sook
09-17-2008, 03:31 PM
NBA Top 50: Carmelo Anthony (No. 22)
Tom ZillerPosted Sep 16th 2008 3:00PM by Tom Ziller (author feed)
Filed under: Nuggets
FanHouse's Tom Ziller argues his ranking of the top 50 players in the NBA.
On the topic of overwhelming potency, few match Carmelo Anthony's weaponry. 'Melo's specific moves have been ogled perhaps more than those of any other current star: his assault of jabs, brawny pushes and flutters has become so infamous among the game's closest observers that even the casual recognize his powerful arsenal as spectacular.
But is the overwhelming output enough to squelch doubts about the rest of his game? I think those concerns are overblown, and the true nature of 'Melo is quite misunderstood.
First, rebounding: 'Melo get creamed for his rebounding. Anthony was #11 in rebound rate among small forwards last year ... just one spot behind LeBron James and ahead of guys like Luol Deng and Caron Butler. It was the best rate of Anthony's young career, yes. But he should be absolved of any rebounding criticisms going forward. He is far above average at his position in this category.
Defense? It has been disappointing, lackadaisical and ineffective in the pros. But the tools are there. We saw the whole lot of them in Beijing. I'm not blaming George Karl, but ... when the team is completely unfocused on sentient team defense, how is a 23-year-old supposed to deal in and change the world? Again: 'Melo's fault. He needs to play better defense. At least we know he has it in him.
For the first time ever, Anthony shot a decent clip from long-range last season, which buoyed his shooting efficiency. This a major step, because 'Melo has also taken a good portion of threes. Sinking some of them helps. Anthony also continued his policy of drawing a good number of fouls -- 7.7 FTAs per game, 11th in the league. He could do more to boost this by forcing himself to rim in place of a few of those shivering fadeaways.
But really, the kid scores 26 points a game on much better-than-average efficiency. Looking solely at offense, there might not be five NBA players better today. He's a solid step back from LeBron and Wade. But we're still looking at one of the league's brightest stars in 'Melo. The hate has been overwhelmingly wrong about him.
HOW THE HELL IS A PIECE OF CRAP LIKE THIS HIGHER THAN THE PLAYERS BELOW HIM!!?!?!?!:lmao
Tom ZillerPosted Sep 16th 2008 3:00PM by Tom Ziller (author feed)
Filed under: Nuggets
FanHouse's Tom Ziller argues his ranking of the top 50 players in the NBA.
On the topic of overwhelming potency, few match Carmelo Anthony's weaponry. 'Melo's specific moves have been ogled perhaps more than those of any other current star: his assault of jabs, brawny pushes and flutters has become so infamous among the game's closest observers that even the casual recognize his powerful arsenal as spectacular.
But is the overwhelming output enough to squelch doubts about the rest of his game? I think those concerns are overblown, and the true nature of 'Melo is quite misunderstood.
First, rebounding: 'Melo get creamed for his rebounding. Anthony was #11 in rebound rate among small forwards last year ... just one spot behind LeBron James and ahead of guys like Luol Deng and Caron Butler. It was the best rate of Anthony's young career, yes. But he should be absolved of any rebounding criticisms going forward. He is far above average at his position in this category.
Defense? It has been disappointing, lackadaisical and ineffective in the pros. But the tools are there. We saw the whole lot of them in Beijing. I'm not blaming George Karl, but ... when the team is completely unfocused on sentient team defense, how is a 23-year-old supposed to deal in and change the world? Again: 'Melo's fault. He needs to play better defense. At least we know he has it in him.
For the first time ever, Anthony shot a decent clip from long-range last season, which buoyed his shooting efficiency. This a major step, because 'Melo has also taken a good portion of threes. Sinking some of them helps. Anthony also continued his policy of drawing a good number of fouls -- 7.7 FTAs per game, 11th in the league. He could do more to boost this by forcing himself to rim in place of a few of those shivering fadeaways.
But really, the kid scores 26 points a game on much better-than-average efficiency. Looking solely at offense, there might not be five NBA players better today. He's a solid step back from LeBron and Wade. But we're still looking at one of the league's brightest stars in 'Melo. The hate has been overwhelmingly wrong about him.
HOW THE HELL IS A PIECE OF CRAP LIKE THIS HIGHER THAN THE PLAYERS BELOW HIM!!?!?!?!:lmao