Melo Drama
According to Wikipedia, a melodrama refers to a dramatic work, which exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to emotions.
This version of Melo Drama is all about Carmelo Anthony holding the Denver Nuggets hostage and teasing cities around the country with his potential local participation.
Anybody else tired of this stuff? We’ve had the Miami Beach saga and that didn’t go over to good for LeBron and to be honest what has Anthony really done?
The answer is nothing. Sure, he can score in a variety of ways, is a bull down low and is a fearless outside shooter but he is not a real big fan of playing defense and he doesn’t always show up.
Courting Chicago the other night in the Windy City, he was received with an ovation by the fans that are hungry for another championship caliber team but after scoring 32, Melo went 5 for 15 from the field while getting only one offensive rebound in the 31-point loss in Indiana the next night.
Give me a guy like Joakim Noah, who is a whirling dervish, tries 110% every night, and knows he doesn’t have the innate ability over a spoil guy like Melo every single night.
Stat Line
Okay, it’s a small sample as most teams so far have only played a handful of games, but there are certain scoring trends that have already begun to separate the wheat from the chaff.
First, let’s glance at the ugly and it starts with the Minnesota Timberwolves. They only won one of their first 8 games, were not been able to break through on the road until beating suspect Kings last Wednesday and are giving up over 112 points a game. When they have the ball they are averaging less than 97 a game and that is not likely to change soon.
The future is also bleak for this squad as they won’t be able to entice any huge free agent names to the tundra and arguably their best player, Kevin Love, is a nice cornerstone performer but he plays below the rim.
The song remains the same for the L.A. Clipppers. Every year it seems there is some buzz about the junior varsity from L.A. and they have a future star in Blake Griffin but they have major problems in the backcourt with Baron Davis, who came to camp far overweight.
Clips also won only one of their first 8 games, have averaged less than 94 a game and are giving up 102.
The champion Lakers didn’t taste defeat through their first 8 games and have average the biggest winning margin in the league of 12.50 in that span but everybody knows about Kobe and his clan. The team that has surprised out of the block is the New Orleans Hornets.
Perfect after their first 7 events, they have been doing it with a renewed interest in defense holding teams to less than 91 a game. They are also holding teams to less than 30% from the 3-point line. As long as Chris Paul stays healthy, there is no reason why ‘Orleans won’t be a force come spring.
For those that are fans of the Northwest, there is legit hope for the Portland Trailblazers as long as they can get production out of their best player Brandon Roy. He has not been himself as he is coming back from a knee injury and he has not been able to elevate.
Despite having senior citizen Marcus Camby patrolling the paint, Blazer have gotten off to a very good start and have held their own on the road. If they can every get Greg Oden and Joel Pryzbilla back healthy along with Roy, they could be the surprise team of the year.
Stay tuned as the ball keeps pointing us to winning spots.
