Comments on: ‘Melo and the Windy City

By: Google Trends

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By: luvabullnj

luvabullnj — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 18:17:49 +0000

Great comments by Mike and “Wake up and be real”. Looks like ‘Melo is on the trading block for real. The Bulls should put their best package together to get ‘Melo. I’m rethinking my trade offer and would be willing to part with Deng AND Gibson. It would weaken our front line rotation but we can pick up a replacement for Gibson, if not before the season, certainly at the trade deadline. I would under no circumstances give up Noah because we have no suitable replacement at center and we would need his interior defense to mask the weak defense from ‘Melo and Boozer.
Bottom line GET ‘Melo!

By: Phil Jackson

Phil Jackson — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 13:27:16 +0000

You do not win championships with the starting lineup, you win them with defense and intelligent use of your quality reserves, The starters get you in position but the defense and reserves put you over the top.

By: Doc Rivers

Doc Rivers — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 00:44:58 +0000

I disagree for one easy reason. If the Bulls have ANY hope of getting to the finals, they need to find a way to stop LBJ, a task that Luol Deng isn’t cut for. Remember what Melo did last year against the cavs is that incredible regular season showdown. This argument that because Melo is inefficient he isn’t worth acquiring has become really trendy since ESPN started pushing it. Honestly i see how it makes statistical sense but I don’t see how its convincing when you look at intangibles which are always more important in the playoffs.

By: OnSomeBull

OnSomeBull — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 15:27:15 +0000

Add Melo to the line up and we got a championship team for years to come. Deng is a solid player when healthy but no Melo. Gibson would blossom to a 6th man at best and Johnson can go too. Leaven Noah. Just imagine a line up with Rose, Brewer, Melo, Boozer, and Noah. That would have to be the best starting line up in the league. I put a trade for Carmelo on my BullsWishList.

By: BigWay

BigWay — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 07:04:07 +0000

I have been suggesting since this topic came up that Melo may not be worth the difference in pay.

Melo will make about $82million over the next four seasons, Deng will make $51 million.

what kind of player can you buy for $7.75 million per year, especially in the new CBA.

Is Melo that much better than Deng?

By: Bill Foster

Bill Foster — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 02:34:01 +0000

I’m really curious what the Melo fans make of his notoriously shite defense? The guy is a complete liability: 107 points allowed? Turrible. And as the old saying goes: “Defense wins championships.” Besides – why would you blow up a great core for a one year loan on Anthony – who already has designs on f.ing off to New York to make superhappyfriends mk.2 with Apostrophe Tourettes and Chris Paul.

By: wake up and be real

wake up and be real — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 21:40:59 +0000

I get what you’re trying to say, but lets wake up and be real. If we over analyze and other think this situation, we’re going to find ourselves in the same situation when we didn’t pull the trigger on Kobe – second guessing and finger pointing while watching him win championship after championship for LA. Here’s the real down low – Deng isn’t in the same universe with Melo. The statistic comparison is way off base and doesn’t tell the real story. I mean no disrespect, but Melo has led his team to the playoffs for 7 straight seasons and if it weren’t for Kobe he may possibly won a championship in 2008-2009. He’s been the primary scorer and number 1 option for the Nuggets, and with the exception of King James, D Wade and KD, he’s flat out the best scorer in the game. It’s a whole different situation when everyone in the gym knows who’s getting the ball night in and night out and you have to deliver. This is what Melo has been doing since Syracuse. He’s a legitimate top 5 superstar and only 26 years old. Deng on the other hand has never been in this situation, not because he hasn’t had the opportunity, but because he can’t. Don’t get me wrong, I like Deng, but to compare him to Melo is flat out cookoo! We’re talking apples to oranges. Melo is a proven superstar that can score anywhere on the floor anytime he wants. Deng is a role player that happens to be the 3rd and 4th scoring option on a poorly scoring team. He’s a high priced role player that plays fair defense when healthy. On this team, now with Rose, Boozer and Korver, Deng may not have any plays called for him. This is the difference. With Melo, we now have 3 prime time scorers and can compete with the likes of: Lakers, Magic, Celts and of course the Heat. Years back we missed acquiring Kobe for the same irrational, over thinking. Guys like Melo don’t come around very often. If Gibson, Johnson or possibly Noah (btw, I really like Noah) have to go, we need to pull the trigger like yesterday for Melo and get back on the championship wagon.

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 10:52:42 +0000

Matt, I think you’re distorting the comparison. True, Deng has a slightly higher eFG% than Carmelo encompassing just shots from the field. But Carmelo’s shots come with a much higher degree of difficulty since he creates for himself whereas Deng shoots mostly spot up jumpers.

I don’t know why you’ve left out free throws in the comparison since you’ve been rightfully harping on Derrick to get to the line more. If you add in free throws, Carmelo is a significantly more efficient scorer than Deng. For Deng to average 28.2 points like Carmelo does considering that he doesn’t take many threes or draw many fouls, he would have to average around 24-25 shots a games, about three more shots than Carmelo.

Besides scoring, Carmelo is a much better passer than Deng. His career assist percentage isn’t tremendous at 15.7 percent but it’s much better than Deng’s 11.1 percent. Luol’s numbers actually don’t tell the whole story as his assist percentages the last two years playing with Rose has been 9.0 and 9.1 As a point of reference, the year at Golden State Corey Maggette was called out publicly by his teammates for his selfishness, his assist percentage was 9.2.

While it’s true that Carmelo’s eFG% is slightly lower than Deng’s, there are not close in offensive effectiveness.

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 05:20:13 +0000

I would still take Carmelo. Sure Deng’s shooting efficiency is higher and usage lower but those things are related. He’s never going to be a high usage guy because he doesn’t have the variety of shots or playmaking skills. If he had to expand his role, he’d be forced into more drives to the rim and more self-created outside shots, causing his shooting efficiency to drop and his turnovers to rise.

And Matt, come on, are you really putting Deng’s three point percentages in a completely honest way? That 40 percent of his came in all of 20 attempts. Last year he attempted 83 total. Carmelo’s not a real threat from deep either but to say that you looked beneath the surface and surprise, surprise, found that Deng’s a better three point shooter or even a competent one is distortion.

Deng’s okay but he’s only a good role player and fourth wheel. He’s still the same player he was four years ago and he hasn’t grown with his contract. Carmelo’s a better scorer and passer and Luol the better defender but it’s not like Luol is a great defender either. He’s not a stopper by any means. It’s easier to find a defender/role player to go with Carmelo (like say Ronnie Brewer) than it is to find a scorer who can create his own shot to put next to Deng.

I don’t buy the argument that somehow Deng is a better fit or even perhaps a more valuable player than Carmelo but I could buy the argument that Carmelo has a lot of improving to do if he is to play a key role on a championship team. That would be my concern in trading for him, not whether it wouldn’t be better to hang onto Deng instead.