Greg Oden’s Career Was Ruined by Injuries, So Can You Really Call Him a Bust?
NBA, Video February 21st. 2012, 12:54pm
Two mircofractures on his left knee. One microfracture on his right knee. He hasn’t played a game since Dec. 5 2009. Since being drafted No. 1 overall in 2007 – hate to remind you, Portland, but Kevin Durant went 2nd (yes, I thought Durant should have been the No. 1 pick) – Oden has played in 82 games. He only turned 24 last month, so it’s not a lock that his career is over, although prospects certainly appear grim. We’ve certainly enjoyed posting about him over the last few years, in happier times.
I saw some folks calling Greg Oden a bust on twitter Monday. Can you call a guy who barely got a chance to play a bust? I don’t think you can. Even if Durant wins a few scoring titles and MVPs and a title or two, I’ve got a tough time putting the bust label on Oden. If Oden never plays again, words like injuries, knees and microfracture should trump “bust.”
These are true NBA busts:
Sam Bowie over Jordan? Massive bust. Bowie played in the league for 10 years, averaged double figures six times and a double-double just once. Jordan … yeah.
Kwame Brown? Major bust. He’s been in the league a decade and done nothing, while Pau Gasol has two titles and a Hall of Fame resume (11 straight seasons averaging 16 or more ppg).
Darko over Melo? Epic bust. Darko’s bounced around the league and never done anything of consequence; Melo is a Top 15 player in the NBA and the [Ed. direction of the Detroit franchise was altered dramatically. Yes, they won a title Darko's rookie year when he played 14 minutes in the postseason.] Pistons haven’t been the same since not taking him.
Shawn Bradley over Penny Hardaway? Big bust. Bradley spent a long time in the league, but did next to nothing (except when he was getting dunked on). Penny’s first four years in the NBA were terrific, and he looked like a franchise player. Then he fell victim to injuries.
I feel terribly bad for Oden. Remember when he and Mike Conley defeated Georgetown in the Final 4? I’ll never forget this attempted dunk on Jeff Green:
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149 Responses to “Greg Oden’s Career Was Ruined by Injuries, So Can You Really Call Him a Bust?”
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February 21st, 2012 at 12:56 PM
in happier times.
In dong times.
February 21st, 2012 at 12:57 PM
LOL LOL LOL
They won the NBA Title in his rookie year and were runners up in seven games the following year, then went onto two more ECFs.
HERPADERP!
February 21st, 2012 at 12:57 PM
Terrelle Pryor had a great college career and you called him a bust, so yes.
February 21st, 2012 at 12:57 PM
Him? No. His career? Yep. It has undoubtedly been a failure, his fault or not.
February 21st, 2012 at 12:58 PM
To sum: Terrelle Pryor was a bust at Ohio State, Greg Oden was not a bust in the NBA.
February 21st, 2012 at 12:59 PM
Bust and Jeremy Lin is not a MVP candidate
February 21st, 2012 at 12:59 PM
Darko over Melo? Epic bust. Darko’s bounced around the league and never done anything of consequence; Melo is a Top 15 player in the NBA and the Pistons haven’t been the same since not taking him.
/STARES
//MOUTH AGAPE
The Pistons went to like 8 ECF* in a row.
*approximate
February 21st, 2012 at 1:00 PM
Seems to me you’re picking and choosing who qualifies as a “bust” based on who you find likeable and worth rooting for. No shame in that, but you can’t go around saying “Eli Manning blows” and then say Greg Oden isn’t a bust. His fault or not, dude’s been in the league since 2007 and has only played 82 games. At least when Bob Sanders played he was a two-time all pro.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:01 PM
Luke Jackson, 10th overall pick = bust
Greg Oden = not a bust
February 21st, 2012 at 1:01 PM
Since there were injury concerns with him coming out of college, we can call him a quasi-bust.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:01 PM
I feel terribly bad for Oden.
but not bad enough for him that you won’t post potentially embarrassing* pictures of his penis on a sportsblog, right?
February 21st, 2012 at 1:01 PM
I understand your point, but I knew mentioning that gave you some satisfaction deep inside that’s been lacking since Bobby left the Colts and flamed out in San Diego.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:01 PM
Bless your soul
February 21st, 2012 at 1:01 PM
Like shooting fish in a barrel.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:02 PM
If rosters were cleared, and for GMs had a draft for a one season team…would Carmelo actually go in the top 15? Where do you guys think he would end up?
February 21st, 2012 at 1:02 PM
english bad, you get idea
February 21st, 2012 at 1:03 PM
Like shooting fish in a barrel.
we should make some sort of blood pact where we all promise not to comment on TBL posts that are thrown out there for the specific purpose of trolling.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:03 PM
cleared up Pistons’ future for you, NDub.
Jim – Portland media again yesterday said Oden’s knees had a clean bill of health coming out of OSU.
https://twitter.com/#!/jwquick/status/171753636051951616
February 21st, 2012 at 1:03 PM
i like women with an ample bust.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:03 PM
Darko: drafted 2003. Pistons: win championship 2004. Me: ???
February 21st, 2012 at 1:03 PM
*fistbumps clown*
February 21st, 2012 at 1:03 PM
Eh, he was a huge injury risk coming out of Iowa, that’s why he dropped to the second round. He was the Jimmy McNulty of NFL safeties. He wasn’t on much, but when he was on, man, he was the best we had.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:04 PM
Bless you, banders
February 21st, 2012 at 1:04 PM
How’d that work out?
February 21st, 2012 at 1:05 PM
Leave the game young and just be like Jim Brown, doing movies.
/By ‘movies’ I mean porn and by ‘like Jim Brown’ I mean as a bust
February 21st, 2012 at 1:05 PM
Pistons need to stop their cute little 3 game win streak and start losing more. It’s a loaded draft. Don’t fuck it up.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:06 PM
Wasn’t Bowie’s career injury plagued?
February 21st, 2012 at 1:06 PM
Him? No. His career? Yep. It has undoubtedly been a failure, his fault or not.
This is the right mindset — a failure is a bit different than a bust.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:06 PM
Jim – Portland media again yesterday said Oden’s knees had a clean bill of health coming out of OSU.
https://twitter.com/#!/jwquick/status/171753636051951616
Didn’t he miss like the first month of the season the year he played at OSU?
February 21st, 2012 at 1:06 PM
Shit, it’s like this whole month of play. 7-3 in February. Knock it off, guys.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:07 PM
why hasn’t anyone photo shopped trollface over a pic of TBL yet?
February 21st, 2012 at 1:07 PM
Trying clicking the hyperlink to see what he did in 10 years in the league.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:07 PM
A McTibble special.
/not a compliment
//has started using that term in daily life, when I see a paper that is excessively illogical and biased
February 21st, 2012 at 1:07 PM
Yes. But he didn’t wear ironic t-shirts.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:07 PM
Could have sworn they did X-rays at his knees before draft and said he had knees of a 45 year old man
February 21st, 2012 at 1:07 PM
Definitely.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:07 PM
considering your liberal and often incorrect use of “bust”…i guess so.
seriously…bowie’s a bust but oden’s not? they’re incredibly similar regarding injuries.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:07 PM
Penny – link was specifically about his knees, which have ruined his NBA career.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:08 PM
There were injury concerns coming into the NBA for Oden so it is a bust for Portland.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:08 PM
Oden was one of the best defensive players in the game, too. His rebounding numbers would be top 5 in the league, and he was doing that at a young age. He just hasn’t played enough to get accolades, and he probably never will.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:08 PM
Trying clicking the hyperlink to see what he did in 10 years in the league.
Wouldn’t being injury-plagued factor into his low production?
February 21st, 2012 at 1:09 PM
It simultaneously angers and warms me how shitty Charlie Villaneuva is. I really hope his hairless disease ends his career.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:09 PM
Missed two years in college with shin injuries.
Bowie’s NBA numbers: 10.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.78 bpg.
Oden’s NBA numbers: 9.4 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.4 bpg.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:09 PM
I’ve never felt right calling a player who has injury issues a bust. Seems like it’s not very fair.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:10 PM
Yeah, I thought it was something like one leg as a bit longer than the other, which is why he had the problems.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:10 PM
I’ve never felt right calling a player who has injury issues a bust. Seems like it’s not very fair.
Shouldn’t you be staring at the business end of your wife’s baby maker right about now?
February 21st, 2012 at 1:10 PM
I’m not disagreeing with you. I’m saying Sam Bowie played in almost twice as many games as Oden did during their respective first four seasons in the league, and posted very similar numbers. How can one be a bust but the other isn’t? It makes no sense.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:10 PM
I hope it’s contagious and takes Ben Gordon with him.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:11 PM
Grammar mistakes aside, that doesn’t talk about his injuries.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:12 PM
agreed.
now onto the art lesson…you have to be careful with your chiaroscuro when drawing conclusions as the shading sometimes obscures the message’s clarity.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:12 PM
Oh, and I kept that. It’s now in a safe place.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:12 PM
Nah. Doc told us it could be midnight, so she’s trying to sleep while I hang out.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:13 PM
Oh, yeah, I agree with you. I wasn’t even interested in talking about this shitty pageviews post.
Just pointing out the similarities to Bob Sanders.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:14 PM
Godspeed Husker.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:14 PM
Husker, are you at the hospital for the impending birth of your child? (Or did I completely misread this?)
February 21st, 2012 at 1:14 PM
Word.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:15 PM
Nah. Doc told us it could be midnight, so she’s trying to sleep while I hang out.
Ahh… well good luck with that. The mental image of your newborn son/daughter coming into the world while you were commenting on a trolly Greg Oden post on TBL was disconcerting.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:15 PM
Are you at Northside husker?
February 21st, 2012 at 1:16 PM
Yup. In a nice corner suite and WiFi while the wife tries to sleep in between contractions.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:16 PM
I’d say 14-18 ish. Definitely behind: Rose, Howard, Durant, LBJ, Wade, CP3, WestBrook, Love. In a 1 season scenario, I think teams would go Kobe and Dirk before Melo. Because of their size Bynum and Pau. Deron Williams and Rondo because a premium is put on the PG position. I think he would be in the tier with Parker, Aldridge and Griffin.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:17 PM
+1 When he actually played, his rebound & block rate led the league.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:17 PM
Nothing wrong with that. I was commenting on TBLAD while my wife’s cervix was dialating, and JPQ was making fun of me. Good times. Can’t believe it’s been almost 2 years now.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:17 PM
I will say congrats, Husker, only because I know you. But godspeed also seems appropriate, as I hate children.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:17 PM
Yeah, he is pretty similar. Sanders just got more publicity for his play because the media decided that he was the sole reason the Colts’ defense was good at stopping the run during their Super Bowl run. Which isn’t true. The Colts faced a brainmashed Trent Green, a geriatric Steve McNair, a busted Corey Dillon and a Bears’ team who could have ran for 250 on them had they not turned the ball over so many times.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:17 PM
I have 2 Greg Oden stories from OSU (he was a fresh when I was a SR)
1. A girl that he had been hooking up with (tiny white girl if you are curious) passed out at a party off campus, the dudes who were there got her phone and called Greg (knowing he was friendly with her) to tell him to come over and that this girl wanted him there, but she couldnt talk for whatever reason. He gets to the house, then sees the girl passed out, picks her up and fireman carries her back to where she lived.
2. I saw him at Coldstone Creamery driving a monster Chevy Avalanche midway through the basketball season.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:18 PM
Checked the link and:
84-85: 76 GP
85-86: 38 GP
86-87: 5 GP
87-88: 0 GP
88-89: 20 GP
He did get it together and stay relatively injury-free for the next 6 seasons only averaging 20 missed games per year.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:18 PM
So wait … we can’t call Oden a bust because of injuries, but we can call Bowie a bust because of a career stalled by injuries?
February 21st, 2012 at 1:19 PM
Lebron, Durant, Rose, Howard, Paul
Deron, Westbrook, Rondo, Griffin, Wade
Irving, Love, Bynum,
Would be the guys younger or similar age that would probably go before him. Then you could debate whether or not you would want Kobe type players in age above Melo. So he is probably somewhere in the 15-25 range.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:20 PM
So if Durant were a 10 ppg scorer, that would somehow make Oden’s career less bust-worthy?
Not seeing jow are these two are in any way related to whether or not Oden is a bust.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:20 PM
LIN, Lebron, Durant, Rose, Howard, Paul
Deron, Westbrook, Rondo, Griffin, Wade
Irving, Love, Bynum,
Fixed
February 21st, 2012 at 1:22 PM
Now that’s service. I need one of those except an attractive women who is not gigantic. Probably won’t work. Fucking lucky ass white girls.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:22 PM
This is true. It’s the only reason the Colts survived Manning’s 3 TD/7 INT ratio that postseason.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:23 PM
Agreed. I’m not sure why evaluating whether an individual is a bust should rely on what those drafted after him did. Using this logic, Melo has been a bust based on Wade’s success.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:25 PM
Wellstar Kennestone. It’s in Marietta.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:25 PM
Iverson was a bigger bust based on Kobe’s success.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:26 PM
Why do people insist on qualifying a bust based solely on who could have been selected? The fact that Jordan went after Bowie does not make Bowie a bust. The fact that he was a #2 pick and didn’t become the centerpiece of a franchise qualifies him as a bust. The same is true of Darko. He is not a bust because of Melo. He’s a bust because he hasn’t produced at all. By your qualification you may as well include Wade, Bosh and the dozen other players selected after him that have also been far more productive NBA players.
The argument should be about whether or not injuries should be taken into account when discussing whether or not a player is a bust. You should be taking about similar situations like Kijana Carter not the fact that Durant went #2.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:27 PM
Correct. Playoff games are all about matchups. Sometimes you get the Broncos – sometimes you get a 3-4 team with a nose tackle who eats Jeff Saturday’s lunch. Shame an entire career can’t be distilled down into some tidy stat like W-L. Oh…wait…
February 21st, 2012 at 1:28 PM
/agrees with Duchess
//kills self
February 21st, 2012 at 1:28 PM
Tom Brady is 0-2 vs. Eli Manning when it matters. I’ve learned all I need to learn.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:29 PM
Tyson Chandler – drafted before Pau and only has 1 title and a career that is inferior to Gasol: BUST
February 21st, 2012 at 1:29 PM
YYSA – I’m a huge Blake Griffin fan. But if you put him on Denver for 6-7 years, how many times do they get to the playoffs?
And Kyrie Irving? After 35 games? Really?
As recently as two years ago, Melo was widely considered a top 5-10 player in the league.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:32 PM
No.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:32 PM
Tom Brady, 1-3 against Eli Manning. Peyton Manning, 2-0. Well, that’s all I need to know.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:34 PM
Probably 6-7 times. That Denver team is pretty deep and has continued to be a playoff caliber team despite losing “a top 5-10 player”. Maybe Melo was overrated because of the pieces around him.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:34 PM
And Kyrie Irving? After 35 games? Really?
You were making a case for Jeremy Lin to win the MVP after 9 games — not really much of a difference.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:34 PM
+1 to everything Codename Duchess said
February 21st, 2012 at 1:35 PM
A lot. But that doesn’t mean you take a guy in the top 10 who has limited post moves and can’t create his own shot.
/goddamnit I’d love to see the Clips if they had somehow kept Gordon
February 21st, 2012 at 1:35 PM
With all the same players Melo had around him? Probably the same amount of times. Its not like Denver was an untalented team. And yes Kyrie after 35 games. The kid is 19 and plays like a seasoned pro already.
Age would be a big factor in a lot of decisions in this fantasy GM scenario.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:35 PM
please tell me the middle name of the baby is going to be “Gods of the Gridiron”
February 21st, 2012 at 1:36 PM
If you took Carmelo’s best FG% season, best 3PT% season, and best FT% season and combine them into 1 season, then you’d have what Kyrie is doing as a rookie.
So yeah, I’d rather have him.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:37 PM
Greg Oden 19.5 career PER – he would’ve been Dwight Howard if he stayed healthy. Sam Bowie would’ve been an average player, injuries or not.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:37 PM
Yeah, isn’t Denver like 10-15 games over .500 since they traded away Melo? It’s not like he was dragging garbage into the postseason.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:38 PM
Tom Brady, 1-3 against Eli Manning. Peyton Manning, 2-0. Well, that’s all I need to know.
I’m a Giants fan, and I think Peyton is better than Eli. Give Eli a few more years and let’s see how it goes. For now, it’s a stupid argument.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:38 PM
Raw Review
February 21st, 2012 at 1:39 PM
I find that hard to believe since he fouled every 30 seconds the year he did play.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:39 PM
Except for marketing, I can’t think of a single way Griffin is better than Love. Why have Love below him, YYSA?
February 21st, 2012 at 1:40 PM
People like me said “Kyrie Irving as a number one pick? After 11 (or whatever #) college games? Really?” How did that turn out?
February 21st, 2012 at 1:42 PM
I think the fact that this is even a debate it mind-blowing. Eli had his best season in 2011, yet it would have been an average Peyton season.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:42 PM
That wasn’t any particular order. I would take Love but Griffin would probably be drafted ahead of him in that kind of scenario because NBA owners are dumb and see “HIGHLIGHTS! DUNKS! EXCITEMENT! TURNSTILES! PRINT MONEY” mean while there team is losing in the first round but they are too busy watching the ticker tape to notice.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:46 PM
It is what it is. Recency bias. QB’s get ranked and re-ranked and re-ranked again so many times today, it’s all just shit against the wall. Aaron Rodgers had maybe the best QB season ever and helped hide a terrible defense but he played an average to subpar game against the Giants and now people are saying, “Yeah, but he’s been one and done in the playoffs two out of the last three years.” White noise.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:58 PM
He averaged 6.4 fouls/36 minutes over his career….that’s crazy
February 21st, 2012 at 2:07 PM
There should be three categories – guys that had the ability, got picked high, and did nothing (i.e. Ryan Leaf) are busts. Guys that were hurt all the time (Oden and Bowie – not sure why they’re being treated differently) are just unlucky. And guys like Darko are victims of being drafted by morons – not their fault they’re over-valued.
February 21st, 2012 at 2:09 PM
- Agreed. Whether or not a guy is a bust is based on how he played, not how other people around him played. You judge the GM for missing the other player.
February 21st, 2012 at 2:20 PM
How about the fact that he was a #2 pick and hasn’t even become a role player?
February 21st, 2012 at 2:24 PM
Darko has a perfectly defined role as a highly paid backup center.
/PEKOVIC!
February 21st, 2012 at 2:46 PM
Oden missed 2 months at OSU due to a freak thumb injury, which had his right hand in a cast. When he came back, he still had a wrap on his right hand. He still averaged 15 points a game with only his left hand (and shooting left handed free throws).
He got the use of his right hand back with 6 games remaining in the regular season, whereby he averaged 18 and 12 with 5 blocks. He continued to beast mode into the finals where he scored 27 against Florida in the National Championship game.
/Not a leg injury
//Never had a leg injury until after the draft
///Definitely not a bust
February 21st, 2012 at 2:53 PM
This entire post seems like something Mike and Mike would argue about.
February 21st, 2012 at 2:54 PM
Thats cool. How many games over .500 were they during his run in Denver? How many games over .500 were they in the 5 years before he was drafted? Melo is a top 5 player in the NBA.
February 21st, 2012 at 2:58 PM
What flavor on NY Homer Kool-Aid you drinking today?
February 21st, 2012 at 2:59 PM
Lebron, Wade, Dwight, Durant, Rose, Paul.
Who are the two you are kicking out to make room for Carmelo?
February 21st, 2012 at 3:10 PM
Just wanted to point out the obvious, the Pistons won until about 2007 when Lebron beat them in the ECF. That was a 6 year run in the ECF or Finals for the Pistons. It had nothing to do with Milicic.
Also, how can you call Bowie a bust and not Oden when Oden’s had a worse career in terms of numbers and contribution?
/ mind = blown
February 21st, 2012 at 3:12 PM
I remember Chad Ford saying Darko would be an all-time great. Also, one of the ESPN guys picking on Durant cause he couldn’t bench 135.
February 21st, 2012 at 3:17 PM
That’s a good point. Cornerstone may be a little strong. However, if you are drafting in the top 5/10 and you draft a PG/QB/C/SS etc. you certainly hope that at the very least you plugged a hole. They are not all going to be superstars but when you are picking that high you at least hope to be able to pencil in said pick as a starter for the next 5+ years. Anything less than that is a bust IMO. Injuries are a different argument.
February 21st, 2012 at 3:19 PM
It was 185 and they should make fun of him. That is embarrassing. When you cannot physically perform a task that the majority of high school athletes can do that has to be a bit of a red flag.
February 21st, 2012 at 3:27 PM
The majority of high school athletes don’t have a 7 feet wingspan.
February 21st, 2012 at 3:31 PM
Assume you are talking about Darko. As Irvin Pankey mentioned, he is a role player on the Wolves. He was the starting center all last year and the first 20 games he played in this year. He got hurt and now he’s the back-up to Pekovic. Regardless, it’s fair to call Darko a bust for not living up to his immense talent.
My issue is assuming that the #2 pick in a draft (like Bowie) should automatically be a cornerstone player. Some drafts just plain stink, which is why I’ve always found the guaranteed slotted rookie contracts to be a horrible idea.
February 21st, 2012 at 3:44 PM
I wouldn’t compare the NFL and NBA drafts as they’re two wildly different animals, but I would agree that a Top 5 pick should be a key rotation player on an NBA team.
February 21st, 2012 at 3:49 PM
Melo top 5? GTFO.
February 21st, 2012 at 3:58 PM
He’s better than Durant. Thats the easiest one to determine because they play the same position.
February 21st, 2012 at 4:00 PM
hahaha, you’ve gotta be fuckin kidding me…
February 21st, 2012 at 4:03 PM
popularity contest aside, strictly on a basketball level, he’s better than Durant.
February 21st, 2012 at 4:05 PM
I forgot Durant put on 51 the other night because he’s “popular.”
You are a troll. Durant is a FAR better shooter and a better all around scorer, not to mention a better team mate and while neither is great defensively, Durant gives a more consistent effort on that end. Melo is great, but not top 5 and certainly not better than Durant. Don’t be silly
February 21st, 2012 at 4:12 PM
I’m a troll that knows more than you. The only advantage Durant has on Melo on offense is being a better shooter, and thats not by much. Anthony is a far better all around scorer, and a better more versatile defensive player. All that other dumb shit you’re using such as better teammate, how would you know and why would you use that in your measurement as to who is the better player? That speaks more on the lines of a popularity argument. Kick rocks.
February 21st, 2012 at 4:16 PM
Anthony is a far better all around scorer
February 21st, 2012 at 4:20 PM
Thats cool. How many games over .500 were they during his run in Denver? How many games over .500 were they in the 5 years before he was drafted?
I’m not wading full on into this cesspool because I don’t think the separation between the two is inarguable either way but this seems like an odd statement to make supporting an argument for anybody being a better player than Kevin Durant.
February 21st, 2012 at 4:21 PM
Oops, not sure how i posted that. Here what i meant:
Just less proficient at it than Durant according to every metrics/eye ball test available.
Darrell, I will admit you look good in those Knick colored glasses.
February 21st, 2012 at 4:22 PM
That’s a different argument partna
February 21st, 2012 at 4:24 PM
so?
February 21st, 2012 at 4:24 PM
False. Durant has two scoring titles and a better scoring average, but again, I’m sure that’s only because he’s “more popular” or whatever dumb shit you think.
February 21st, 2012 at 4:25 PM
I’ve talked up Melo on here long before he joined the Knicks. But if that’s the starting point you’re most comfortable in starting your POV from, have at it.
February 21st, 2012 at 4:27 PM
Yeah, “quit hiding behind numbers” you fool. Anyone can use stats, facts and logic, but Darrell just brings KNOWLEDGE, son…
February 21st, 2012 at 4:27 PM
so, he’s a better all around scorer because he has two scoring titles. So, does this mean that Shaq was a better all around scorer than Kobe when they played together because Shaq scored more points?
February 21st, 2012 at 4:29 PM
there’s hope for you yet.
February 21st, 2012 at 4:31 PM
Durant doesn’t have the post up game Melo does, but Melo doesn’t have the range and shooting ability that Durant does. And Durant can drive and score in the paint as well, so yes, Durant is the better all around scorer.
You Knicks fans are the only ones who would take Carmelo over Durant, and there are more sensible NY fans who would swap Melo for Durant in a heartbeat…
February 21st, 2012 at 4:32 PM
My bad, I thought you were just a homer. Now to I know just don’t know basketball. I appreciate the clarification.
February 21st, 2012 at 4:33 PM
Durant is a more prolific scorer than Melo, is younger, and shoots the ball more efficiently. I’d choose Durant over Melo every day of the week. Plus he’s not a head case like Melo’s known to be.
February 21st, 2012 at 4:35 PM
I’m honestly surprised any one would argue Melo is a better player. Aside from working it in the post, Durant trumps Melo in almost every conciveable category. Fuck, I’d take Dirk over Melo in a heartbeat as well. Melo might be Top 10, but Top 5? Now way.
February 21st, 2012 at 4:37 PM
You’re only correct on range. Your numbers are improving.
February 21st, 2012 at 4:38 PM
Players I’d take before Melo: Kevin Love, Deron Williams, Dirk. That leaves him around 8th or 9th, which sounds about right.
February 21st, 2012 at 4:42 PM
Dirk is a perfect comparison. He got punked out of the playoffs earlier in his career playing a Durant type of game. He won the Championship last year playing a Melo type of game. As Dallas showed last year, you can pound Durant to the point of making him strictly a 3 point shooter. Can’t do that to Melo.
February 21st, 2012 at 4:42 PM
This would be funny if you weren’t so painfully wrong about this. No one in their right mind would take Melo over Durant right now. Keep going back to your fairy tale of “Durant is only considered better because he’s more popular!!” line of thinking.
Almost as silly as your claim that Jordan is only considered great cause of Space Jam…
February 21st, 2012 at 4:43 PM
February 21st, 2012 at 4:44 PM
Kobe is a headcase. What does that have to do with measuring players?
February 21st, 2012 at 4:47 PM
I generally respect your opinions on here, even if I don’t agree with them, but I saw plenty of Nuggets games where Carmelo was frustrated to the point of chucking it. Plenty.
February 21st, 2012 at 4:48 PM
Kobe’s talent and desire to win outweighed him being a headcase. But wait, he only has 5 rings cause he is more popular than Melo, or something…
February 21st, 2012 at 5:02 PM
Being an all-around great scorer is nice, but it’s certainly not the be-all, end-all.
Hakeem had a great variety of post moves, but he wasn’t much of a jump shooter. Get him outside the paint, and you could minimize him. But good luck getting him out of the paint. Same with Shaq.
Just because Carmelo maybe has more shots in his bag doesn’t mean I want that bag. He still has a difficult time scoring points given the pure volume of shots he takes, relative to just about any elite scorer.
February 21st, 2012 at 5:40 PM
Agree that it’s a shame that Melo doesn’t take more cues from Dirk.
February 21st, 2012 at 6:05 PM
Absolutely. Adam Morrison wasn’t terrible until he got hurt. I think it was his second year. Now he is pretty much a punch line.
Or is there a double standard because he is WHITE.
You fucking Racists make me sick.
February 21st, 2012 at 6:50 PM
Kate Upton Bust>>>>Greg Oden Bust