Carmelo Anthony Discussion: #9 All Time Scorer

Great content.
Do you league averages for each of the 3 indicators from last season?

I bet teams will focus on the big 3 and let open our shooters. It's what you do when you face talent like this. It's good we have several options, it's really a matter of making them or you get subbed.
On the other hand, I think our 2 role players will be chosen depending on their defense and matchups on that end of the floor. Scoring will come with so much talent, but it really comes down on the defensive end

 

Good question. The league average on corner threes was about 39%. And the league average for 3 was 36.7%.

I’m unsure how to find catch and shoot and wide open 3’s. I included those because I think we’ll get a lot of them off the back of the big 3.

 

our ver of the gsw killer lineup wouldn't be to shabby Ad/Bron/Melo/any of the Sg/Russ....all 6' 5" or taller

 

feel like the death lineup probably needs ariza at the three and whichever sg rises to the top of that heap. would love for it to be monk because it would mean he'd maximized his talents. but it could easily be ellington or nunn or hell, even bazemore.

 

No shooting, doesn't make sense with Westbrook.

 

if Melo can shoots 40% from 3s for us id use him as 3, all he'll need to do is catch/shoot, id probably replace russ with remaining guard thats hot, Russ can easily be goated into taking stupid perimeter shots

 

shooting and team defense. THT hasn't shown either to the degree required to be in the closing lineup. prove me wrong, THT.

honestly, kcp or caruso is the right fit at that sg spot over anyone we've got.

 

AD came through with that pass from Rondo in the bubble though omg!!

 

I was thinking when we face small-ball lineups, if Melo would fit with AD at the 5

From the top of my head and without looking at the rosters, it's cool that most stretch 4 are not particularly gifted offensively and usually they are 3&D type of players. I'm thinking Jeff Green or Finney Smith type of guys.
Let's look at some examples on our biggest matchups in the path to the title:

Nets: Harris/Griffin. It would be fine, unless Durant plays the 4 with Harden, Irving and Bruce Brown. Maybe Melo could take Brown but it's a odd fit

Clippers: PG/Kawhi or Morris. It would be fine with Morris but we would suffer with one of the stars. If they play Batum along them, Melo could take him. But if they play with Kennard and Rondo/Reggie, don't see the fit. Probably we would play Ariza and Bazemore, but we would be really small. Definitely a Ennis type of addition would help here

Nuggets: Gordon/MPJ/both Greens. With the first it would be tough. With the Greens he would probably held his own

Jazz: O'Neale/Gay. I think he can held both. O'Neale for sure, he is non-existent in the offensive end

Suns: Crowder/Johnson/Bridges. I think he can handle all of them

Warriors: Iggy/Toscano/Otto. Fine as well.


So the conclusion is that he probably can handle matchups of a little over half of the league. But there are specific matchups where he would get burn and if we play Ariza at the 4, we would get particularly small, unless LeBron is on the floor too. Maybe a AD/LeBron/Ariza/THT/Nunn lineup will happen often. I would like to have Russ and AD pairing more, I think they can benefit each other.

So, bottom line is that we really need another stretch 4 who is big and can handle guys in the defensive end, so that we can play Melo when it fits him, instead of putting him in tough situations. Hope we nail it

 

i'm not sure it's an issue of whether he can handle his nominal matchup one-on-one as much as it is whether he can make quick, proper rotations and can't be switch-hunted onto their top guys to devastating effect.

i'm guessing vogel will give him a chance to prove it, but based on both vogel's and melo's histories, i'd say he might not be part of closing lineups.

 

For closing lineups I think it will be the big 3, Ariza and a shooter yeah. With LeBron and Ariza taking the opp 3 and 4.

During the game, I think Melo can see his minutes impacted by matchups. Anyone have data or remembers how it was in Portland? They were always s***ty in defending collectively, so I guess it wasn't much of a factor

 

I’m not so concerned with our 4/5 rotation as others are here.

Dwight, Gasol are good C’s that can still take 20-24 mins a night. AD can cover 28-36 mins across both positions.

Then we have Lebron who can do 28-36 mins at the forward spots and Melo who is a strong PF in this day and age and can cover 24-28 mins there. Lastly we have Ariza that’s good for 20 mins at the forward spots too.

I’m not really thinking too much how we match up with other teams at the 4 and 5 spots, I think they’re more thinking about how they match up with us there.

 

Earlier in his career I have seen Mello play great defense in spurts. I've seen him against Kobe, LeBron etc etc and do well when he puts forth the effort. So I know he's capable or was. I'm honestly interested to see if he will devote himself to that end of the floor when it matters in Vogels system. He used to be capable but at this stage of his career can he still produce at that end?

He just has never sustained or committed to that end of the floor, the same as a lot of top offensive players. He has the tools, will he use 'em

 

The more I see of Carmelo's play and hear him talk I am convinced we will see the best possible version of him. It seems his drop off has been more motivational than anything. Can't imagine a better motivational situation than this. He would be great in a McAdoo role. I think he is coming in with the intent of earning a starting spot. Should be interesting.

 

Carmelo is done defensively. Eye test, analytics, whatever you want to use, he is done.

It's just age.

He's a power forward at this point in his career that can stretch the floor and give us spacing.
I'm not expecting much more.

And I hope Vogel doesn't place him at the 3 and think he's an SF.

Those days are done