Who was better in their prime: Paul Pierce or Carmelo?
The guy who lead the Nuggets to the Western Conference Finals and pushed the Kobe/Gasol/Phil Lakers to the limit with Chauncey Billups and Kenyon Martin as his 2nd and 3rd best players.
I don't think the Nuggets pushed us to the limit.
We beat them 4-2, closing out the final game with a 27-point win.
I'd say the Rockets gave us a tougher battle in the second round than the Nuggets did in the conference finals.
Games 1 and 3 were decided by game-saving steals by Trevor Ariza.
Kobe had to go for 34, 6, 6 on 48/34/93 shooting splits (one of his GOAT playoff series).
I'd say that qualifies as pushing us to the limit.
Lakers also beat the Rockets by 19 in Game 7 with Kobe playing like butt. I would argue the Rockets was more Lakers not taking them seriously after losing Tmac and Yao and playing down to the level of their competition vs the Nuggets actually pushing them and nearly matching them with talent.
Regardless of your views, prime Melo is still better than prime Pierce to me.
Exactly how I remember it. The Rockets series only went 7 because the Lakers were not taking them seriously in really all the games they lost 1, 4, and 6. Game 1 was a punch in gut when they thought the Rockets couldnt hang with them, Game 4 the Lakers were surprised the Rockets would actually play so well especially after the Rockets were coming off a loss at home while losing Yao and Game 6 the Lakers didnt come out with any energy and were sleepwalking through that game. Games 2, 5 and 7 showed the true difference in class between the 2 teams where 5 and 7 were complete asskicking blowouts.
The Nuggets series was scary. We could have easily lost that series had we blown either games 1 or 5, both of which were nitty-gritty games decided by the greatness of Kobe and clutchness of the Lakers in general. Not to mention that Nuggets team coming into the series was coming with tremendous confidence having easily dispatched a solid Dirk-led Mavs squad in 5 games and kicking the (bleep) out of New Orleans with Billups smoking Chris Paul. And you better believe it was on Chauncey's mind that he knew what it took to beat Kobe as he had done it 5 years prior in a humiliating fashion for the Lakers where he completely outplayed Bryant.
Who was better in their prime: Paul Pierce or Carmelo?
The guy who lead the Nuggets to the Western Conference Finals and pushed the Kobe/Gasol/Phil Lakers to the limit with Chauncey Billups and Kenyon Martin as his 2nd and 3rd best players.
I don't think the Nuggets pushed us to the limit.
We beat them 4-2, closing out the final game with a 27-point win.
I'd say the Rockets gave us a tougher battle in the second round than the Nuggets did in the conference finals.
Games 1 and 3 were decided by game-saving steals by Trevor Ariza.
Kobe had to go for 34, 6, 6 on 48/34/93 shooting splits (one of his GOAT playoff series).
I'd say that qualifies as pushing us to the limit.
Lakers also beat the Rockets by 19 in Game 7 with Kobe playing like butt. I would argue the Rockets was more Lakers not taking them seriously after losing Tmac and Yao and playing down to the level of their competition vs the Nuggets actually pushing them and nearly matching them with talent.
Regardless of your views, prime Melo is still better than prime Pierce to me.
1. In game 1, Ariza stole the ball with 29 seconds left when we were up 101-99. I wouldn't call that a "game saving" steal. First, Denver would have had to make the shot, and then we would have still had the last shot.
2. In game 3, same situation. Ariza stole the ball with 36 seconds left and us up 97-95. Good play, but not really "game saving." Even without both steals, we could have still easily won one or both games.
3. On the same logic, you could say we only lost game 2 because Ariza turned the ball over with 15 seconds left when we were down 103-101. Again, based on your logic, if not for that turnover we could have won the series 4-1. So if you are dinking the Lakers for the two close wins, you also have to dink Denver for their close win.
Basically, it was a 6-game series with 3 close games (two of which we won, and one of which we lost). After starting off 2-2, we beat Denver pretty easily in the final two games.
That doesn't qualify as "pushing us to the limit" to me. If it does to you, to each their own.
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Regarding prime Carmelo vs. prime Pierce, I am indifferent. I think either viewpoint is defensible, and I don't feel strongly about it either way myself.
Having a good look at Melo, it is clear to me, he is a guy that could have won a ring had he "teamed up" at the right time, instead of killing his prime years by going to Dolan. I mean, I read a lot of hate towards Jeanie. I see that (Knicks) as a great example of what a bad owner is. Give the Lakers prime Melo, in 2010. Even if they didn't have Kobe/Gasol etc. If they had Phil (And I know Phil the executive and Melo clashed), they would have put a title team around him. He's not Kobe/Lebron/MJ great where he can 3 peat and win 4-5-6 rings. But Melo is a guy that could have won a ring or two as a 1A/1B type of guy like AD has. He's an exceptional scorer of the ball, one of the best ever at it, IMO. It's incredible watching him play, how good he really is at post game, catch and shoot, isolations etc. He is a better player at his best, than Kyrie was to Lebron, IMO.
I know he's way past his athletic prime, and he is a role player now. But you see the skill level, the guy made a major mistake going to Dolan in 2010. I am supremely impressed by Melo at this age. Kuz once said Melo is better than 75% of the league and its crazy he doesn't have a job (when Melo was working out with him and not in the league). It's true.
All that said, unless he plays defense, I don't see him as anything more than a sniper off the bench in spot minutes on a championship team. He can't be trusted to be a significant minutes player on a ring level team due to his defensive limitations. In his prime though, he could have in the right situation been a go to guy for a title level team, IMO.
Surprised people aren't talking about this guy some more.
He isn't that good. His defense sucks. His offense is inconsistent. He doesn't play to an offensive set. He occasionally makes shots from ball movement(not from him), and iso shots.
Surprised people aren't talking about this guy some more.
He isn't that good. His defense sucks. His offense is inconsistent. He doesn't play to an offensive set. He occasionally makes shots from ball movement(not from him), and iso shots.
Surprised people aren't talking about this guy some more.
He isn't that good. His defense sucks. His offense is inconsistent. He doesn't play to an offensive set. He occasionally makes shots from ball movement(not from him), and iso shots.
Surprised people aren't talking about this guy some more.
He isn't that good. His defense sucks. His offense is inconsistent. He doesn't play to an offensive set. He occasionally makes shots from ball movement(not from him), and iso shots.
This guy is a problem.
Bench him and watch how much better we become.
u want us to complain about a vet minimum guy?
With the minutes he's playing every game, yes.
looks like wawa finally started to sell some green kush...
Surprised people aren't talking about this guy some more.
He isn't that good. His defense sucks. His offense is inconsistent. He doesn't play to an offensive set. He occasionally makes shots from ball movement(not from him), and iso shots.
Surprised people aren't talking about this guy some more.
He isn't that good. His defense sucks. His offense is inconsistent. He doesn't play to an offensive set. He occasionally makes shots from ball movement(not from him), and iso shots.
This guy is a problem.
Bench him and watch how much better we become.
u want us to complain about a vet minimum guy?
A vet guy putting up 15ppg 45% from 3....
Some spoiled fans in here...
Thats not even spoiled, that's intentionally not paying attention and flat out ignoring what's actually been going on and hoping someone doesn't actually check the stats to see how wrong they are.
Surprised people aren't talking about this guy some more.
He isn't that good. His defense sucks. His offense is inconsistent. He doesn't play to an offensive set. He occasionally makes shots from ball movement(not from him), and iso shots.
Surprised people aren't talking about this guy some more.
He isn't that good. His defense sucks. His offense is inconsistent. He doesn't play to an offensive set. He occasionally makes shots from ball movement(not from him), and iso shots.
This guy is a problem.
Bench him and watch how much better we become.
u want us to complain about a vet minimum guy?
A vet guy putting up 15ppg 45% from 3....
Some spoiled fans in here...
Thats not even spoiled, that's intentionally not paying attention and flat out ignoring what's actually been going on and hoping someone doesn't actually check the stats to see how wrong they are.
So the ESPN tactic.
or just ignore the fact that he is getting mins because Bron is out or Ad is out...or the fact that Ariza hasnt played a single second
Surprised people aren't talking about this guy some more.
He isn't that good. His defense sucks. His offense is inconsistent. He doesn't play to an offensive set. He occasionally makes shots from ball movement(not from him), and iso shots.
This guy is a problem.
Bench him and watch how much better we become.
u want us to complain about a vet minimum guy?
A vet guy putting up 15ppg 45% from 3....
Some spoiled fans in here...
Thats not even spoiled, that's intentionally not paying attention and flat out ignoring what's actually been going on and hoping someone doesn't actually check the stats to see how wrong they are.
So the ESPN tactic.
As a vet, I tried telling y'all about this guy
Continue yelling Melo next game when he goes 6/13, while playing no defense, and his offense limiting the ball movement.
His ball movement is slow and atrocious. Defenders already know what he's going to do. The offense is better needed elsewhere. Quick decisions and reactions to help Lebron and AD ultimately
His style of play is outdated. He's not young anymore using his athletic abilities to save the day. He's a liability.
Surprised people aren't talking about this guy some more.
He isn't that good. His defense sucks. His offense is inconsistent. He doesn't play to an offensive set. He occasionally makes shots from ball movement(not from him), and iso shots.
This guy is a problem.
Bench him and watch how much better we become.
u want us to complain about a vet minimum guy?
A vet guy putting up 15ppg 45% from 3....
Some spoiled fans in here...
Thats not even spoiled, that's intentionally not paying attention and flat out ignoring what's actually been going on and hoping someone doesn't actually check the stats to see how wrong they are.
So the ESPN tactic.
or just ignore the fact that he is getting mins because Bron is out or Ad is out...or the fact that Ariza hasnt played a single second
so the skip bayless tactic
Ariza? The 35 year old who the Heat gladly replaced with Morris? The guy who was injury prone.
The ariza you are thinking of, and the ariza I saw.. are two completely different players man.
Surprised people aren't talking about this guy some more.
He isn't that good. His defense sucks. His offense is inconsistent. He doesn't play to an offensive set. He occasionally makes shots from ball movement(not from him), and iso shots.
This guy is a problem.
Bench him and watch how much better we become.
u want us to complain about a vet minimum guy?
A vet guy putting up 15ppg 45% from 3....
Some spoiled fans in here...
Thats not even spoiled, that's intentionally not paying attention and flat out ignoring what's actually been going on and hoping someone doesn't actually check the stats to see how wrong they are.
So the ESPN tactic.
or just ignore the fact that he is getting mins because Bron is out or Ad is out...or the fact that Ariza hasnt played a single second
so the skip bayless tactic
Ariza? The 35 year old who the Heat gladly replaced with Morris? The guy who was injury prone.
The ariza you are thinking of, and the ariza I saw.. are two completely different players man.
laughable: a vet min guy living in ur head...rent free... or should i say 2 with Ariza
Another empty stat guy for his entire career. He's the Phillip Rivers of the NBA, and that's being nice. Couldn't agree with Isiah Thomas more, love listening to his analysis on NBA TV. The only thing that matters is winning. _________________ Smrek 2, Nevitt 1, Barkley 0
Another empty stat guy for his entire career. He's the Phillip Rivers of the NBA, and that's being nice. Couldn't agree with Isiah Thomas more, love listening to his analysis on NBA TV. The only thing that matters is winning.
Melo and RW are same actually. I agree they are empty stats guys. They could, or they still can put numbers but in general its empty stats because they are making so many mistakes and they are really low IQ guys. That's why their teams never won anything. Good players on their peak but worthless in championship aspirations.
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