Discuss Carmelo Anthony, Nuggets now that Jazz eliminated them in round 1

[insidehoops]

Discuss the state of the Denver Nuggets. They had a good regular season but just got eliminated in the first round by a Jazz team that had their two best players but was missing the next two best guys.

Talk Melo, his supporting cast and the Nuggets as a whole

[Micku]

WTF happened? Was it really the coaching that did Denver in? I was expecting Denver to give the Lakers a run for their money.

Well...we'll see how the Jazz would do against the Lakers again.

[6thManOfTheYear]

WTF happened? Was it really the coaching that did Denver in? I was expecting Denver to give the Lakers a run for their money.

Well...we'll see how the Jazz would do against the Lakers again.

people underestimate coaching

[brooks_thompson]

2 techs, one on billups even. lolligagging nuggets (here's lookin at you smith).

in most cases you've gotta support the hometown team, but if i was from denver there's no way to sell me on the current iteration of the team.

to be positive i like afflalo

[Bodhi]

It's safe to say Adrian Dantley will never have a head coaching job in the NBA. In the post game interview he said he didn't even know what defense Jerry Sloan was using against Melo to slow him down.

[6thManOfTheYear]

It's safe to say Adrian Dantley will never have a head coaching job in the NBA. In the post game interview he said he didn't even know what defense Jerry Sloan was using against Melo to slow him down.

well he is someone who forgot to play one of denver's key players for their second unit one game:oldlol:

[ElPigto]

It definitely was the coaching that did the Nuggets in. Dantley looked clueless and scared out there, he was scared of the opposing coach as well as his own players.

The guy doesn't seem to have the skills nor the demeanor to be a head coach in this league. The Nuggets broke down emotionally in this serious and the last few minutes of this game, it seemed like the old Nuggets before Billups got there.

[thejumpa]

Melo is what I have been saying he is....a one dimensional basketball player. He scores and doesn't do much else(as far as a meaningful impact on the game is concerned). He, and the rest of the Denver Niggets tend to make bone head decisions when it matters most. Why I have no idea.

If Denver doesn't make any drastic changes this offseason, watch Melo leave in 2011.

[lakerspng]

Nuggets lack character as a team. Their problem is not talent, it's character. They lost their coach and Billups did not pull them together and lead them as he should have, being the Veteran and team captain.

[Hammertime]

Haha, Boozer brought his three sons up to do the conference with him. It's almost midnight in SLC and the kids are falling asleep. :oldlol:

The boys are all under 8, btw.

[O.J A 6'4Mamba]

Melo is what I have been saying he is....a one dimensional basketball player. He scores and doesn't do much else(as far as a meaningful impact on the game is concerned). He, and the rest of the Denver Niggets tend to make bone head decisions when it matters most. Why I have no idea.

If Denver doesn't make any drastic changes this offseason, watch Melo leave in 2011.

again melo is an improved playermaker, but he is naturally a scorer with below average playmaking abilities. He is a forward, to be honest not many forward are good playmakers LeBron, Bird, Dr J, prime tmac, odom, hill those guys are the exception. Guys like Kevin Durant, Melo, Rudy Gay Granger aren't really good playermakers naturally and it is hard to develope.

That's why it helps to have a guard that is an excellent playmaker like a Westbrook it helps, same for Billups except Billups is SOOOOOOOOO inefficient and his shot selection is terrible and it really shows now that he is over and come playoff time

[thejumpa]

again melo is an improved playermaker, but he is naturally a scorer with below average playmaking abilities.

Translation: He's one dimensional. You just said exactly what I did except in a more gentle way.

His talent is off the charts, no doubt. However, this series showed a couple things he needs to work on. Not getting back, slacking on defense(again), and basically being below average in everything BUT scoring. If his shots aren't falling, no need to worry about him. Nuggets fans won't like that, but it's true.

[1_BAD_TIGER]

Nuggets lack character as a team. Their problem is not talent, it's character. They lost their coach and Billups did not pull them together and lead them as he should have, being the Veteran and team captain.

Funny How when the Nuggets are healthy and winning, there the team to challenge the Lakers, but when there not healthy and losing they Lack character. Denver has no coach, without Karl. George Karl has always been a very controlling and hands on coach, his assistants aren't given much control in running the team. And Billups with all his years of experience as a player is not going to match Karl's 30 plus years of coaching. If Coach Sloan was not able to coach Utah in this series do you think they would have played as well as they did? Denver was the only team in the playoffs missing there head coach no other team had that disadvantage.

[NuggetsFan]

Translation: He's one dimensional. You just said exactly what I did except in a more gentle way.

His talent is off the charts, no doubt. However, this series showed a couple things he needs to work on. Not getting back, slacking on defense(again), and basically being below average in everything BUT scoring. If his shots aren't falling, no need to worry about him. Nuggets fans won't like that, but it's true.

Reboundin? Defense? .. he was average with playmakin. Add in elite scorin and I'll take that. Proved he can take a team farther than alot of players.

[lakerspng]

Funny How when the Nuggets are healthy and winning, there the team to challenge the Lakers, but when there not healthy and losing they Lack character. Denver has no coach, without Karl. George Karl has always been a very controlling and hands on coach, his assistants aren't given much control in running the team. And Billups with all his years of experience as a player is not going to match Karl's 30 plus years of coaching. If Coach Sloan was not able to coach Utah in this series do you think they would have played as well as they did? Denver was the only team in the playoffs missing there head coach no other team had that disadvantage.

They act like second rate punks when they're winning as well. it justbecomes detrimental when they're not playing well, they don't rally around each other. In that 4th quarter I didn't see guys rallying together, I saw them making stupid mistakes and giving up and falling apart. That's character. If you lose, you lose but you lose as a team playing hard and not making dumb plays or getting technical fouls. Really I think it's two guys that are cancers on the team. Kenyon Martin and J R Smith.

[thejumpa]

Reboundin? Defense? .. he was average with playmakin. Add in elite scorin and I'll take that. Proved he can take a team farther than alot of players.

No doubt. While I wouldn't choose to build around him over certain players, he has demonstrated that he can raise his game in the playoffs and help his team win important games....unfortunately they keep coming up short.

If you haven't noticed, I like to critique my favorite players' game. It's not hate and I'm not making shit up. If someone disagrees, cool. Either way, what I'm saying has some truth to it and should be taken into consideration when we are talking about a player...sugarcoating is wack.

[1_BAD_TIGER]

Translation: He's one dimensional. You just said exactly what I did except in a more gentle way.

His talent is off the charts, no doubt. However, this series showed a couple things he needs to work on. Not getting back, slacking on defense(again), and basically being below average in everything BUT scoring. If his shots aren't falling, no need to worry about him. Nuggets fans won't like that, but it's true.

Didn't Melo have 12 rebounds and 5 assists? He's never going to be a good defender because the ref's won't let he play close defense without calling a foul, and what good is it to have your best scorer siting on the bench in foul trouble? Come on, the hate some of you guys throw at Melo is silly. He's not the best player in the league but he's near the top.

[thejumpa]

Didn't Melo have 12 rebounds and 5 assists? He's never going to be a good defender because the ref's won't let he play close defense without calling a foul, and what good is it to have your best scorer siting on the bench in foul trouble? Come on, the hate some of you guys throw at Melo is silly. He's not the best player in the league but he's near the top.

Hate? I've watched and been of fan of Melo since Syracuse. Get your head out of your ass and realize when constructive criticism is being used. Melo is the last person I would choose to hate on. To be honest, I try to imitate some of his offensive moves on the court.....

Kobe is a good defender. Older and slower, but still good. Why have't the refs put the clamp on his game? That's a lame excuse.

[1_BAD_TIGER]

Hate? I've watched and been of fan of Melo since Syracuse. Get your head out of your ass and realize when constructive criticism is being used. Melo is the last person I would choose to hate on. To be honest, I try to imitate some of his offensive moves on the court.....

Kobe is a good defender. Older and slower, but still good. Why have't the refs put the clamp on his game? That's a lame excuse.

Well Melo's going to get some criticism that's not constructive from many clueless people on this site, because his team let him down again. Billups plays well in the regular season and inconsistent in the playoffs, Nene is a beast that plays like beauty, J.R and Bird man are already on a flight going to the Bahamas. It's also Melo's fault that Kenyon has bad knees and Karl has cancer.

[lakerspng]

Well Melo's going to get some criticism that's not constructive from many clueless people on this site, because his team let him down again. Billups plays well in the regular season and inconsistent in the playoffs, Nene is a beast that plays like beauty, J.R and Bird man are already on a flight going to the Bahamas. It's also Melo's fault that Kenyon has bad knees and Karl has cancer.

unfortunately, being the face of the franchise, you get the credit when the team does well and the blame when it does poorly. Just as Dirk as received undeserved criticism for his team losing and Kobe got it in '06.

Melo is a great player but I don't think he takes the reins with his teammates as much as he should to keep them focused on the task at hand.

I think if you can replace K-Mart and JR, you'll be well on your way to having a strong contender again.

[thejumpa]

Well Melo's going to get some criticism that's not constructive from many clueless people on this site, because his team let him down again. Billups plays well in the regular season and inconsistent in the playoffs, Nene is a beast that plays like beauty, J.R and Bird man are already on a flight going to the Bahamas. It's also Melo's fault that Kenyon has bad knees and Karl has cancer.

This site is full of kids. What do you expect?

Even if Carmelo had elite defensive and a more versatile game, Denver would still lose. They played like they had clue what was going on....no urgency, slacking defense, and bonehead moves in critical times. They really missed their coach.

[1_BAD_TIGER]

This site is full of kids. What do you expect?

Even if Carmelo had elite defensive and a more versatile game, Denver would still lose. They played like they had clue what was going on....no urgency, slacking defense, and bonehead moves in critical times. They really missed their coach.

Denver had absutley no clue at times, and saying they really missed there coach is 100% correct, Utah fans don't want to believe it.

[1_BAD_TIGER]

unfortunately, being the face of the franchise, you get the credit when the team does well and the blame when it does poorly. Just as Dirk as received undeserved criticism for his team losing and Kobe got it in '06.

Melo is a great player but I don't think he takes the reins with his teammates as much as he should to keep them focused on the task at hand.

I think if you can replace K-Mart and JR, you'll be well on your way to having a strong contender again.

Not K-Mart, the toughness he brings when healthy is hard to replace, just don't know how long his legs have left. Nene has to stop being soft for Denver to get any were. Sent Nene and J.R. to Toronto for Bosh, they would have to be crazy to agree to that, but throw in a first round pick and they might.

[airchibundo507]

This site is full of kids. What do you expect?

Even if Carmelo had elite defensive and a more versatile game, Denver would still lose. They played like they had clue what was going on....no urgency, slacking defense, and bonehead moves in critical times. They really missed their coach.

Melo had 12 boards and 5 assists, dumbass. Funny how you'd choose this game to call him one-dimensional.

[francesco totti]

Allen Iverson is the responsible for denver elimination.He makes team worse..

[thejumpa]

Melo had 12 boards and 5 assists, dumbass. Funny how you'd choose this game to call him one-dimensional.

I didn't choose one game to call him one-dimensional. I have said this about him for years. If he had a 30/15/10 game today I would still call him one-dimensional. One game has little to do with it.

I'm not going to argue with you about Melo again. It's quite obvious that you are a young fan who can't fathom Melo needing improving and is mad sensitve when someone criticizes his play. You're too funny, kid.

[airchibundo507]

I didn't choose one game to call him one-dimensional. I have said this about him for years. If he had a 30/15/10 game today I would still call him one-dimensional. One game has little to do with it.

I'm not going to argue with you about Melo again. It's quite obvious that you are a young fan who can't fathom Melo needing improving and is mad sensitve when someone criticizes his play. You're too funny, kid.

He's far from perfect and far from one-dimensional---it's evident in his game. He can rebound and he can pass. He routinely facilitates Denver's offense. He plays defense, too. He's not great at it, but he is a solid contributor as an average overall defender. Then again, you think Roy is a better player than Melo, so I'm not sure why you find my opinion to be suspect.

[thejumpa]

He's far from perfect and far from one-dimensional---it's evident in his game. He can rebound and he can pass. He routinely facilitates Denver's offense. He plays defense, too. He's not great at it, but he is a solid contributor as an average overall defender. Then again, you think Roy is a better player than Melo, so I'm not sure why you find my opinion to be suspect.

Yeah yeah yeah...Melo can pass(which he can't) and can rebound and play "average" defense. I've heard it all before. Even Nuggets fan on this site agree with what I'm saying. It may sound harsh, but I feel it's the truth. You, on the other hand, are too infatuated with him to see any flaws.

And just to reiterate, at full strength Brandon Roy is a better player than Melo. Rarely do I go "Damn BRoy, what were you thinking?" With Melo I say it too much.

[airchibundo507]

Yeah yeah yeah...Melo can pass(which he can't) and can rebound and play "average" defense. I've heard it all before. Even Nuggets fan on this site agree with what I'm saying. It may sound harsh, but I feel it's the truth. You, on the other hand, are too infatuated with him to see any flaws.

And just to reiterate, at full strength Brandon Roy is a better player than Melo. Rarely do I go "Damn BRoy, what were you thinking?" With Melo I say it too much.

Yes, he can pass. He draws double teams easily and has a knack for spotting the open shooter on the opposite side of the court. He also generates a ton of open looks for our bigs. Melo operates from the post, so often times his assist opportunities turn into hockey assists. I assure you that he can facilitate an offense; the problem with the Nuggets is that there is no offense. Often times Melo is isolated on the block and the other Nuggets refrain from moving, which congests the paint and doesn't allow him to feed them for easier baskets. You act as though your opinion is absolute fact when you probably haven't even watched a game. I fail to see how he is one-dimensional. Just because he is far better at one aspect of the game than any other doesn't mean that he is below average in those other aspects.

BRoy has never been a better player than Carmelo Anthony. BRoy is simply not assertive enough to be a superstar. Often times he plays in game without making much of an impact. He has leadership qualities and is talented in the clutch, so there is superstar potential. At the moment and throughout his career, he has only been at all-star level.

[Diesel J]

people need to stop the copout of blaming Adrian for Denver not playing to their ability. If any one pay watched denver down the stretch of the reg season, you would have know that they were already starting to slip even George Karl was on the sidelines.

[gts]

Funny How when the Nuggets are healthy and winning, there the team to challenge the Lakers, but when there not healthy and losing they Lack character. Denver has no coach, without Karl. George Karl has always been a very controlling and hands on coach, his assistants aren't given much control in running the team. And Billups with all his years of experience as a player is not going to match Karl's 30 plus years of coaching. If Coach Sloan was not able to coach Utah in this series do you think they would have played as well as they did? Denver was the only team in the playoffs missing there head coach no other team had that disadvantage.
stop with the head coach is missing excuses... he's been an nba head coach for 25 years, he has a below .500 coaching record in the playoffs and has only had a wining playoff run 5 times in 22 years of post season play..
honestly the chances of the nuggets going deep into the playoffs with karl on the bench was slim

the nuggets are just not a smart team, with or without karl, more than enough talent on that team to get by a jazz team that's limping through the playoffs, yet once again it's a first round exit for the nuggets..

the front office needs to realize that karl is not going to take this team to the finals, that melo for whatever odd reason cannot lead this current squad, it's not a slam on melo, he should be able to lead this team but it seems to me there is some disfunction on that team and melo is not strong enough to put guys in their place...

like i said it's not a very smart team, the players as a whole are not working as a team it's like watching a pickup game with a group of guys who meet every sunday to ball, all good buddies, it's just for fun lets not step on anyones toes, everyone make sure you get your shots in...

until melo grows a spine and takes control of this team it's not going anywhere

[kurple]

Melo was the only one stepping up in the first 5 games and chocked in game 6.

The Nuggets had to many ego's for AD to handle, and he was uncapable of adjusting the defense and offense.

The series is on Dantley, but game 6 is on Melo.

Still a very impressive post season performance by Melo.

And JR & Bird has to go this off season.. They were as bad ass AD.

[garubu]

They gotta ship JR. I was watching him this game, and he was like a baby throwing a fit when he didn't get the ball. Yeah there were times when billups could of gave him the ball, and when he didn't JR throw his hands up. Jr then goes into bitchfit mode and starts doing stupid falls. Should of subbed his ass out a long time ago in the 3rd quarter i believe.

[JayGuevara]

I like and respect Chauncey for what he was part of here, but he definitely "toots his own horn" a lil much. You will consistently hear him talking about how he's a leader and is going to do this or that to help his team. And then you see him taking long contested 3's early in the shot clock and getting technical fouls? His leadership is exaggerated, at least in his own mind. His shot selection is very poor sometimes and his decision making isn't always great. Which sadly seems to fit with this team. If they just played "smarter" and more controlled basketball, they could likely win a championship.

And for all the blame going to Melo, who else really came to play this series for Denver? Chauncey had pretty good stats, but where was his "leadership"? :confusedshrug:

[kNIOKAS]

they are crap... from what i saw in game 6 they're just bunch of jr smiths put together.

i did think that way until last years playoffs. nuggets played great and that time i really felt they proved me wrong. so i was expecting them to be as solid this year. but now they're back to old themselves... :hammerhead:

[MeLO MvP 15]

its not our fault... we missed KMart for a long time, he came back at like 50%... Ty, Melo, JR, and Chauncey missed time... Karl missed time... the refs hate us... we got probably the hardest match up in the first round (they are a hungry team)

now i know it sounds like im a whinny B*tch, but its hard to win if everyone is missing time and the refs don't respect you for sh!t

[OneMoreSucka]

Melo was the only one stepping up in the first 5 games and chocked in game 6.

The Nuggets had to many ego's for AD to handle, and he was uncapable of adjusting the defense and offense.

The series is on Dantley, but game 6 is on Melo.

Still a very impressive post season performance by Melo.

And JR & Bird has to go this off season.. They were as bad ass AD.
Bird isn't going anywhere, he JUST signed that contract. JR is more likely but since it will be a contract year, I expect him to put up big numbers and just sign with another team next year.

[BlueandGold]

Nuggets lack character as a team. Their problem is not talent, it's character. They lost their coach and Billups did not pull them together and lead them as he should have, being the Veteran and team captain.

that is a lot of responsibility for just one person, I mean if you have players like Kenyon Martin, JR Smith and even Anthony who has been involved in a couple of altercations you will need a strong veteran leadership core to back that up. Billups can only do so much, the responsibility should really be on Carmelo to assume that leader of the team position, especially at this point in his career. I don't know what it is about

Carmelo but he always seems lackadaisical out there on the court, even when he is dropping 30/7/3 type numbers. A lot of people say that Melo is the smoothest scorer if not player in the league but i disagree. I think people assume that his game is smooth because it seems like he exerts very little energy when he goes off for numbers like that. It's like he is constantly trying to save his legs or stamina until the playoffs but his style of play is nearly identical in the playoffs compared to the regular season. I don't catch as many nuggets games as I should but I seriously don't remember the last time i've seen him dive for a loose ball, even in the last couple of playoff years.




now i know it sounds like im a whinny B*tch, but its hard to win if everyone is missing time and the refs don't respect you for sh!t

a lot of the ref reaction has to do with how the players behave towards them. That's why the refs don't take anything Sheed takes seriously anymore and it's gotten to a point where Sheed will almost refuse to go to his deep post game because he knows the refs won't call any fouls in his favor.

[BlueandGold]

Didn't Melo have 12 rebounds and 5 assists? He's never going to be a good defender because the ref's won't let he play close defense without calling a foul, and what good is it to have your best scorer siting on the bench in foul trouble? Come on, the hate some of you guys throw at Melo is silly. He's not the best player in the league but he's near the top.

I would say a lot of the stuff directed at Melo's defense is fairly accurate. It's definitely mediocre at best and he is lacking in a handful of different defensive skill sets like help defense, blind side blocks and transition D.

[kunk75]

I seriously think they may have been better off if Dantley had just stayed home. Same leader as coach he was as a player.

[Fallguy20]

Im going to say it was coaching. George Karl wouldnt have let it happen. On the flipside, the experience gained by the Dantly is gonna pay off for him in his career in the long run (even if he did lose with a vastly superior team).

[thejumpa]

Back on topic....

Unless Denver makes some drastic moves this offseason and gets better defensively, I see Melo leaving. This year was a disappointment to me because I honestly thought Denver would make the WCF. Problem is, I can't really see him fitting on a contender.

[airchibundo507]

This message is hidden because Samurai Swoosh is on your ignore list.

It was inevitable.

[oh the horror]

I honestly believe they need to make moves to be a more defensive team. And they really need to ship JR Smith. That kid is too much of a headcase for that squad. They need more reliable scoring off the bench, and better "glue guys".

[BirdNasty]

Lakers got a free pass here. No way the Jazz beat a healthy Nuggets team. The team and their fans got to enjoy a first round win(its about time), and now they can get swept by the Lakers.

First and foremost, Nuggets need to find what they are going to do about a coach, then start adding and subtracting players

[Yung D-Will]

Lakers got a free pass here. No way the Jazz beat a healthy Nuggets team. The team and their fans got to enjoy a first round win(its about time), and now they can get swept by the Lakers.

First and foremost, Nuggets need to find what they are going to do about a coach, then start adding and subtracting players
\Lol but we weren't even healthy

[SteakPhish]

Chauncey (provided he stops trying to be a go-to guy) and Carmelo are the only franchise players. Who else on that team is great? K-Mart? He's good when healthy. JR? Talented but dumb. I have a feeling he will be bouncing around the league throughout his career.

I don't think Carmelo can be faulted for not making it out of round 1 when they had no coach, but its becoming clear he doesn't quite have that "push" if you will to carry his team. I still only see him as being, say, the best second option in the league paired with an equal talent with a more leader-oriented mentality.

[airchibundo507]

Chauncey (provided he stops trying to be a go-to guy) and Carmelo are the only franchise players. Who else on that team is great? K-Mart? He's good when healthy. JR? Talented but dumb. I have a feeling he will be bouncing around the league throughout his career.

I don't think Carmelo can be faulted for not making it out of round 1 when they had no coach, but its becoming clear he doesn't quite have that "push" if you will to carry his team. I still only see him as being, say, the best second option in the league paired with an equal talent with a more leader-oriented mentality.

So who played that role in their run to the WCF last year?

[BirdNasty]

\Lol but we weren't even healthy
You did have your coach, if you forgot

[InspiredLebowski]

Why is this in the Thunder forum?