I know you're a little testy right now because Linsanity was so much fun, and now it's not as much fun. I know it's easy to redirect your anger and angst at someone whose name rhymes with "Bardello." Just remember …
A. Your team is struggling because its schedule got tougher post-Linsanity, and because you have a floating bull's-eye on you right now (not because 'Melo came back).
B. You might want to give one of the best pure scorers of the last 20 years a couple more weeks adjusting to TWO new point guards without any real practice time before deciding this situation can't be redeemed (especially when those two point guards are a de facto rookie and someone coming off back surgery who hasn't been relevant in three years).
C. Ask Portland fans what they think of Ray Felton. Ask Denver fans what they think of Timofey Mozgov. You basically acquired Carmelo and the cap space to sign Tyson Chandler for Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler.4 I'm pretty sure ANYONE ON THE F-ING PLANET would make that trade again.
D. You're focusing your frustrations on 'Melo because it allows you to avoid the elephant in the room … you know, Amar'e's uninsured/un-amnesty-able/cap-killing contract ($83 million through 2015), his general doughiness, his egregiously awful defense and the fact that he seems a half-step slow permanently. None of this is Carmelo's fault.
E. I went to Sunday's nationally televised Knicks-Celtics game in Boston. Carmelo made what seemed to be the clinching basket; Pierce made a 3 to tie; then Carmelo had a chance to win the game in regulation. As 'Melo was getting off the shot, everyone in the building had a collective slow-motion heart attack. Noooooooooooooooooo! We all thought that shot was going in. In my opinion, seven 2012 players make opposing fans crap their pants in a big moment: Kobe, Wade, Durant, Rose, Dirk, Carmelo … and just on reputation alone, Ray Allen. If you employ one of those players, you have a better chance of winning the title than everyone else. That's the way basketball works. Everything slows down, the pressure turns suffocating, games swing on one or two possessions, and playoff series hinge on two questions: "Can you get a stop when it matters?" and "Can you get two points when it matters?" You have the second question covered thanks to Carmelo. You need to work on the first question. In short, I think you should give this a few more weeks. You go 10-deep. Your team is scary. Take a deep breath and enjoy the ride … and remember, five years ago, the most riveting Knicks-related story you were following was a sexual-harrassment suit.
Sincerely,
Bill Simmons
President of the "I Still Think Carmelo Can Work in New York" Club
Carmelo's shot to win in regulation was way off, no idea what he's talking about. He chucked up a bad shot because Pierce guarded him perfectly. Vintage Carmelo.
Just because we traded role players for a "superstar" doesn't mean that "superstar" is actually any good. He's all empty stats.
He's a pure scorer because he's not good at anything else.
I know you're a little testy right now because Linsanity was so much fun, and now it's not as much fun. I know it's easy to redirect your anger and angst at someone whose name rhymes with "Bardello." Just remember …
A. Your team is struggling because its schedule got tougher post-Linsanity, and because you have a floating bull's-eye on you right now (not because 'Melo came back).
B. You might want to give one of the best pure scorers of the last 20 years a couple more weeks adjusting to TWO new point guards without any real practice time before deciding this situation can't be redeemed (especially when those two point guards are a de facto rookie and someone coming off back surgery who hasn't been relevant in three years).
C. Ask Portland fans what they think of Ray Felton. Ask Denver fans what they think of Timofey Mozgov. You basically acquired Carmelo and the cap space to sign Tyson Chandler for Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler.4 I'm pretty sure ANYONE ON THE F-ING PLANET would make that trade again.
D. You're focusing your frustrations on 'Melo because it allows you to avoid the elephant in the room … you know, Amar'e's uninsured/un-amnesty-able/cap-killing contract ($83 million through 2015), his general doughiness, his egregiously awful defense and the fact that he seems a half-step slow permanently. None of this is Carmelo's fault.
E. I went to Sunday's nationally televised Knicks-Celtics game in Boston. Carmelo made what seemed to be the clinching basket; Pierce made a 3 to tie; then Carmelo had a chance to win the game in regulation. As 'Melo was getting off the shot, everyone in the building had a collective slow-motion heart attack. Noooooooooooooooooo! We all thought that shot was going in. In my opinion, seven 2012 players make opposing fans crap their pants in a big moment: Kobe, Wade, Durant, Rose, Dirk, Carmelo … and just on reputation alone, Ray Allen. If you employ one of those players, you have a better chance of winning the title than everyone else. That's the way basketball works. Everything slows down, the pressure turns suffocating, games swing on one or two possessions, and playoff series hinge on two questions: "Can you get a stop when it matters?" and "Can you get two points when it matters?" You have the second question covered thanks to Carmelo. You need to work on the first question. In short, I think you should give this a few more weeks. You go 10-deep. Your team is scary. Take a deep breath and enjoy the ride … and remember, five years ago, the most riveting Knicks-related story you were following was a sexual-harrassment suit.
Sincerely,
Bill Simmons
President of the "I Still Think Carmelo Can Work in New York" Club
Just because Amare isn't playing well, doesn't mean Melo should get a pass. Both are playing like trash. If Melo is truly a superstar, he should still be able to lead this team to at least an above .500 record despite Amare's poor play. If Melo isn't scoring he's useless. His impact on a team is greatly exaggerated. I don't see why people keep blaming others. Do people honestly think if you replace Melo with let's say LeBron, Wade, or put a CP3 at the PG, we would be under .500? If Melo is a superstar like advertised, im going to compare him to these guys.
Just because Amare isn't playing well, doesn't mean Melo should get a pass. Both are playing like trash. If Melo is truly a superstar, he should still be able to lead this team to at least an above .500 record despite Amare's poor play. If Melo isn't scoring he's useless. His impact on a team is greatly exaggerated. I don't see why people keep blaming others. Do people honestly think if you replace Melo with let's say LeBron, Wade, or put a CP3 at the PG, we would be under .500? If Melo is a superstar like advertised, im going to compare him to these guys.
The word "superstar" is thrown around too loosely. imo
Melo and Amar'e are STARS not Superstars. There are few actual Superstars. Only a handful...
Knick fans would love to have Deron Williams and wanted him over Melo.
Yet the Nets are still a lottery team with him. Shouldn't they be a .500 team at least?
He's an example of a Star not Superstar.
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I agree. Both Amar'e and Melo have been garbage.
But the Knick fan base is pointing fingers at MELO not so much Amar'e.
Bill Simmons point is, it's not all Melo's fault. It's a myriad of things that are wrong.
The anti Melo contingent want to make it about one player.
______
So many Knick fans have turned against Melo. I wonder is there a little piece of him that regrets coming here.
His game was NEVER this dissected until he came here. NY has made one of the best scorers out to be a bum.
The scrutiny Melo is getting is a big reason LeBron isn't wearing Orange and Blue...
It's understood, NY can both overrate a player or not appreciate what it has.
The word "superstar" is thrown around too loosely. imo
Melo and Amar'e are STARS not Superstars. There are few actual Superstars. Only a handful...
Knick fans would love to have Deron Williams and wanted him over Melo.
Yet the Nets are still a lottery team with him. Shouldn't they be a .500 team at least?
He's an example of a Star not Superstar.
_____
I agree. Both Amar'e and Melo have been garbage.
But the Knick fan base is pointing fingers at MELO not so much Amar'e.
Bill Simmons point is, it's not all Melo's fault. It's a myriad of things that are wrong.
The anti Melo contingent want to make it about one player.
I think that's a good point. Knick fans (including myself) are so frustrated after years of futility. And now that when we finally were supposed to be a good team and we still suck, we want someone to be the scapegoat. Fans try to boil it down into one singular problem, when in reality there is a multitude of things wrong with this team.
The word "superstar" is thrown around too loosely. imo
Melo and Amar'e are STARS not Superstars. There are few actual Superstars. Only a handful...
Knick fans would love to have Deron Williams and wanted him over Melo. Yet the Nets are still a lottery team with him. Shouldn't they be a .500 team at least?
He's an example of a Star not Superstar.
_____
I agree. Both Amar'e and Melo have been garbage.
But the Knick fan base is pointing fingers at MELO not so much Amar'e.
Bill Simmons point is, it's not all Melo's fault. It's a myriad of things that are wrong.
The anti Melo contingent want to make it about one player.
______
So many Knick fans have turned against Melo. I wonder is there a little piece of him that regrets coming here.
His game was NEVER this dissected until he came here. NY has made one of the best scorers out to be a bum.
The scrutiny Melo is getting is a big reason LeBron isn't wearing Orange and Blue...
It's understood, NY can both overrate a player or not appreciate what it has.
Have you seen his roster?
Melo has Amare, Chandler, Lin, Shump, Novak, JR, etc.
Hey, don't get me wrong - Amar'e hasn't been good either. In fact, he's been downright terrible on defense.
But, somewhere along the line the fact that you need the best players to win in the NBA (and, honestly, in which sport is this NOT true???) has somehow become confused with the fact that you need egomaniac, hero-ball, ISO players to win in the NBA. They are not the same thing. In fact, with a few notable exceptions (and really only MJ on a consistent, extended basis), I would argue that they are actually mutually exclusive. What actually wins is a well-constructed team, with players that fit their roles on that team, and play a team system on both ends of the court.
There's a thread on RealGM (I don't post there because of the sheer volume of knuckleheads and flame wars) suggesting that the Knicks build around Lin and Chandler - and I couldn't agree more. You've got a PG and a C that play hard, play both sides of the ball and are apparently both quality, team-first leaders. I grant you that during the Linsanity streak the Knicks were playing lesser quality teams, but they were also playing winning basketball - motion and passing on offense with effort and sacrifice on defense. This is what I want to see and what I want the team to build upon.
Melo has shown me what Denver fans (and Sting) warned us of: a selfish, lazy, no effort on D ballhog who only tries consistently on offense - and even then, only when the plays are drawn up to make him the hero. That is not a winning formula.
As to Amar'e, he is tragically flawed as a defensive player (he appears to have taken the excuse of "don't want to pick up fouls" and transformed it into meaning "don't want to make contact on defense") and appears physically diminished, but has at least always shown a willingness to work within the team environment. Don't forget, last year before the trade, even when he was carrying the team, it was in the context of that team's system.
At this point, frankly, I think the team would be better off moving both of them, if possible - but I think Melo is a) the higher priority to move, b) the easier player to move and c) would bring back by far the better return. If you could also move Amar'e, great. I just don't think it's as important to remove him from the equation and I don't think it's nearly as easy to accomplish given his uninsured contract.
What about the roster Chris Paul had for years in New Orleans? Somewhat on par with what the Nets have now.
He made those scrubs look pretty good. Getting a double-double every night. Now that's a Superstar....
Not really. The Hornets were never great, but Paul had a lot more to work with than what Williams has with the Nets. No one on the Nets is anywhere near as good as David West was, especially considering Lopez has been hurt nearly the entire season.
[QUOTE=BrooklynRangersFan;45837905]Hey, don't get me wrong - Amar'e hasn't been good either. In fact, he's been downright terrible on defense.
But, somewhere along the line the fact that you need the best players to win in the NBA (and, honestly, in which sport is this NOT true???) has somehow become confused with the fact that you need egomaniac, hero-ball, ISO players to win in the NBA. They are not the same thing. In fact, with a few notable exceptions (and really only MJ on a consistent, extended basis), I would argue that they are actually mutually exclusive. What actually wins is a well-constructed team, with players that fit their roles on that team, and play a team system on both ends of the court.
The 76's are a good example of this. They play great defense, move the ball well etc...
But they don't beat elite teams. They won't be going anywhere in the playoffs either.
Why? because they don't have 1 star on that team.
Minus the defense, they remind of the Knicks pre Melo trade. One of those little engine teams that are deep but will be a first round exit every year unless they get at least a couple of stars.
There's a thread on RealGM (I don't post there because of the sheer volume of knuckleheads and flame wars) suggesting that the Knicks build around Lin and Chandler - and I couldn't agree more. You've got a PG and a C that play hard, play both sides of the ball and are apparently both quality, team-first leaders. I grant you that during the Linsanity streak the Knicks were playing lesser quality teams, but they were also playing winning basketball - motion and passing on offense with effort and sacrifice on defense. This is what I want to see and what I want the team to build upon.
I like the idea of building around a C and PG. I would throw in a good wing player too.
Melo has shown me what Denver fans (and Sting) warned us of: a selfish, lazy, no effort on D ballhog who only tries consistently on offense - and even then, only when the plays are drawn up to make him the hero. That is not a winning formula.
Unlike previous years, I think Melo has given effort on defense this year.
He needs to do it all the time. Which he doesn't.
Scorers usually dominate the ball. Nothing new there.
As to Amar'e, he is tragically flawed as a defensive player (he appears to have taken the excuse of "don't want to pick up fouls" and transformed it into meaning "don't want to make contact on defense") and appears physically diminished, but has at least always shown a willingness to work within the team environment. Don't forget, last year before the trade, even when he was carrying the team, it was in the context of that team's system.
He's the laziest Knick to me. He doesn't even try on defense. He's one of those Knicks that keeps talking about doing this and that but you never see it from him.
Some leader that is.
At this point, frankly, I think the team would be better off moving both of them, if possible - but I think Melo is a) the higher priority to move, b) the easier player to move and c) would bring back by far the better return. If you could also move Amar'e, great. I just don't think it's as important to remove him from the equation and I don't think it's nearly as easy to accomplish given his uninsured contract.
I think a great trade for the Knicks is Amar'e for Gasol. Lakers probably won't do it though.
That beefs up your front court with a 4 that defends and rebounds. That really helps out Chandler.
Chandler gets in foul trouble at times because he's busy covering up Amar'e's man.
Stoudemire is really clueless on the defensive end. I don't think he understands how to play defense.
This isn't the case with Melo. It's more of him being lazy. imo
He's a pretty good defender when he tries. "Tries" being the key word...
I like Gasol because on the offense, he doesn't NEED the ball.
This would allow Lin to be the scoring PG that he is without worrying about getting 2 star players the ball,and Melo to be the #1 option on offense. Which I think he needs to be in order to be effective.
An outside shooter at the 2 will be needed for floor spacing.
Isola seems to think Dantoni will last the season and be replaced by Calipari in the offseason.
No thanks. I saw his schtick in NJ. I'd take Pitino back before I took Calipari.
In reality my list has two names -- Thiboddeau and JVG. Too bad Dolan will never hire either one.
Calipari's a great recruiter, not a great coach. Personally I'd love to see Phil Jackson coach this team. I like D'Antoni and defended him more than most Knick fans because I think he's perfect for Lin but I think his time is running out. Definitely out if we miss the playoffs and probably out if we have a quick exit. Only way he saves his job is if we reel off some wins and advance to RD2..
Isola seems to think Dantoni will last the season and be replaced by Calipari in the offseason.
No thanks. I saw his schtick in NJ. I'd take Pitino back before I took Calipari.
In reality my list has two names -- Thiboddeau and JVG. Too bad Dolan will never hire either one.
What makes you think either of them would be interested in coaching a team built around Carmelo Anthony? Jeff Van Gundy has turned down all sorts of jobs over the years. Some how, I don't see him having any interest in coaching a team whose star player is uncoachable. Why would Tom Thibodeau leave a much, much better team with an unselfish, great all-around legit superstar to coach a fat, lazy, one-dimensional me-first underachiever?
This is like that post earlier on the page about a great trade for the Knicks being Amare for Pau. Like there is any chance the Lakers would ever consider that. Why stop there? I think Carmelo for Lebron would be a great trade for the Knicks, too.
