he's playing like a franchise player plain and simple. When Phil signed him to that deal he said Melo still had another level he could go to. Bang.
fishmike wrote:he's playing like a franchise player plain and simple. When Phil signed him to that deal he said Melo still had another level he could go to. Bang.
Fish, we been saying it from the beginning. 25-7-5 on 50% shooting which is the norm for today's NBA superstars. My only grip is what took him so long to understand that this style of play is about winning. MDA tried to make him a facilitator, he seemed disinterested. Woodson gave him what he wanted with one good season and that was on the back of Jkidd's leadership.
I guess it better late then never. Melo is Finally learning the game.
mreinman wrote:30 points on 13-20
7 rebounds
9 assistsHe may have had better games number wise but he played an absolute perfect game tonight and LEAD this team to a much needed victory
KP is a ways away from being a goto player. Being under DaddyMelo's wing is perfect for him right now.
Btw, Melo played great defense again tonight.
I would not trade lebron straight up for him right now.
I agree. Melo was great last night. He was doing everything to from his shooting to his passing to his rebounding to his STRONG drives to the basket with big dunks which is something we haven't seen from Melo in a long time. He would usually just lay those in or if he dunked he wouldn't really do it strong and grab the rim but he was a monster last night.
dk7th wrote:msg just showed cavs at nets highlights, lebron on a fst break took about five steps with a no call
Melo would have been called for a walk and a charge.
wargames wrote:nyknickzingis wrote:I made the comparison a few weeks ago. I said he's playing like a LBJ lite, or like a near Lebron James. Melo's playing like 80-90% of Lebron. He's rebounding, defending with energy, passing the ball, handling the ball like a point AND scoring 20+ points. Only one other guy in the league does all of that with the same type of size - it's Lebron. Obviously Lebron is better, but Melo has clearly shown me to be wrong. I thought he had hit physical decline, and while he has slowed down a bit, he had a huge development mentally. It's rare you see a guy at 31 have this, but here it is. It's as if he just realized that he should play like Lebron instead of Glen Robinson or Barkley. And it's worked wonders. Major props to Melo. George Karl for years tried to get him to play this way. "Triangle culture".
Also he is a better shooter and post up player overall. Arguably he might be able to keep this level of play up longer than Lebron just because his offense isn't as based on his athleticism as Lebron's is. If he stays healthy we might look at this season as the beginning of "2nd part of his career Melo" or "Leaving his prime Melo" because he could keep this up well past his current contract.
I actually think the only part of his game that has slipped is his shooting. He's usually hitting way more 3 pointers than he has been this year.
mreinman wrote:30 points on 13-20
7 rebounds
9 assistsHe may have had better games number wise but he played an absolute perfect game tonight and LEAD this team to a much needed victory
KP is a ways away from being a goto player. Being under DaddyMelo's wing is perfect for him right now.
Btw, Melo played great defense again tonight.
I would not trade lebron straight up for him right now.
But what if Melo really learned to flop? Would you trade him then? What if they threw in a second rounder?
As was already stated, welcome aboard the GoodShipHomerMelo, mreinman!
Much easier to actually be a franchise player when there's actually a franchise around you to play for...
blkexec wrote:nixluva wrote:ThisMelo has killed ISO MELO and buried him. R.I.P. ISO MELO! 👻
It's still ISO MELO, buried behind the triangle system. The only difference is ISO MELO is now attacking with his head up and eyes on more than just his defender. The difference is he finally has players around him that he trust and built some chemistry with.
Yeah he does still do ISO Melo some but not even close to the way he used to obviously. He was doing ISO Melo last night actually.
newyorker4ever wrote:wargames wrote:nyknickzingis wrote:I made the comparison a few weeks ago. I said he's playing like a LBJ lite, or like a near Lebron James. Melo's playing like 80-90% of Lebron. He's rebounding, defending with energy, passing the ball, handling the ball like a point AND scoring 20+ points. Only one other guy in the league does all of that with the same type of size - it's Lebron. Obviously Lebron is better, but Melo has clearly shown me to be wrong. I thought he had hit physical decline, and while he has slowed down a bit, he had a huge development mentally. It's rare you see a guy at 31 have this, but here it is. It's as if he just realized that he should play like Lebron instead of Glen Robinson or Barkley. And it's worked wonders. Major props to Melo. George Karl for years tried to get him to play this way. "Triangle culture".
Also he is a better shooter and post up player overall. Arguably he might be able to keep this level of play up longer than Lebron just because his offense isn't as based on his athleticism as Lebron's is. If he stays healthy we might look at this season as the beginning of "2nd part of his career Melo" or "Leaving his prime Melo" because he could keep this up well past his current contract.
I actually think the only part of his game that has slipped is his shooting. He's usually hitting way more 3 pointers than he has been this year.
That will improve as his legs get stronger. You questioned everything else about his game earlier too::))))
Melo's January numbers are great:
21ppg 8rpg 5.6apg 47%fg plus great defense
only thing missing right now is his 3pt shot - but I wonder if he's not shooting that as well because his legs get tired from playing D much more than he ever has before.
I see Melo working a lot harder on D than a lot of guys in this league right now. He's truly turning into a leader. When KP came up limping a little last night, Melo ran over to him and asked if he was alright. He did the same thing at the end of the Sixers game where KP sprained his foot.
It's kind of amazing to see the maturation of Melo here. It's like the exact opposite of what happened to Marbury.
Also worth adding he has played well over 40 min in each of the last 2 games on a bad ankle. Hasn't said a word about it. The league could use more players with that type of attitude. There are very few players these days that are consistently willing to play through injuries like he does.
mreinman wrote:
I would not trade lebron straight up for him right now.
Pretty funny and illuminating that I have been called a Melo ballwasher and I would, in a flat second.
crzymdups wrote:Melo's January numbers are great:21ppg 8rpg 5.6apg 47%fg plus great defense
only thing missing right now is his 3pt shot - but I wonder if he's not shooting that as well because his legs get tired from playing D much more than he ever has before.
I see Melo working a lot harder on D than a lot of guys in this league right now. He's truly turning into a leader. When KP came up limping a little last night, Melo ran over to him and asked if he was alright. He did the same thing at the end of the Sixers game where KP sprained his foot.
It's kind of amazing to see the maturation of Melo here. It's like the exact opposite of what happened to Marbury.
That is the Phill Jackson impact.....different from MDA and Brown
Triangle culture is what has brought this up. Fisher also seems to have an interesting relationship with Melo, in that they don't seem very close like he and Woodson were, but he pushes Melo's buttons in the media and on the court in a way Woodson never could. Fisher has called Melo out early in the season a few times for his defensive effort, passing the ball etc. Melo has responded.
I give Melo credit, but I don't believe for a second that Melo would be doing this without Fisher and the Triangle culture that's trying to be enforced on the team. It's about teamwork, ball movement, player movement. Melo has jumped on the wagon. As season's start he wasn't sure what he could do outside of scoring. Now he knows he can be great even without scoring, and he's doing it again and again.
The point forward, higher defensive/boards version of Melo can average 20 points, and I'd call him a MVP caliber player vs the 27-28 points a night Melo who doesn't play as much defense or pass who I would call more of a top 20 player. He's playing at a level even an all time great like Kobe would be proud of. I'm not saying he's reached that level, but he's playing in a balanced all around way that some of the great wings in the Triangle have. If he can keep this up for 2-3 years, he will cement his legacy much higher than he would have had he kept playing the other way.
I'll take 21/8/5 Melo over 28/7/3 Melo any day of the week.
Vmart wrote:fishmike wrote:he's playing like a franchise player plain and simple. When Phil signed him to that deal he said Melo still had another level he could go to. Bang.
Fish, we been saying it from the beginning. 25-7-5 on 50% shooting which is the norm for today's NBA superstars. My only grip is what took him so long to understand that this style of play is about winning. MDA tried to make him a facilitator, he seemed disinterested. Woodson gave him what he wanted with one good season and that was on the back of Jkidd's leadership.
I guess it better late then never. Melo is Finally learning the game.
Some perspective... Melo's first 10 seasons in the NBA were all winning, and its not like those teams were all loaded. Melo has been a good player and a winning player for a very long time. What we are seeing is the next level. Its not like he sucked and just figured it out. Phil has clearly had a big influence, and Fisher is pushing the right buttons.
This Melo definitely is comparable to LeBron. One thing that Melo has over LeDouche is that he looks like he actually cares for his teammates. The way he protected KP was very telling. I am loving all this Melo love.
jrodmc wrote:Much easier to actually be a franchise player when there's actually a franchise around you to play for...
Yes, ain't that the truth.
NYKBocker wrote:This Melo definitely is comparable to LeBron. One thing that Melo has over LeDouche is that he looks like he actually cares for his teammates. The way he protected KP was very telling. I am loving all this Melo love.
Yeah, James just gets them paid.
