That's because Melo really does not try on D. He is not willing to sacrifice his body to move in for a charge. He doesn't really challenge shots, he literally just puts his hand half way up but pulls it down immediately. He really is terrible defensively and we aren't being successful in hiding his shortcomings. Ryno last year at least tried to move his feet and would sacrifice his body to take charges. He was also a decent post defender even when he would almost get murdered (I'm rememebering all those Boogie games) he would still bang bodies with guys bigger than him. Melo just has a different mindset and this was one of concerns many of us had.
I agree with you that it's carmelo but for a different reason. Coincidentally, our defensive mastermind retired as soon as Carmelo joined. Coincidence of course.
I mean we have other problems besides Melo but......Melo is a big part of the problem, it's undeniable.
118.8 is what the Rockets giving up in 5 games. No team on earth is going to have a winning record much less win games. Bad shooting games, lazy on defense and no energy (except for fighting) = 1-5.
The culprit imho is this mix of personnel. For switching - you need length (height plus wingspan) plus foot speed (like corner back foot speed) plus some modicum of intelligence. Moreover we lack a certain continuity with the personnel. Last year, any time for any five on the floor we had two pre-eminent switchers plus one serviceable general defender plus one paint protector. Today - it all falls apart because we don’t have any true switchers (I’m sorry but as a physical specimen Ennis is not what I would call a tier one versatile defender). And thus we have major defensive breakdowns that make Capela look like a G leaguer. If you look at our wings, there is no continuity PJ plus Ariza simply made for a better balance of offense and defense with the other three. As constructed today, this team is about as stable as a two legged stool. Ariza was that third leg. And off the bench Luc was that third leg. Defense - prob more so than offense is all about balance and mix imho. And Morey really screwed up with his failure to keep at least ariza OR luc. I keep harping on this point that I think Morey got seduced by individual stats and “relative value” at the expense of matters of age and “relative fit”. Said a different way, if players were investments, the incremental value of adding Melo Ennis MCW etc has been mimimal to negative even if individually they seem comparable in certain stats to Luc and Ariza Sage
Melo officially sucks... gotta waive him. The team wasnt fast to begin with but he makes us slower and is inefficient. Our switching scheme gets blown up entirely when dude is on the floor...
stop blaming melo its the entire team besides tucker gordon, capela, ennis, mcw all have been trash so far
I think Ryno was a decent piece. He started last season off so well and then his confidence went to shiii due to trade rumors and the hate he was getting for being overpaid. Id take him over Melo at this point. Melot is trash....
Melo has been bad but wasn’t OKC top 10 defense with Melo starting all season? Putting all the blame on him when our coach has a history of not having a clue about defense? Only now in today’s league with everyone playing at a crazy pace and bombing threes, he can’t offensively take advantage of any team. MDA is worthless without a defensive assistant. Our roster is a mess so Morey can get the blame too Mr. “coaches don’t matter when you have talent”
Melo is a poor defender, but having a poor defender at the minimum is no excuse for a contender to go 1-4. Any current contender can sit their best player and still crush these Rockets. Melo does not account for most of that. He accounts for part of it.
Oh great... another ' if somethings wrong - must be Melo's fault' poster... some of you guys really miss having Ryan Anderson to rag on... lol
