The NBA Thread

[InspectorHound]

So, Jeremy Lin...

[Tom Scharpling]

Someone please tell me who the best scorer in the league is if it's not Melo.

[Greggulator]

Someone please tell me who the best scorer in the league is if it's not Melo.

LeBron, KD and Kobe, clearly.

I also think that, by the end of the year, Kevin Love will be clearly better than 'Melo as a scorer. He has a better outside game already.

Maybe even Aldridge, too.

[Gilly]

Carmelo is a ball stopper, his shots don't come within the flow of the game and his teammates just end up watching him try to create a shot. It's like watching a game from the early 00's where you had a player on almost every team like that. I used to feel the same way about Kobe too, but he either changed and let his shots come to him or I just was watching the wrong games because I don't see it anymore. Carmelo can't play team defense either, he's always trying to make his own decisions outside of the defensive scheme set up and because of that the entire defensive stand falls apart. He has no idea what it means to be a team player.

[Tom Scharpling]

Gilly -

I am not talking about his ability as a team player. I am talking about his ability to score from anywhere on the floor however he wants.

Greggulator -

If you think Kevin Love has the ability to score in the variety of ways that Melo does, you need your head examined.

Maybe my definition of 'best' is what's causing the friction here. Does 'most versatile' make it clearer?

Tom.

[Greggulator]

You need retinal surgery if you don't think Kevin Love has been great. He's a better outside shooter than Melo and has a pretty great post game. He's starting to work more from the elbow, too. He's more than just putbacks.

Melo's awesome going to the rim but he's also one of the "best" at taking ill-advised fadeaway jump shots with 16 seconds left on the shot clock about two inchest from the three line.

D-Wade has a better arsenal than Melo. He's a better finisher and is terrific posting on other guards.

I was harsh in calling Melo a fraud but he's not the most versatile scorer in basketball.

[Gilly]

I'd still argue that Lebron and Kobe are better scorers, but at least Carmelo belongs in the conversation. He has been cold this year- he's normally a 46% shooter and he's a little below 40% this year... and he's always taken the worst shot imaginable at certain times, especially clutch like Greggulator was saying because he needs to be the one to shoot it. That falls into the team player thing again, but it has to account for something when considering the great shooters, right? If you don't have the ability to call a bad shot a bad shot, you just aren't a great shooter.

[Tom Scharpling]

Who said Kevin Love hasn't been great? Of course he has.

You make a good point with Wade but his height limits him in his options. Melo's height advantage lets him match up against bigger guys and smaller guys alike.

This point is futile and I regret arguing about it because it's everything I hate about sports - ranking guys, the difference between 'good' and 'great', etcl blah blah blah. It's Mike Francesa stuff.

I have my opinions, you have yours. We're all on the same team here.

[dave from knoxville]

Hey Tom,

Again, my only point with Carmelo is that he misses at one of the fastest rates in the league. If you shoot ten crazy shots and 3 happen to go in, they don't show the 7 misses on Sportscenter.

[fonpr]

they don't show the 7 misses on Sportscenter.

Liberal media?

[Gilly]

Hey Tom,

Again, my only point with Carmelo is that he misses at one of the fastest rates in the league. If you shoot ten crazy shots and 3 happen to go in, they don't show the 7 misses on Sportscenter.

That was a point I was going to make, but I wanted to verify what I thought to be true and it's not. His field goal percentage has been as good, if not better than all of the other guys who consistently are at the top of the league in scoring. This year, his shooting has been off but it doesn't match up to his career percentages. He can score the ball, no doubt.

[Mr. Spacely]

Changing it to "Most Versatile" sits much better with me. Tom's right about the "best" stuff being silly and counter-productive, because it's so arbitrary (unless we start busting out "advanced stats," but I hate those for basketball because they never seem to match the reality of the action on the court).

So, yeah, I'd say, before this mess of a season Carmelo was probably the most versatile scorer in the league. Inside, outside, crunch-time, run-and-gun, grind-it-out, etc.

[Gilly]

Sports debates are one of the big reasons I watch them! I can definitely just watch basketball because I love the game... I spent the last decade watching the Wolves without anybody to talk to who could care less. But, I love breaking down stats and watching games and telling people why my favorite players are great and their favorite players are garbage...

[dave from knoxville]

Hey Tom,

Again, my only point with Carmelo is that he misses at one of the fastest rates in the league. If you shoot ten crazy shots and 3 happen to go in, they don't show the 7 misses on Sportscenter.

That was a point I was going to make, but I wanted to verify what I thought to be true and it's not. His field goal percentage has been as good, if not better than all of the other guys who consistently are at the top of the league in scoring. This year, his shooting has been off but it doesn't match up to his career percentages. He can score the ball, no doubt.

I can go with that, I didn't look at anything other than this year.

[dave from knoxville]

NBA Rankings! 1) Boston 2) Miami 3) Indiana 4) Chicago 5) San Antonio 6) Oklahoma City 7) Dallas Clippers 9) Orlando 10) Minnesota 11) Lakers 12) Houston 13) Utah 14) Sacramento 15) Denver 16) Golden State 17) Philadelphia 18) Portland 19) Memphis 20) Atlanta 21) Cleveland 22) Toronto 23) Detroit 24) Milwaukee 25) Phoenix 26) New York 27) New Jersey 28) New Orleans 29) Washington 30) Charlotte