Why is no one talking about Carmelo?

[OneBadMutha]

Re: Why is no one talking about Carmelo?

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bigeastbumrush said:
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OneBadMutha said:
I watched a few games of his (both against Detroit and a couple from the NBA package) and he's got a lot of issues with his game that no one talks about. He's a very good finisher but every other aspect of his game "screams" rookie

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Hellooooooooooooo.

Since when did he become a 10-year vet?

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I never said he had to be a 10 year vet or that he was a bad player overall. What you do have to realize is that those other aspects of his game would get him in trouble in Detroit. The fact that he suffers in other areas of his game is why Larry Brown likely wouldn't start him in Detroit. The fact that other areas of his game suffer are the reasons Detroit is better off with Tay starting right now. Maybe in two or three years from now, he's a complete player. By then though, Detroit believes they'll have a complete player at center. My point is that Melo's game doesn't put the Pistons over the top this year. Detroit can win it all if they can beat Indiana and the teams out West in the paint -- not if their small forward is capable of jacking up more shots.

[HMcCoy]

Re: Why is no one talking about Carmelo?

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OneBadMutha said:
What you do have to realize is that those other aspects of his game would get him in trouble in Detroit. The fact that he suffers in other areas of his game is why Larry Brown likely wouldn't start him in Detroit. The fact that other areas of his game suffer are the reasons Detroit is better off with Tay starting right now. Maybe in two or three years from now, he's a complete player. By then though, Detroit believes they'll have a complete player at center....Detroit can win it all if they can beat Indiana and the teams out West in the paint -- not if their small forward is capable of jacking up more shots.

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One Bad..Why do you assume that Carmelo would have been incapable of conforming to the Pistons system? I loved your post up top, you made some great points, but obviously you're COMPLETELY basing that argument on Carmelos play in Denver. They need offense BADLY, and 'Melo's been given the green light since day 1. Theyve encouraged his shoot,shoot,shoot attitude since draft day. When they were winning it didn't seem to be a problem, did it? He's steadily improved his shooting % and boards, but now because the team is on the snide, Melo's shooting and D is the reason? Its not. Lenard no longer playing WAAAAY over his head, and Nene and Camby not scoring in the post are more likely suspects. You can't look at Melo's situation in Denver and simply transfer his circumstances over to Detroit. He never gave Boeheim any trouble, and Syracuse has consistently been one of the better defensive systems in college ball. Melo played very well in that system, and we'll never know how well he would have played D in Detroit. You'd have to admit that a more influential coach, more credible teammates, and a championship calibur organization would have had an impact.

Again, I understood your points, but lets be realistic...We'll never know. Prince wasn't drafted as a defensive "stopper". He DEVELOPED his D under Rick Carlisle, and now LBrown. It would be SILLY to blindly assume that Melo would not have developed in those areas also. Who would you say is a better teacher/player developer, Brown or Bzdelik?

Just my .02

[HMcCoy]

Re: Why is no one talking about Carmelo?

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OneBadMutha said:
What you do have to realize is that those other aspects of his game would get him in trouble in Detroit. The fact that he suffers in other areas of his game is why Larry Brown likely wouldn't start him in Detroit. The fact that other areas of his game suffer are the reasons Detroit is better off with Tay starting right now. Maybe in two or three years from now, he's a complete player. By then though, Detroit believes they'll have a complete player at center....Detroit can win it all if they can beat Indiana and the teams out West in the paint -- not if their small forward is capable of jacking up more shots.

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

One Bad..Why do you assume that Carmelo would have been incapable of conforming to the Pistons system? I loved your post up top, you made some great points, but obviously you're COMPLETELY basing that argument on Carmelos play in Denver. They need offense BADLY, and 'Melo's been given the green light since day 1. Theyve encouraged his shoot,shoot,shoot attitude since draft day. When they were winning it didn't seem to be a problem, did it? He's steadily improved his shooting % and boards, but now because the team is on the snide, Melo's shooting and D is the reason? Its not. Lenard no longer playing WAAAAY over his head, and Nene and Camby not scoring in the post are more likely suspects. You can't look at Melo's situation in Denver and simply transfer his circumstances over to Detroit. He never gave Boeheim any trouble, and Syracuse has consistently been one of the better defensive systems in college ball. Melo played very well in that system, and we'll never know how well he would have played D in Detroit. You'd have to admit that a more influential coach, more credible teammates, and a championship calibur organization would have had an impact.

Again, I understood your points, but lets be realistic...We'll never know. Prince wasn't drafted as a defensive "stopper". He DEVELOPED his D under Rick Carlisle, and now LBrown. It would be SILLY to blindly assume that Melo would not have developed in those areas also. Who would you say is a better teacher/player developer, Brown or Bzdelik?

Just my .02

[HMcCoy]

Re: Why is no one talking about Carmelo?

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
OneBadMutha said:
What you do have to realize is that those other aspects of his game would get him in trouble in Detroit. The fact that he suffers in other areas of his game is why Larry Brown likely wouldn't start him in Detroit. The fact that other areas of his game suffer are the reasons Detroit is better off with Tay starting right now. Maybe in two or three years from now, he's a complete player. By then though, Detroit believes they'll have a complete player at center....Detroit can win it all if they can beat Indiana and the teams out West in the paint -- not if their small forward is capable of jacking up more shots.

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

One Bad..Why do you assume that Carmelo would have been incapable of conforming to the Pistons system? I loved your post up top, you made some great points, but obviously you're COMPLETELY basing that argument on Carmelos play in Denver. They need offense BADLY, and 'Melo's been given the green light since day 1. Theyve encouraged his shoot,shoot,shoot attitude since draft day. When they were winning it didn't seem to be a problem, did it? He's steadily improved his shooting % and boards, but now because the team is on the snide, Melo's shooting and D is the reason? Its not. Lenard no longer playing WAAAAY over his head, and Nene and Camby not scoring in the post are more likely suspects. You can't look at Melo's situation in Denver and simply transfer his circumstances over to Detroit. He never gave Boeheim any trouble, and Syracuse has consistently been one of the better defensive systems in college ball. Melo played very well in that system, and we'll never know how well he would have played D in Detroit. You'd have to admit that a more influential coach, more credible teammates, and a championship calibur organization would have had an impact.

Again, I understood your points, but lets be realistic...We'll never know. Prince wasn't drafted as a defensive "stopper". He DEVELOPED his D under Rick Carlisle, and now LBrown. It would be SILLY to blindly assume that Melo would not have developed in those areas also. Who would you say is a better teacher/player developer, Brown or Bzdelik?

Just my .02

[Leon]

Re: Why is no one talking about Carmelo?

This Detroit should have picked Melo thing should stop. Reason why they didn't pick Melo is because they didn't need him, plain and simple. They drafted Darko because of all that potential and could be a legit big-man in the future. Personally, I'm happy Melo's in Denver cause he has a chance to shine there and not in Detroit.

As for his game, yeah he takes some bad shots and sometimes get blown on D. He's a rookie, I've seen Wade, Bosh, &amp; James commit mistakes just like Melo and no one mentions them. Thing is, they're all rookies and everyone knows they'll still improve, I don't get why Melo gets all the flak though.

This arguement is old, Melo fans should be happy he's in Denver and not Detroit cause if he was in Detroit, NO ONE will be talking about him.

[Leon]

Re: Why is no one talking about Carmelo?

This Detroit should have picked Melo thing should stop. Reason why they didn't pick Melo is because they didn't need him, plain and simple. They drafted Darko because of all that potential and could be a legit big-man in the future. Personally, I'm happy Melo's in Denver cause he has a chance to shine there and not in Detroit.

As for his game, yeah he takes some bad shots and sometimes get blown on D. He's a rookie, I've seen Wade, Bosh, &amp; James commit mistakes just like Melo and no one mentions them. Thing is, they're all rookies and everyone knows they'll still improve, I don't get why Melo gets all the flak though.

This arguement is old, Melo fans should be happy he's in Denver and not Detroit cause if he was in Detroit, NO ONE will be talking about him.

[Leon]

Re: Why is no one talking about Carmelo?

This Detroit should have picked Melo thing should stop. Reason why they didn't pick Melo is because they didn't need him, plain and simple. They drafted Darko because of all that potential and could be a legit big-man in the future. Personally, I'm happy Melo's in Denver cause he has a chance to shine there and not in Detroit.

As for his game, yeah he takes some bad shots and sometimes get blown on D. He's a rookie, I've seen Wade, Bosh, &amp; James commit mistakes just like Melo and no one mentions them. Thing is, they're all rookies and everyone knows they'll still improve, I don't get why Melo gets all the flak though.

This arguement is old, Melo fans should be happy he's in Denver and not Detroit cause if he was in Detroit, NO ONE will be talking about him.

[Kruza]

Re: Why is no one talking about Carmelo?

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HMcCoy said:
One Bad..Why do you assume that Carmelo would have been incapable of conforming to the Pistons system? I loved your post up top, you made some great points, but obviously you're COMPLETELY basing that argument on Carmelos play in Denver. They need offense BADLY, and 'Melo's been given the green light since day 1. Theyve encouraged his shoot,shoot,shoot attitude since draft day. When they were winning it didn't seem to be a problem, did it? He's steadily improved his shooting % and boards, but now because the team is on the snide, Melo's shooting and D is the reason? Its not. Lenard no longer playing WAAAAY over his head, and Nene and Camby not scoring in the post are more likely suspects. You can't look at Melo's situation in Denver and simply transfer his circumstances over to Detroit. He never gave Boeheim any trouble, and Syracuse has consistently been one of the better defensive systems in college ball. Melo played very well in that system, and we'll never know how well he would have played D in Detroit. You'd have to admit that a more influential coach, more credible teammates, and a championship calibur organization would have had an impact.

Again, I understood your points, but lets be realistic...We'll never know. Prince wasn't drafted as a defensive "stopper". He DEVELOPED his D under Rick Carlisle, and now LBrown. It would be SILLY to blindly assume that Melo would not have developed in those areas also. Who would you say is a better teacher/player developer, Brown or Bzdelik?

Just my .02

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The main reason why the Nuggets have been struggling is that teams have found out that the key to beating them is to preventing them from running up and down to get their open-court offense in gear. Despite their early-season success, the Nuggets has had trouble scoring in their half-court sets all season long, and opposing teams have really been exposing that as of late.

And in terms of defense, Carmelo Anthony is way behind the curve in comparison to Tayshaun Prince coming into the NBA. Prince is a coming from a program that played man-to-man pressure D almost exclusively. Plus he has played that type of defense on the college level for 4 years. So Prince has a good track record to develop from defensively after joining the Pistons and learning their system. Meanwhile, Melo played in a program running the 2-3 zone for at least 95% of the time. And not only that, but he's played there for only one year. So that means Melo has played about 5% man-to-man D on the college level prior to entering the NBA. Now with that, who's to say that Rick Carlisle or Larry Brown or any other coach for that matter would be able to get Melo to play D on a similar level to Prince after considering Melo's previous track record? He would have trouble defending college-level players now, let alone guys in the NBA. Now don't get me wrong... I'm not saying Melo is in no way capable of playing D in the pros. I believe Melo will eventually learn how to play solid man-to-man D on the pro level, but it's going to take him a lot longer than it had for Prince, especially when Prince has the advantage of being taller and having longer arms.

Plus another factor to consider about the Pistons passing on Melo is that prior to that draft, the swingman the Pistons already had planned on selecting was Carlos Delfino, who's already known as a good on-ball defender and a solid all-around player. He was the main guy the Pistons had their mind set on getting in the first round prior to the draft (Darko Milicic was the "high risk" pick at the #2 spot), and he was snatched up later in the first round. Delfino was not elgible to play for the Pistons this season, but he'll be playing for the team next season. People forget about that.

Kruza

[Kruza]

Re: Why is no one talking about Carmelo?

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HMcCoy said:
One Bad..Why do you assume that Carmelo would have been incapable of conforming to the Pistons system? I loved your post up top, you made some great points, but obviously you're COMPLETELY basing that argument on Carmelos play in Denver. They need offense BADLY, and 'Melo's been given the green light since day 1. Theyve encouraged his shoot,shoot,shoot attitude since draft day. When they were winning it didn't seem to be a problem, did it? He's steadily improved his shooting % and boards, but now because the team is on the snide, Melo's shooting and D is the reason? Its not. Lenard no longer playing WAAAAY over his head, and Nene and Camby not scoring in the post are more likely suspects. You can't look at Melo's situation in Denver and simply transfer his circumstances over to Detroit. He never gave Boeheim any trouble, and Syracuse has consistently been one of the better defensive systems in college ball. Melo played very well in that system, and we'll never know how well he would have played D in Detroit. You'd have to admit that a more influential coach, more credible teammates, and a championship calibur organization would have had an impact.

Again, I understood your points, but lets be realistic...We'll never know. Prince wasn't drafted as a defensive "stopper". He DEVELOPED his D under Rick Carlisle, and now LBrown. It would be SILLY to blindly assume that Melo would not have developed in those areas also. Who would you say is a better teacher/player developer, Brown or Bzdelik?

Just my .02

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">


The main reason why the Nuggets have been struggling is that teams have found out that the key to beating them is to preventing them from running up and down to get their open-court offense in gear. Despite their early-season success, the Nuggets has had trouble scoring in their half-court sets all season long, and opposing teams have really been exposing that as of late.

And in terms of defense, Carmelo Anthony is way behind the curve in comparison to Tayshaun Prince coming into the NBA. Prince is a coming from a program that played man-to-man pressure D almost exclusively. Plus he has played that type of defense on the college level for 4 years. So Prince has a good track record to develop from defensively after joining the Pistons and learning their system. Meanwhile, Melo played in a program running the 2-3 zone for at least 95% of the time. And not only that, but he's played there for only one year. So that means Melo has played about 5% man-to-man D on the college level prior to entering the NBA. Now with that, who's to say that Rick Carlisle or Larry Brown or any other coach for that matter would be able to get Melo to play D on a similar level to Prince after considering Melo's previous track record? He would have trouble defending college-level players now, let alone guys in the NBA. Now don't get me wrong... I'm not saying Melo is in no way capable of playing D in the pros. I believe Melo will eventually learn how to play solid man-to-man D on the pro level, but it's going to take him a lot longer than it had for Prince, especially when Prince has the advantage of being taller and having longer arms.

Plus another factor to consider about the Pistons passing on Melo is that prior to that draft, the swingman the Pistons already had planned on selecting was Carlos Delfino, who's already known as a good on-ball defender and a solid all-around player. He was the main guy the Pistons had their mind set on getting in the first round prior to the draft (Darko Milicic was the "high risk" pick at the #2 spot), and he was snatched up later in the first round. Delfino was not elgible to play for the Pistons this season, but he'll be playing for the team next season. People forget about that.

Kruza

[Kruza]

Re: Why is no one talking about Carmelo?

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
HMcCoy said:
One Bad..Why do you assume that Carmelo would have been incapable of conforming to the Pistons system? I loved your post up top, you made some great points, but obviously you're COMPLETELY basing that argument on Carmelos play in Denver. They need offense BADLY, and 'Melo's been given the green light since day 1. Theyve encouraged his shoot,shoot,shoot attitude since draft day. When they were winning it didn't seem to be a problem, did it? He's steadily improved his shooting % and boards, but now because the team is on the snide, Melo's shooting and D is the reason? Its not. Lenard no longer playing WAAAAY over his head, and Nene and Camby not scoring in the post are more likely suspects. You can't look at Melo's situation in Denver and simply transfer his circumstances over to Detroit. He never gave Boeheim any trouble, and Syracuse has consistently been one of the better defensive systems in college ball. Melo played very well in that system, and we'll never know how well he would have played D in Detroit. You'd have to admit that a more influential coach, more credible teammates, and a championship calibur organization would have had an impact.

Again, I understood your points, but lets be realistic...We'll never know. Prince wasn't drafted as a defensive "stopper". He DEVELOPED his D under Rick Carlisle, and now LBrown. It would be SILLY to blindly assume that Melo would not have developed in those areas also. Who would you say is a better teacher/player developer, Brown or Bzdelik?

Just my .02

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">


The main reason why the Nuggets have been struggling is that teams have found out that the key to beating them is to preventing them from running up and down to get their open-court offense in gear. Despite their early-season success, the Nuggets has had trouble scoring in their half-court sets all season long, and opposing teams have really been exposing that as of late.

And in terms of defense, Carmelo Anthony is way behind the curve in comparison to Tayshaun Prince coming into the NBA. Prince is a coming from a program that played man-to-man pressure D almost exclusively. Plus he has played that type of defense on the college level for 4 years. So Prince has a good track record to develop from defensively after joining the Pistons and learning their system. Meanwhile, Melo played in a program running the 2-3 zone for at least 95% of the time. And not only that, but he's played there for only one year. So that means Melo has played about 5% man-to-man D on the college level prior to entering the NBA. Now with that, who's to say that Rick Carlisle or Larry Brown or any other coach for that matter would be able to get Melo to play D on a similar level to Prince after considering Melo's previous track record? He would have trouble defending college-level players now, let alone guys in the NBA. Now don't get me wrong... I'm not saying Melo is in no way capable of playing D in the pros. I believe Melo will eventually learn how to play solid man-to-man D on the pro level, but it's going to take him a lot longer than it had for Prince, especially when Prince has the advantage of being taller and having longer arms.

Plus another factor to consider about the Pistons passing on Melo is that prior to that draft, the swingman the Pistons already had planned on selecting was Carlos Delfino, who's already known as a good on-ball defender and a solid all-around player. He was the main guy the Pistons had their mind set on getting in the first round prior to the draft (Darko Milicic was the "high risk" pick at the #2 spot), and he was snatched up later in the first round. Delfino was not elgible to play for the Pistons this season, but he'll be playing for the team next season. People forget about that.

Kruza

[HMcCoy]

Re: Why is no one talking about Carmelo?

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Kruza said:
</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
HMcCoy said:
One Bad..Why do you assume that Carmelo would have been incapable of conforming to the Pistons system? I loved your post up top, you made some great points, but obviously you're COMPLETELY basing that argument on Carmelos play in Denver. They need offense BADLY, and 'Melo's been given the green light since day 1. Theyve encouraged his shoot,shoot,shoot attitude since draft day. When they were winning it didn't seem to be a problem, did it? He's steadily improved his shooting % and boards, but now because the team is on the snide, Melo's shooting and D is the reason? Its not. Lenard no longer playing WAAAAY over his head, and Nene and Camby not scoring in the post are more likely suspects. You can't look at Melo's situation in Denver and simply transfer his circumstances over to Detroit. He never gave Boeheim any trouble, and Syracuse has consistently been one of the better defensive systems in college ball. Melo played very well in that system, and we'll never know how well he would have played D in Detroit. You'd have to admit that a more influential coach, more credible teammates, and a championship calibur organization would have had an impact.

Again, I understood your points, but lets be realistic...We'll never know. Prince wasn't drafted as a defensive "stopper". He DEVELOPED his D under Rick Carlisle, and now LBrown. It would be SILLY to blindly assume that Melo would not have developed in those areas also. Who would you say is a better teacher/player developer, Brown or Bzdelik?

Just my .02

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">


The main reason why the Nuggets have been struggling is that teams have found out that the key to beating them is to preventing them from running up and down to get their open-court offense in gear. Despite their early-season success, the Nuggets has had trouble scoring in their half-court sets all season long, and opposing teams have really been exposing that as of late.

And in terms of defense, Carmelo Anthony is way behind the curve in comparison to Tayshaun Prince coming into the NBA. Prince is a coming from a program that played man-to-man pressure D almost exclusively. Plus he has played that type of defense on the college level for 4 years. So Prince has a good track record to develop from defensively after joining the Pistons and learning their system. Meanwhile, Melo played in a program running the 2-3 zone for at least 95% of the time. And not only that, but he's played there for only one year. So that means Melo has played about 5% man-to-man D on the college level prior to entering the NBA. Now with that, who's to say that Rick Carlisle or Larry Brown or any other coach for that matter would be able to get Melo to play D on a similar level to Prince after considering Melo's previous track record? He would have trouble defending college-level players now, let alone guys in the NBA. Now don't get me wrong... I'm not saying Melo is in no way capable of playing D in the pros. I believe Melo will eventually learn how to play solid man-to-man D on the pro level, but it's going to take him a lot longer than it had for Prince, especially when Prince has the advantage of being taller and having longer arms.

Plus another factor to consider about the Pistons passing on Melo is that prior to that draft, the swingman the Pistons already had planned on selecting was Carlos Delfino, who's already known as a good on-ball defender and a solid all-around player. He was the main guy the Pistons had their mind set on getting in the first round prior to the draft (Darko Milicic was the "high risk" pick at the #2 spot), and he was snatched up later in the first round. Delfino was not elgible to play for the Pistons this season, but he'll be playing for the team next season. People forget about that.

Kruza

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">


Good points.

[HMcCoy]

Re: Why is no one talking about Carmelo?

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
Kruza said:
</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
HMcCoy said:
One Bad..Why do you assume that Carmelo would have been incapable of conforming to the Pistons system? I loved your post up top, you made some great points, but obviously you're COMPLETELY basing that argument on Carmelos play in Denver. They need offense BADLY, and 'Melo's been given the green light since day 1. Theyve encouraged his shoot,shoot,shoot attitude since draft day. When they were winning it didn't seem to be a problem, did it? He's steadily improved his shooting % and boards, but now because the team is on the snide, Melo's shooting and D is the reason? Its not. Lenard no longer playing WAAAAY over his head, and Nene and Camby not scoring in the post are more likely suspects. You can't look at Melo's situation in Denver and simply transfer his circumstances over to Detroit. He never gave Boeheim any trouble, and Syracuse has consistently been one of the better defensive systems in college ball. Melo played very well in that system, and we'll never know how well he would have played D in Detroit. You'd have to admit that a more influential coach, more credible teammates, and a championship calibur organization would have had an impact.

Again, I understood your points, but lets be realistic...We'll never know. Prince wasn't drafted as a defensive "stopper". He DEVELOPED his D under Rick Carlisle, and now LBrown. It would be SILLY to blindly assume that Melo would not have developed in those areas also. Who would you say is a better teacher/player developer, Brown or Bzdelik?

Just my .02

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">


The main reason why the Nuggets have been struggling is that teams have found out that the key to beating them is to preventing them from running up and down to get their open-court offense in gear. Despite their early-season success, the Nuggets has had trouble scoring in their half-court sets all season long, and opposing teams have really been exposing that as of late.

And in terms of defense, Carmelo Anthony is way behind the curve in comparison to Tayshaun Prince coming into the NBA. Prince is a coming from a program that played man-to-man pressure D almost exclusively. Plus he has played that type of defense on the college level for 4 years. So Prince has a good track record to develop from defensively after joining the Pistons and learning their system. Meanwhile, Melo played in a program running the 2-3 zone for at least 95% of the time. And not only that, but he's played there for only one year. So that means Melo has played about 5% man-to-man D on the college level prior to entering the NBA. Now with that, who's to say that Rick Carlisle or Larry Brown or any other coach for that matter would be able to get Melo to play D on a similar level to Prince after considering Melo's previous track record? He would have trouble defending college-level players now, let alone guys in the NBA. Now don't get me wrong... I'm not saying Melo is in no way capable of playing D in the pros. I believe Melo will eventually learn how to play solid man-to-man D on the pro level, but it's going to take him a lot longer than it had for Prince, especially when Prince has the advantage of being taller and having longer arms.

Plus another factor to consider about the Pistons passing on Melo is that prior to that draft, the swingman the Pistons already had planned on selecting was Carlos Delfino, who's already known as a good on-ball defender and a solid all-around player. He was the main guy the Pistons had their mind set on getting in the first round prior to the draft (Darko Milicic was the "high risk" pick at the #2 spot), and he was snatched up later in the first round. Delfino was not elgible to play for the Pistons this season, but he'll be playing for the team next season. People forget about that.

Kruza

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">


Good points.

[HMcCoy]

Re: Why is no one talking about Carmelo?

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
Kruza said:
</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
HMcCoy said:
One Bad..Why do you assume that Carmelo would have been incapable of conforming to the Pistons system? I loved your post up top, you made some great points, but obviously you're COMPLETELY basing that argument on Carmelos play in Denver. They need offense BADLY, and 'Melo's been given the green light since day 1. Theyve encouraged his shoot,shoot,shoot attitude since draft day. When they were winning it didn't seem to be a problem, did it? He's steadily improved his shooting % and boards, but now because the team is on the snide, Melo's shooting and D is the reason? Its not. Lenard no longer playing WAAAAY over his head, and Nene and Camby not scoring in the post are more likely suspects. You can't look at Melo's situation in Denver and simply transfer his circumstances over to Detroit. He never gave Boeheim any trouble, and Syracuse has consistently been one of the better defensive systems in college ball. Melo played very well in that system, and we'll never know how well he would have played D in Detroit. You'd have to admit that a more influential coach, more credible teammates, and a championship calibur organization would have had an impact.

Again, I understood your points, but lets be realistic...We'll never know. Prince wasn't drafted as a defensive "stopper". He DEVELOPED his D under Rick Carlisle, and now LBrown. It would be SILLY to blindly assume that Melo would not have developed in those areas also. Who would you say is a better teacher/player developer, Brown or Bzdelik?

Just my .02

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The main reason why the Nuggets have been struggling is that teams have found out that the key to beating them is to preventing them from running up and down to get their open-court offense in gear. Despite their early-season success, the Nuggets has had trouble scoring in their half-court sets all season long, and opposing teams have really been exposing that as of late.

And in terms of defense, Carmelo Anthony is way behind the curve in comparison to Tayshaun Prince coming into the NBA. Prince is a coming from a program that played man-to-man pressure D almost exclusively. Plus he has played that type of defense on the college level for 4 years. So Prince has a good track record to develop from defensively after joining the Pistons and learning their system. Meanwhile, Melo played in a program running the 2-3 zone for at least 95% of the time. And not only that, but he's played there for only one year. So that means Melo has played about 5% man-to-man D on the college level prior to entering the NBA. Now with that, who's to say that Rick Carlisle or Larry Brown or any other coach for that matter would be able to get Melo to play D on a similar level to Prince after considering Melo's previous track record? He would have trouble defending college-level players now, let alone guys in the NBA. Now don't get me wrong... I'm not saying Melo is in no way capable of playing D in the pros. I believe Melo will eventually learn how to play solid man-to-man D on the pro level, but it's going to take him a lot longer than it had for Prince, especially when Prince has the advantage of being taller and having longer arms.

Plus another factor to consider about the Pistons passing on Melo is that prior to that draft, the swingman the Pistons already had planned on selecting was Carlos Delfino, who's already known as a good on-ball defender and a solid all-around player. He was the main guy the Pistons had their mind set on getting in the first round prior to the draft (Darko Milicic was the "high risk" pick at the #2 spot), and he was snatched up later in the first round. Delfino was not elgible to play for the Pistons this season, but he'll be playing for the team next season. People forget about that.

Kruza

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Good points.