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      06-30-2014, 07:09 PM   #806
NemesisX
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I don't like Melo on a modern day championship caliber team, at least not the way he wants to be played. He wants to start (obviously) and play 40+ MPG and be the focal point of the offense. He's the kind of guy who will hold the ball for 15+ seconds on any given possession and end up scoring 27 points on 11-23 shooting while doing little to get his teammates involved.

Modern day NBA defenses are too sophisticated to be thwarted by simply passing out of double teams. Melo is an elite offensive player no doubt. He's probably one of the top 3 1-on-1 players in the game right now and he'll command double teams regularly, but that style of play just isn't as conducive to winning a championship right now. It might've worked in the early 2000s (think: Duncan-led 2003 championship Spurs team where they relied on 1 on 1 play from Duncan and passing out of double teams from the post) but you really need elite dribble penetration (followed up with man and ball movement) to get defenses moving from side to side. That's why having an all star-caliber point guard is far more important IMO than an all star caliber 3. Lebron is a notable exception because he's a freak of nature who can play pretty much any position and have some sort of advantage (size on smaller 3s who try to guard him, speed on bigger 3s who try to guard him, the list goes on).
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