Biggest falloff since Mo Taylor??

[Diesel]

I am wondering will this be the fate of Carmello Anthony? Similar to Mo Taylor, he had a very strong start to his career only to have his game snuffed out equally as early? I think that there may be a psychological effect to Anthony being treated the way he did at the Olympics. I mean, the guy has been a winner at just about every level. He was placed on the bench and treated like a stepchild for the US team. I'm not saying LB was wrong, I'm saying that there may be a confidence problem as a result?

[capstone21]

I think he will be no different. He will be a star in the league.

[BOShforRoy]

I happen to think Carmelo is more talented and competitive than Mo. Carmelo wants to win and and beat Lebron so he will be aiming for some things that will keep him motivated to improve and become a great player.

[detroitdave]

I'd be more optimistic about Anthony's chances if he acted somewhat like a man instead of whining about his benching in Athens. The punk still hasn't shut up. If this is how he: A) defines adversity; and B) deals with it, then he's too fragile to become the star he thinks he already is.

[Admin]

I damn sure know I would be pissed if I was selected to go represent my country, and I accepted that challenge, giving up my own personal time off from the NBA, and I barely even got to play because my coach thought the look on my face wasnt what he wanted to see. Larry Brown should be ashamed for not playing Melo or Okafor more than the small amount of minutes that they got. They went to Athens because they wanted to represent their country and instead of getting to play some selfish punks like AI and Marbury got to play all the minutes they wanted without giving a damn about whether the team won and no matter how poorly they were playing. Nobody on the team played like a star out there except for Duncan for the most part, so Melo definitely should have at least gotten to play as much as the other guys who were stinking it up.

You honestly cannot say that if you were in Melo's shoes that you wouldnt be pissed off about it, especially since the US played so poorly.

[Eeeee]

Yeah Melo may be pissed, but there were plenty of players that went to the games for many countries and didnt get to play that much. I didnt hear anyone else in the whole tournament whining about playing time because most players get the idea that they are part of a team and a system. Melo has got it all wrong - He shouldnt be thinking about 'giving up' his time. The Olympics are a honour to be in. If you want to be in a team on condition, DONT TURN UP, and if you are going to turn up, dont cry about it if you dont get as much burn as youd like. For goodness sake if you are that much of an individual, go play tennis or track and field. Would Melo have been the difference between a bronze and a gold anyway?

If he was not the difference, why all the post tournament fuss anyway? Its just for an ego that has never been put in its place before. Almost makes you wonder if Melo would have had a year nearly as good as he did if the Pistons had picked him and he'd behaved like he did at the Olympics

[detroitdave]

He didn't play because he wasn't good enough. Period. He's a dog on defense, and hoisting up errant 3s at the earliest opportunities gets your team killed against a good zone. Bottom line, Carmelo Anthony didn't bring anything in terms of either skill or attitude that was going to help Team USA overcome its flaws. Don't think I'm in love with Marbury, either, but the team was thin at guard and that's how it is. Now Anthony is whining instead of facing up to reality, which makes me doubt if he's got the guts to deal with his weaknesses.

[Eeeee]

I totally agree

[BOShforRoy]

i don't understand why Okafor didn't play. he didn't even get the opportunity. i thought he would be good at the olympics. he doesn't take away shots from the shooters and plays excellent defense. he should've played considering the foul trouble Duncan was in.

[detroitdave]

Yeah, you'd think his hustle and physicality might have helped. The few minutes he did play looked pretty bad, however. It'll be interesting to see how his rookie year goes.

[chillzatl]

Being invited to go isn't about playing time, it's about having the opportunity to contribute to making his countries team the winner in whatever way the coach sees fit. It has nothing to do with not "pissing off" a punk kid who thinks he deserves a lot of playing time just cuz he showed up.

Your response is representitive of the problem the NBA has today. Thinking that it's "his right" to get lots of PT just because he got asked to go. Only...were it not for 2 previous rounds of players electing not to go, he wouldn't have been asked anyway.

Unless you think LB isn't a good coach, it's hard to argue with his decisions. He was there, he saw who did what in practice and he was in the best position to decide what skills were needed.

Lets face it, he already had a team full of chuckers. Most of the guys who played more are better passers than Mello. Passing is what the team lacked. It would not have helped to stick a guy out there who is a mirror of the others, only a worse passer.

[chillzatl]

been jack last year.

LB is a good coach and a good judge of players. His ability to get the most out of AI all those years is indicitive of this. Only, the pistons don't have any need for an A.I. I wouldn't be surprised if he knew from the get-go who the attitude problems were and based some of his time substitutions off that.

personally, I think mello played over his head last year. Were it not for getting drafted by a team that could afford to let a rookie take a lot of shots, at 40%, he wouldn't have made much noise.

[KBatPCSOM]

That's the player I believe Carmelo will eventually become. I really don't see any outstanding skills in him. To me, he is a shot chucker that doesn't play defense, isn't a good ball handler, and isn't a good perimeter shooter. I believe he is a very good mid-range guy who can shoot off one dribble. I will say that he slashes to the basket better without the ball than Glenn does.

[Eeeee]

Thats amazing, I was having a conversation with my buddy in DC when I was visiting the US at the start of the year, and he said exactly the same thing....G.Rob.

[cyman3]

yea, i see him as a more athletic GLENN ROBINSON.

[AHF]

WTF are you guys talking about?

Okafor did not play for the US Olympic team. No matter how much foul trouble Duncan was in, there was no way for Brown to play him more minutes in the Olympics. Moreover, Brown just won an NBA title by playing Okafor for fewer minutes for the Pistons. Boo, hoo. NBA title. Read that again and then complain about why Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace were playing too much instead of a true stud like Okafor.

As for Melo, the guy is young and needs an attitude adjustment. You got added to the olympic team as the like the 10th man on the roster. You expect to be playing the majority of minutes as a last minute addition to the team? What? It is a privilege for a player to represent his country. And you know what? Melo would have gotten a LOT more minutes if he just would have played hard defense, passed the ball and buried the open jumper without complaining about his minutes.

How happy do you think Brown is to have Tayshaun Prince rather than Melo on his roster?

[cyman3]

"Moreover, Brown just won an NBA title by playing Okafor for fewer minutes for the Pistons. Boo, hoo. NBA title. Read that again and then complain about why Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace were playing too much instead of a true stud like Okafor"

- OKAFOR played for the PISTONS? u sure ur not gettin him mixed up w/ DARKO?

i never complained that Okafor shoulda played more... when theres guys like Stodemire (ROY vs YAO MING) as backup, its hard to get minutes.