a self-check and no one respects Booker's broken J.

Both are quick enough to get the hell out of the way.
Booker can hit a mid range, respect it or not
Ves won't hold the ball for more then .5 second so it will move to the corner 3 spot ups
Ves can pick and roll and dunk when called for.
Both can grab offensive rebounds
Both can run in transition.
And you have Nene and Gortat to beat up on 2nd units.

[hands11]

Carmelo is having probably the best season of his career, in my estimation. The problem with the Knicks is that Chandler is out, and he's their most productive player. And, no one is stepping up. Bargnani has been better than what anyone could have possibly hoped for (except maybe the folks running the Knicks), but that's not a good roster, and the bad decisions they've made through the years are coming back to bite them.

There are two problems with Anthony: 1) his salary, which is likely to be even more massive when he demands (and gets) his next contract; and 2) the perception that he's a SUPERstar -- a Lebron-like player who can carry a team. He's a very good player, but he's not worth the money he'll be getting paid, and he's not in that upper echelon of the game's stars -- at least not in terms of doing the stuff it takes to win championships.

it depends on what the market bares. Is a team really in a position to offer $17 mil or more annually and still contend? Or is Melo simply looking for the biggest payday irregardless of whether a team is a contender or not?

I don't think too many people consider him a LeBron-like player anymore. It will be interesting to see what happens with him this offseason, but Melo, with the right mindset would be very good for our team and especially Wall.

Agreed.

As well regarding him getting paid or not. I don't think his next payday will be as big as his last. Which is why he will stay a Knick and take that player option. Only chance he has for a big pay day is to win there. If not, take the money and sign for less the next contract.

[hands11]

Melo is today's Dominique and LBJ is Bird

No... Not at all. Completely different styles of play. If anything, LBJ is more similar to Wilkins than Melo...



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I don't really see a comp for LeBron.

He is a very unselfish player. Maybe he greatest asset considering he could so easily be the kind to take 30 shots a game.

His power dunks aren't Dominique like in their beauty. They are LeBron like. Like a LB in football dunking on you. Nique was thinner and more acrobatic with power.

His handles and passing are nothing like Bird. Bird was way better, but LJ is good.

LeBron is LeBron. A unique blend of 6-8 250 size, athleticism, strength, power, leaps with improved range and unique unselfishness. And as time goes on, less acting and crab dribbling. He grow up. Harder to hate him now.

[Nivek]

I can see Bernard King comps for Carmelo. My statistical doppelganger machine (which accounts for changes in pace/era) spits out Dominique as most similar to Carmelo last season -- followed by Bernard King from 84-85. Other names that pop up as "similar" -- Vince Carter in NJ, Gervin, McGrady in HOU, Paul Pierce.

[stevemcqueen1]

I can definitely see a lot of similarity between Paul Pierce and Melo. I can see some Caron Butler in Melo's game too. Melo is bigger than those guys, probably more explosive than they were in their primes. He's more of a rebounder, and he's a more potent volume scorer. Melo's dribble pull up sets him apart from them, and that's an important difference because Melo's ridiculous pull up sets up so much offense. But otherwise there is a lot of similarity in their offensive skills.

[stevemcqueen1]

I think Wall and Melo would help each others games a lot. Just as a stretch 4 Melo could open the lanes up much more for John and John would get Melo easier looks.

We'd absolutely need a defensive focused C though and I don't think we have that in Gortat. If we had Asik I'd pull the trigger all day.

In theory, it would be an interesting pairing. Basically, you would want Melo to be the guy he was for Team USA. There he was very much an off ball finisher for your plays.

But Team USA is one thing. I have a very hard time seeing Melo accept that kind of role on his NBA team. A lot of Melo's extensive arsenal requires the ball to be in his hands. And Melo is very much accustomed to being "the guy" on his NBA team. He wants to be the leader and the superstar, the alpha player. He couldn't be that for us, Wall is our guy. I don't see him deferring to Wall, who is years younger and less experienced than he is.

What I think would end up happening is Melo would come here and take the ball out of Wall's hands too much and his personality would become the dominant one on the team and force Wall to take a backseat and ruin our chemical mix in the locker room, which is just a bad situation.

I can maybe see a 33 or 34 year old Melo getting desperately hungry for a ring coming here and playing a valuable secondary role to a 26 or 27 year old Wall entering his prime. But I can't see a 30 year old Melo still in his prime doing that with a 23 year old Wall.

[dobrojim]

was really noticing more last night how much Melo gets away
with using his off hand/arm to ward off defenders. If/when
the refs start to not give him that non-call, his efficiency figures
to fall some more.

[TheKingOfVa360]

was really noticing more last night how much Melo gets away
with using his off hand/arm to ward off defenders. If/when
the refs start to not give him that non-call, his efficiency figures
to fall some more.

The refs will never stop giving him that call. Lebron and Kyrie Irving also depend on using the off hand to ward off defenders.

[hands11]

was really noticing more last night how much Melo gets away
with using his off hand/arm to ward off defenders. If/when
the refs start to not give him that non-call, his efficiency figures
to fall some more.

The refs will never stop giving him that call. Lebron and Kyrie Irving also depend on using the off hand to ward off defenders.

I give him some credit in how he does it though. That's very important.

He keeps that arm square in a way that makes it part of his space. No one is expected to have their off arm limp to the side of their body. Extend it to much, lean over when doing it, or raise your arm to high into someones face, and you are more likely to get called. Somewhere he learn to do it the right way. It a skill and he does it really well.

It's similar to how effective drivers, even small people like Nate, know how to lean into a player just enough to get contact, then the lean away and get space. Do it right, and its every effect. Do it wrong and you can called for a foul.

And whats really impressive is how he can even get space just standing in front of you. Face to face he leans forward, then straightens up. Jab step keeps you back a little. You play back, he can just rise up and nail the shot. And he doesn't need more then an inch to do it. Step forward and he will get around you. No dribbling required to set you up. That's impressive.

Stats aside, I like the Bernard King comparison. He had that kind of game. Physical with skills. He would get angles on you and he could also just pull up and nail the shot with a quick release. But my memory says Kind drove more. But both a crafty strong offensive players that can/could shoot and who are physical rebounding and putting it back.

[Dark Faze]

Nice post hands. I was actually practicing this a little myself at the gym recently--just thinking about ways to have my arm in a position where I can fend off the defender but have it be close enough to me and at an angle where it wouldn't result in a call--it's a legit skill for sure. I do think LeBron especially takes it a little too far--he basically fully extends his arm to fully prevent a defender from reachin at the ball, but yea...

[Ruzious]

To be fair, high scoring forwards have been doing that for decades. Back in the day, Chet Walker was a master at it.

[dobrojim]

Need Nene to make sure Blatche doesn't get to go into celebration mode tonight.
Or Booker or Ves or whoever.

[stevemcqueen1]

Carmelo has the best triple threat game in the NBA right now. His release on his jumper is lightning fast and so that jab step is deadly. His dribble pull up looks even faster somehow. One rapid motion and then the shot is suddenly in the air.

[nate33]

Zach Lowe has a big Q&A article on Nene in Grantland today.

[nuposse04]

Zach Lowe has a big Q&A article on Nene in Grantland today.

Sometimes i really do wonder why Nene is so injury prone. I was going to say maybe it was his testicular cancer some time ago, but he had that surgically removed I believe, no chemo involved. I don't really hate Nene the player (although the man complains a little much for my liking to the refs, and is infatuated with his sweatbands) but I'm just holdin out that he may be the beneficiary of some euro blood treatment method in the near future. I thought we'd get 2 more years of bearable service out of him, is beginning to look like 1 lol.

[stevemcqueen1]

Nene has a rugged style. A lot of bigs like him get hurt a lot. Joakim Noah and Marc Gasol miss a good deal of time too. The position is pretty brutal.