Carmelo Anthony fights over the screen and contests Lebron James as the Knicks defeat the Heatles in Miami.
Wow. Never seen a Melo clip posted in r/NBA that wasn’t just a setup to slander him. Amazing.
I posted his game winner vs Dallas in 2009 Playoffs, that got 17 likes, next day the clip of Knicks not celebrating Jose Calderon’s shot got posted and had a thousand likes in half an hour lol.
This sub has a very clear hate for Carmelo which isn’t justified at all.
The Reddit echo chamber probably thinks their slander affects his legacy outside of this website. Nobody is claiming Melo is the GOAT, but the man retired #8 in scoring ALL TIME. He’s stamped forever.
Melo was an imperfect player, but a HoF one. He was paid to score and score he did at a clip higher than almost everyone on earth. On good efficiency.
If he played ten years later or ten years earlier, there’s a good chance he’d have been a top 3 player in the league. He’d either be free to chuck those contested twos at will and would have averaged 30, or he’d be a stretch four now and have so much more daylight to operate.
His biggest sin as a player was lackluster defense and effort at times. But he hustled for offensive rebounds, made great hockey passes, and could deflate an opposing defense when he was hot. Not many players can take over a quarter from all three phases.
If he came out a year earlier or later and wasn’t constantly compared to LeBron, he’d have a different rep.
Partially true, but I’ve got to push back a little. Melo was not paid to score, Melo was paid to win. Guys like Jordan Clarkson or Jamal Crawford are paid to score. Thats for role players. Melo was paid to lead a squad into deep playoff runs.
His biggest sin wasn’t his lack of hustle/defense, it was being a player who’s sucked the energy out of the team. I can’t tell you how many games I’d watch him get hot in the 1st quarter only to know it meant he wouldn’t pass in the 4th. How demoralizing is it to know that your best player playing well meant you’d probably lose?
The history of the league has taught us time and time again that the key to winning is unselfish, team basketball. Melo, who was not paid to “just be a scorer ” never learned this. And therefore, despite his gaudy scoring numbers, was a disappointment
Is that fair? Maybe not. But Melo wanted the responsibility of being a star in the biggest market. This is what comes with that. Legacy wise, people in the future will probably look at his numbers and his highlight reel and remember him well. It’ll be those of us who watched him play that know the truth of his game
Back then if you passed out of a double team, you were seen as weak and unreliable as a superstar.
Now if you don’t make the next read and pass up a decent shot for a slightly better shot, you’re considered a net negative analytics player.
It’s purely mentality. Tmac, Kobe, Pierce, all were like this, if they’re hot then you just gotta get it off the glass and gtf out the way.
His biggest sin was his failure to evolve as a player individually, as a leader and as a team player. He was really ME 7 O.
Jeez I was starting to hate Reddit bc of all the dumbass opinions fools are posting out. Glad some people actually watched/remember that melo was actually legit and was a top player in the nba for awhile
we did it reddit! 🤓
The game winner in LA? I think it was the Melo podcast (Edit: it was Larry Nance on “Basketball Insiders” podcast), but it was explained how Kobe was trash talking Melo that game about how Kobe couldn’t believe Larry Nance and DLo were containing him. Melo caught fire in crunch time so the stage was set for Melo v. Kobe in the final seconds. Calderon made the game winner and Melo and Kobe were laughing at one another lol. Calderon also didn’t celebrate either FWIW. Both LA and NY were pretty much out of the playoff pictures by then, just finishing out the season.
Our team was so fucking awful that season cause Phil killed vibes too. Fisher was fired just a few games earlier for trying to deviate from the triangle cause the players hated the system. No one really celebrated but everyone acted like Melo was the only one.
I remember actually watching that fucking game and Melo and the whole ass team were laughing on the bench and high fiving one another during the Laker timeout lol. It’s so astonishing how willingly wrong some people like to be to join the Melo criticism train.
It’s part Carmelo hate and part that this is a basketball themed drama subreddit. Very few people here actually care about what happens on the court.
You should see the Knicks sub. They act like he’s no better than Trae Young in their eyes lol.
It is crazy how many people on our sub don’t like him. He wasn’t the solution, but also wasn’t the problem. The team was complete ass around him (mostly due to FO moves — Amare, Bargs).
i don’t really hate melo but its not entirely unjustified
he comes across as bitter/jealous, not really a team first guy either. He’s upset Denver let Jokic wear 15 and accused them of trying to “erase” his Denver achievements. He seemed less than excited about the Knicks winning. He was offended that a reporter asked him about coming off the bench in OKC.
Casual fans tend to overrate him. He often gets called “a walking bucket” because he retired 8th all time in scoring. But he took a lot of shots, wasn’t really efficient enough or a good enough 3pt shooter to really be a top tier scorer, and did pretty much nothing else well on the court, especially on the defensive end.
He was a talented but overrated scorer and not much else. Not really a winner. He won three playoff series his entire career. One WCF exit. One second round exit.
Definitely a first ballot HOF career, but that’s only because the basketball HOF is pretty easy to get into.
Casual fans I think underrate him because they never saw him play. Everything you said isn’t untrue, but in an era of 1 on 1 matchups, he was a bucket.
i’d say casual older fans who watched his prime definitely overrate him Though sure, maybe nowadays among younger people, maybe he’s not overrated
being a bucket is cool but he never was super efficient and never did much else but score
Entirely justified.
It’s really not. He’s not a threat to any player’s legacy, he was never on any contenders, and he never had any outlandish media scandals.
People just hate him because he chose a bag over rings lmao
aren’t there also multiple stories of him being a terrible, terrible teammate? granted, i don’t think he deserves as much slander as he gets, especially when likened to someone like miles bridges, but 🤷🏻
I think it’s mainly related to Lin, but even Lin has came out and said that there wasn’t really any beef between them.
There are not but reddit has people convinced there are
Name the teammate who told this story. All I hear is his past teammates loved him and fans saying he’s a locker room cancer.
Not really. People took that quote of him calling Lin’s contract “ridiculous” out of context. I never heard anything particularly bad about him as a teammate
Vince Carter literally quit on his team and was telling opposing opponents plays the Raptors were going to run and he gets more love than Melo whose biggest sin was *check notes* chucking shots?
Don’t worry, they’ll do it anyway (or at least make a bunch of backhanded compliments).
posted ten minutes before you lmao
Almost every play in this clip, he should have passed but scored over triple teams.
The story of Melo: a star that can score with hero ball but can’t win consistently.
You would think he committed a crime with the way he got slandered recently.
It is really crazy that Melo gets treated like this and like the last few Jaxson Hayes threads have been all good vibes. That’s how much r/nba hates Melo
Its pretty simple, he just has a react podcast, and gives a reaction you’d expect out of melo to everything. so then people talk about how goofy of a player he was despite being such a great talent..
I think melo remind some Redditors of a bully they had in junior high so they take it out on him online🤣
I secretly think there was a Chinese psyop after what went down with J-Lin that successfully convinced people that he wasn’t a good player. I also don’t think many people here watched him play at his peak, maybe weren’t even born yet.
I was gonna quote the Melo don’t pass video but now I feel guilty.
I’m shocked the mods haven’t delted it yet for not having the [Highlihgt] tag in the title
[deleted]
Nope
You skipped the best parts of the game.
Some context:
This was the third game of the Stat/Melo era, and they came off a horrendous loss to the Cavs where they had poor defensive effort. That one game seemed to validate every concern people had about the pairing, that they’d be terrible defensively. So naturally on a nationally televised game against the newly formed Heatles, people were expecting them to get killed.
Well not so fast. The Knicks go down double digits, but take the lead going into the half. Fast forward to the last few minutes, Chauncey Billups hits an ill-advised three late to take the lead. Next possession, Carmelo leads LeBron into a block by Stat after playing excellent defense and the Knicks hold on to win. And Melo commented post game that they heard the criticism, especially about defense, and that winning a game in the 80s shows they can play defense.
It remains vivid in my memory because it was ine of the best games I’ve ever seen the Knicks of that era play top to bottom.
Wish we saw more from stat/melo. Amare’s knees gave out just as soon as they got Melo
Also his back. I feel like the back was the real dagger.
If melo took the same extension the heatles did I wonder how much Amare would break down. They’d have the extensive package + melo to play and no need for Amare to extend himself at mvp level before his knee gave out. Micro fracture isn’t done anymore and sucked the life out of big man but that’s another if.
Amare’s knees were cooked regardless it’s why the Suns didn’t extend him
Nothing would of extended his timeline
I remember watching this, it was a barn burner. I thought Amare and Melo were really bout to do it
There really was a variance in playstyles depending on who you had on the team. Knicks actually set the record for 3’s two years later and unfortunately kinda started the trend (GS obviously perfected it and Boston obviously took it into egregious territory.)
melo operating in the mid-post was absolute art. you actually got to watch a chess match down low instead of the whole game just being a math equation from the perimeter.
They absolute was lenient on travels 😂😂😂. Why u think this was from The 60s
Whoever said Melo isn’t fun to watch on that last post hates Basketball. Idc what yall say, his game is pure eye candy
Real talk. And the people who say his defense is Luka level obviously didn’t watch Melo until Luka got into the league. 2008-2014 was some of the most high level and highly competitive basketball we’ve ever seen from super stars.
I always say the reason Melo has that reputation is because the explosion of NBA social media happened during Melos decline, so most people only know that version.
That’s why I can tell who’s who based on if they’re saying Melo only took 20 Jab steps for a contested Middy, that was only once his Knees gave out and he didn’t have that burst or start and stop of Melo till 2014
Not a Kobe fan but it was similar for him until he died and it kinda went too far the other direction
As much of a bummer as the Knicks were back then, I loved the Melo era.
But don’t you know, that since it didn’t end in a ring, the season was a total waste of time?
One of the best moments of the brief Melo era of Knicks basketball
Wasn’t Melo a top 3 player in the NBA at this time? I remember him, Lebron, and KD would always be in front of ads and graphics during 12⁄13
Top 3 was probably a stretch. Top 5 for sure though. KD, LeBron, Kobe, and Chris Paul were definitely considered better in 13, but no one else was, especially because that was Dwight’s fall off year.
Correct.
Incorrect. Melo was never a top 3 player
I get that it’s popular to hate on him on Reddit but he seriously never was.
Third in mvp in 2012⁄13 would argue otherwise.
Also the only other player beside LeBron to have a first vote that year.
Led the league in scoring, won 54 games with his second best player playing only 29 games.
Let’s be honest, Lebron should’ve had a unanimous MVP vote. Melo getting 1 (yes 1) vote out of 120⁄121 for Lebron was shambolic. It was clearly a spiteful vote, the guy was a Celtics journalist… Melo ended up placing 3rd overall to KD too…
Let’s be honest, everything that you said still makes him a top 3 player.
You are spiteful in your opinion and recollection
So Jaylen brown was the 6th best player in the league last season?
Wemby got 3rd last year, was he the third best? Probably.
Bro it’s the most clowned first place MVP vote in NBA history, I’ve seen several threads about in this subreddit, let alone sports articles clowning on it at the time. Literally nobody would put him over Chris Paul or Kobe unless you were a Melo fan. Tell me you didn’t watch ball without telling me you didn’t watch ball
He was top 3 in MVP voting that year, weather you agree with it or not, that automatically puts you in top 3 convos that year
That’s…not how that works. Otherwise the MVP means you’re the best player in the world which people disagree with
MVP definitely means you have an argument for best player in the world
That’s not really even debatable
No lol
He was a star. Not consensus top 3. He made one conference finals trip and a gifted scorer.
Maybe top 3 most popular but volume scoring on mediocre efficiency bad defense and terrible playmaking isn’t a skill set that should ever have you considered a top 3 player in the world
The hate from this comment goddamn
I don’t hate Melo at all he’s a very fun player to go back and watch but nothing I said about his style of play and its lack of value compared to other star archetypes is untrue
He was above average in efficiency in his prime. (He only had like one year below league average TS% in his prime) Defensively and passing he was mid but it wasn’t as bad as reddit makes it seems. He did finish top 3 in MVP voting one year with us.
I never said his efficiency was bad I said mediocre which it was he peaked at +2.5 rTS and was normally below that and I just completely disagree about his playmaking value being even mid he was legitimately bad in that department for a star who had the ball in his hands that much like maybe a little better than his Denver days but that’s not a high bar to clear
No one gave a shit about that though
Melo wasn’t just a top 3 NBA player. He’s a top 3 NBA player of his generation imo.
Melo was a good defender when he wanted to be. Problem is he never wanted to be
His isolation defense and post defense was actually very good. He had like top% in terms of points per play on those. His off ball defense and rotations were dog shit though. His defense is similar to his offense in that it’s good at the 1 on 1 level but not so much anything beyond that.
Did you just say Carmelos offence is only good for a 1 on 1 scoring and not so much beyond that?
No i am saying his game excelled on the one on one level but everything else isn’t as good in comparison. He could have an elite catch and shoot guy but he never had the PGs to set him up, his passing and team shot creation wasn’t elite. Amazing shot creator/ isolation scorer tho.
https://youtu.be/kjdPUuAv1-I?is=3mwuSxU2rK8ZMRh3
Melo had the off ball scoring thing going. I don’t know how or when he became typecast as an ISO scorer.
Same shit as any Star then. His physical defence in 2009 playoffs was quality.
I often used to say the same thing about Kobe’s passing ability and Lebron’s clutch scoring.
Yeah. In matchups with people like LeBron it shows. As a Melo fan it was so frustrating.
His defense was basically Jaylen Brown level
For some reason people think Melo was a cone. I never watched a Knicks game and said Melo’s defense is the main reason we lost the game
People just have no idea how to evaluate defense. Melo’s on ball defense was actually pretty good, but his off-ball defense was awful. Similar to Jaylen Brown.
Unfortunately for those guys, off ball defense is way more important, but fortunately for those guys, on ball defense is easier to notice. So they get their rep as good defenders (or in Melo’s case good when he tries) without actually having to be good defenders.
Crazy that people don’t miss this era. Heatles had to play every night like it was a game 4 in the playoffs.
Until 2012 and 13. They got comfortable with each other and their roles and massacred the league in the regular season
Except against NYK in the 12-13 season. We, for some reason, had their number that year.
Made losing to the Pacers sting a bit more.
Just 13. They only had 42 wins in 2012
Prime Melo was a problem.
That is all.
This is a breath of fresh air. You’d think melo was the devil the way yall talk about him
Bobby Bouchers mom noddin in approval
Man Hubie and Tirico were so good
I ride with Melo all day. Fuck the haters
Just realized how many steps LeBron took when he threw it off the backboard to himself
people can pretend Melo wasn’t a killer all they want, doesn’t change the truth
The best version of Melo was in Syracuse.
That’s not true at all lol. People really just make shit up about players they didn’t watch on here.
^^^ lol you can really tell who watched melo played and who didn’t.
Somebody didn’t watch the 2009 playoffs.
What? If nothing else he showed up and was dominant offensively most nights. You can criticize his style of play but he was a top 3 player for a reason
He would get upset if he had a bad game, even if his team won
Is this an opinion you’ve held since he was a Knick or one you read in an r/nba thread last week?
Since he was a nugget, you probably didn’t watch him did then nephew
It’s so insane to see how quick melos first step was. He deserves criticism, but people online exaggerate like crazy and act like he was a bum.
I’ll always have love for Melo for being one a very few stars willing to come to NY and take the challenge
Magic Johnson: “Carmelo Anthony should have tried exerting this level of effort in the playoffs if he wanted to be more successful!”
Had to skip past 2 minutes to get to the final 30 seconds of the video that has the play described in the title of this post. And yup, that sure is a Basketball play.
Damn I remember watching this game
This is why even tho the Melo era was clearly a disappointment I still have love for Melo. Look how smooth he is
Love hearing the GOAT Hubie talk basketball. Best commentator ever imo.
and to think that lebron travel is legal today smh
Prime Melo vs LeBron was always must-watch. The fact that the Knicks could go into Miami and beat that Heat team shows how much of a battle those matchups were. Great era of basketball.
i remember watching this game live when i was in middle school thinking the knicks were about to mess up the whole league
Imagine if they played on the same team
That’s why I enjoyed Melo’s last year and 2008⁄2012 Olympics
Melo had such a pretty iso game
arguably prettiest. Kyrie has great dribbles but man Melo in the post is a joy to watch
Knicks also spoiled Cavs game in 2014
Slow clap
God how I miss those Knicks uniforms…
Reddit tells me everyday Carmelo Anthony is an all time over rated bum, while he shared the court with Toney Douglas, Rony Turiaf, and Jared Jeffries.
You don’t get it bro, if he just took a paycut like Brunson so they can pay washed D Rose and Joakim Noah max contracts, he woulda been a winner bro but what does he know anyways
Melo had such an aesthetically pleasing jumper and his quick herky jerky post moves were a pleasure to watch.
Melo was a bucket.
wait how did melo even contest lebron there
So, whose fault was it?
🤣🤣
When y’all see Lebron get roughed up with no calls, remember that when you call him a flopper today. He used to never flop and they used to never call the foul.
Locked in Melo was a scary sight
man they can make anything with AI these days
This might come off as petty, but the he’s always wearing sunglasses indoors on tv, and not wearing a suit when tmac and Vince are during their nbc segments makes him look like a douchebag
I hate the “heatles” nickname for this team
Did we really need an instant reply for each play? This could have had more highlights and half the time.
Not a single posession where Melo guard Lebron, Lebron guard Melo most of the time.
Not a shade to Melo, but the idea “Lebron never guard the best player” is a joke.
This was melo’s super bowl
Oh wow. Melos highlights are random season games .
Yet no rings 🤔. Glorified chucker
Prime Melo was arguably better than Lebron. Unfortunately he wasnt a ring chaser and chose his hometown over a stacked team
Bruh. Not even carmelo would agree with you.
The only time Melo could have been considered better than Lebron was their rookie year where a lot of people thought Melo got robbed
Outside of that it’s been Lebron
Bait
There was never an argument for melo being better than Bron