Why Melo's playoff record is a cop out and grossly overstated.

[NYC Rebel]

Look at the Hornets after CP3, look at the Nuggets after Melo. Now look at the Clippers with CP3 and what they were before him. Knicks didnt make the playoffs before Melo & with Melo they win ONE playoff game in 2 years. That's elite?



CP3 has taken his team to the 2nd round twice, also he's not the worst playoff "winner" of all time. Melo is. You talking like CP3 wins one or 2 playoff games a yr. Oh my bad. THAT'S Melo. CP3 has been past the first round more than ONCE in his life though, that don't count for nothing now?



Of course not. That's a dumb question to ask (what the media tells the public is gospel), but to act like perception isn't important is dumb too. Ask the Coli who you'd rather have between CP3 & Melo & it would be in CP3's favor overwhelmingly.



Like I said earlier, the media considers CP3 more of a leader & elite level player than Melo. Most non biased observers would probably agree to that too so yea CP3 probably will get a pass if the Clippers flake out in the first or 2nd round.

As for why one should one be considered elite & not the other. CP3 defends, passes & can score at an elite level. Runs his team at an elite level. Outside of scoring, what does Melo do at an elite level? Anything? Melo's game isn't as well rounded as CP3 & most non biased observers would agree. He's also not a leader. He's the best player on that team, clearly, but he's not a leader.

Look deeper than just the stats, look deeper than the playoff records, CP3 is elite, Melo is a very good player who's an elite scorer. The criticism of Melo would decrease SIGNIFICANTLY if people like you would stop trying to say Melo's elite & critique him a level below that. Y'all like to lower expectations for him anyway so let's start that movement & maybe we wouldn't be so critical of him for not having done shyt in the playoffs.

So we shouldn't look at the Knicks AFTER Melo got here either? They've won their first division in 19 years.

 

[AVXL]

So we shouldn't look at the Knicks AFTER Melo got here either? They've won their first division in 19 years.

ONE playoff win in 2 years though. Divisions are meaningless in the NBA morseo than any other pro sport. That's nice, but elite players are judged on their performance in the playoffs. When did regular season stats become so meaningful to NYK fans?

 

[FreedS[ohh]lave]

If youre elite franchise player you get out of the first round more then once the nba is enough of a superstar league where most can at least will their teams into the 2nd round nobody said he should have won 10 titles or anything butgettign ot the 2nd round of the nba playoffs is not some huge feat if youre a supposed elite player

 

[FreedS[ohh]lave]

So we shouldn't look at the Knicks AFTER Melo got here either? They've won their first division in 19 years.

when has the regular season in the nba ever mattered that much ive never heard a nba team celebrate a division title this aint baseball where just making the playoffs is an achevement the nba is a postseason sport like hockey

 

[ExodusNirvana]

Melo was never called King or touted to be the best player of this generation. So no it's not the same as LeBron.

 

[FreedS[ohh]lave]

Melo was never called King or touted to be the best player of this generation. So no it's not the same as LeBron.

But if youre considred even a top 3 to 5 do you think guys back in the day like Malone or Barkley or whoever that were in the top 5 players would continually get bounced out of the first round like that?

 

[NYC Rebel]

ONE playoff win in 2 years though. Divisions are meaningless in the NBA morseo than any other pro sport. That's nice, but elite players are judged on their performance in the playoffs. When did regular season stats become so meaningful to NYK fans?

What "better" are you talking about with the Nuggets AFTER Melo left?

Is it not the regular season? Where's the "playoff" evidence that they got better after he left?

The Nuggets have gotten bumped out of the first round EVERY YEAR since he's left.

You were CLEARLY talking about the regular season when saying "they got better" and are now...

When will you stop being a shytty poster?

 

[who_better_than_me]

SMH, TMac got shytted onworst than Melo.And miss me with the talent. Ppl acting like Meloi aint had talent around him. All TMac ever had was Yao. His starting pg consisted of David Weslyey, Bobby Sura, and Rafer Alston(considered by man on sohh to be the worst starter in the nba at the time), his starting pfs were Juwan Howard, Stromile Swift and Ryan Bowen. Center was Yao Ming, but on the old site, Yao wasnt even considered a top 3 big man.

Jr Smith stupid ass would be the best teammate TMac woulve had after Yao. That says a lot. All melo had to do was jack up shots and score. Tmac had to runt he ship.

Denver brought in alpha males/floor generals(Billups/AI) so Melo didnt have to run the ship. That series againdt the Clippers wasnt even close. The clipper squad wasnt that good.

I dont believe in teh who first round bs, so Melo is absolved imo. But dont come in here putting the press on TMac and KG, and trying to absolve Melo of all blame. Melo had better talent around him than TMac.

 

[AVXL]

What "better" are you talking about with the Nuggets AFTER Melo left?

Is it not the regular season? Where's the "playoff" evidence that they got better after he left?

The Nuggets have gotten bumped out of the first round EVERY YEAR since he's left.

You were CLEARLY talking about the regular season when saying "they got better" and are now...

When will you stop being a shytty poster?

Where did I say "better"?

The Nuggets being the same team in the playoffs now as they were with a prime Melo should tell you he made no tangible effect on the Nuggets outside of ONE season.

Why are you so angry & jump to conclusions all the time?

 

[NYC Rebel]

Where did I say "better"?

The Nuggets being the same team in the playoffs now as they were with a prime Melo should tell you he made no tangible effect on the Nuggets outside of ONE season.

Why are you so angry & jump to conclusions all the time?

Dog...they made it to the Western Conference finals with Melo for the first time in damn near two decades.

The only "same" here is George Karl, who you REFUSE to speak on having shytty playoff success before and after Melo was there.

Then you later graduate to more stupidity as if you expected the Melo led Knicks to beat both the Celtics and the past two years. My bad....only the first three games counted against the Heat. The other two didnt because it was "too late." The 40+ point game against the Celts where they got bumped shouldn't have counted either....that was probably "too early" in your dumb ass artificial bar of time constraints.

LOL

shytty poster...

 

[kingofnyc]

Melo's playoff record gets brought up as a last resort argument when people put him below players like Lebron, Wade, Kobe, etc. If you actually look at the circumstances, it's not really on him. He team just lost to better teams in a stacked western conference. Just know that Melo took a Nuggets team to the playoffs every year since day one that rarely sniffed the playoffs before he got there. So lets look at the teams he lost to.



2004 TWolves - he was a rookie and lost to a KG team that almost went to the finals. They had Cassell and Spree. The Wolves were clearly better

2005 Spurs - Better team, better coach point blank period

2006 Clippers - Lost to a Clippers team that had Cassell, Brand, Kaman and Mobely and while that isn't a championship lineup Denver's second scoring option was either Andre Miller or Greg Buckner. I mean Edwardo Najera was the starting PF on.. Earl BOykins?!?!

2007 Spurs - They traded for A.I. that year and Melo missed all of those games due to that brawl. Team didn't really have to to gel and the Spurs still had a better team.

2008 Lakers - Lakers got Pau and once again.. the lakers were just a better team. They went to the finals that year.

2009 Lakers - They finally got a high seed which got them better draws and he won 2 playoff series, but once again... the Nuggets were not better than that Lakers team that won a title after going to the finals the previous year. But it was 2-2.

2010 Jazz - This is probably the only series you can say he should've won but didn't. They got rid of A.I. for Billups but the Jazz had Boozer, Williams, Millsap and the Nuggets basically had no consisent 2nd option after Melo.

2011 Celtics - Can't blame Melo for that ass of a lineup he had to play with.

2012 Heat - Heat were just a better team and they won the chip.



So basically, Melo had to play in a stacked western conference for the early first half of his career. Not his fault. You can't honestly say that he lost to teams that were lesser than his. KG never caught flack for not even getting to the playoffs let alone losing playoff games. Basketball isn't about ONE player, Teams win titles. Wade won his first title with veterans like Shaq, Payton etc. Kobe won with a force inside be it shaq or Pau and he had a great supporting cast, but for some reason critics look at Melo's losign record like it's his fault.

he 20 games under 500.... u cant expect him to win them series cause the other was better
BUT melo teams nearly competed

 

[FreedS[ohh]lave]

he better get to the ecf this year i dont want to hear you cats say well he won a division title so it doesnt matter

Find me an all time great player who got out of the first round only once or twice its doesnt exist

 

[Prodyson]

Some people don't know how to use any context at all....

Team sports are not black and white... stats and records don't tell the whole story.

You can't compare the hornets after CP3 left and the Nuggets after Melo left. The pieces that went to Denver combined with a more competent front office and a better coach will automatically make the Nuggets a better team. After Melo leaves they acquire Faried, Iguodala, and Javale McGee... and they get Gallinari and Wilson Chandler from the Knicks.

The Knicks got Billups and Anthony... and were left with Amare, Jeffries, Fields, Douglas... and a bunch of other players that don't even really matter. In Melo's first playoffs Billups and Amare are both hurt, and they end up playing their biggest rivals in first round of the playoffs.

The next year, they are riddled with injuries. Mike freaking Bibby ends up being the starting PG, Lin doesn't want to play, Chandler has the flu, Amare injures himself, Shumpert tears his ACL, Baron Davis cracks his knee open... and they're playing the Heat. And they still manage to win a game.

Should Melo probably have won maybe ONE more of those series?... probably. But the vast majority of those matchups, they weren't even expected to win anyway because they were just playing better teams. I'm pretty sure if those same Nuggets teams were playing against the competition in the East, he would have had more playoff success. Let's be real... 5 years ago, a 6 or 7 seed in the West could have probably been a 1 or 2 seed in the east.

Nobody's trying to absolve Melo from all blame when it comes to the Denver's lack of success in the playoffs. He's struggled some... But a lot of those matchups just weren't favorable for that team in the first place

 

[FTBS]

you can make this same case for TMac, yet he still gets ridiculed.

You can make the same case for every player ever criticized for team failures and Melo has had it good, damn good, when you look at what other more accomplished players, with worse teammates have had to deal with. Beyond that let's not act like it's all about the playoff record. The thing that has truly separated the likes of Bron and Wade and Kobe from Melo is the fact that those guys have actually managed to win scoring titles whle the "best pure scorer in the L" might finally get one in his 10th year AND they have played both ends while contributing more than just scoring on the offensive end. Melo is beasting right now and has a chance to silence his critics and I am more than happy to see it. That Heat/Knicks series this year promisies to be . nikkas just need to stop acting like he's the first to catch heat for team failures or like getting it anywhere near as bad as others have.

 

[HacksawJimThuggin]

the whole bullshyt media-driven narrative of "the guy's just a winner" or "this guy just can't win the big one" is so damn dumb.

At one point, Bron was a choker who couldn't get over the hump. Same for Steve Young. Same for John Elway. Same for Dirk. Same for Peyton Manning. And the list goes on...


You're that guy until you actually win one. Then when you do, the media just pretends like they never said that, and move on and toss the label onto the next guy. All the while, the guy who previously couldn't get over the hump, suddenly "has the heart of a champion" (see KG). shyt is dumb. It's a team sport, and 95% of the time, the better TEAM wins, not the team with the single best player on it.