Am I the only one that wasn't overly impressed with the block?
I mean compared to just last year with Stiemsma? That kid had some of the dirtiest blocks I've seen in a long time on this team (and very rarely sent out of bounds).
I was more impressed with that block than with most of the ones we saw from Steimsma.
The impressive thing about this one is that Sullinger was the primary defender on that play - he jumped to contest the shot initially, but didn't get high enough to affect it. Melo could have easilly taken on a "CBF im a rookie" attitude and just left it to Sully but instead he came over to help and practically jumped OVER Sulllinger to swat that thing.
Also it wasn't just a one off, his goaltend in the first quarter was just as emphatic and was a mere half second away from being a legit block. That's two MONSTER blocks in only 8 minutes of playing time...and that impresses me!
Don't get me wrong Greg was a hell of a shot blocker, but he wasn't super-atheletic and never got crazy elevation, he typically just got himself in good positions and then defended with his hands and body. The plus side is that he got a lot of blocks this way, but the down side is he almost always got just as many fouls (if not more) as he did blocks. I never found that he was a very good one-on-one defender, and any time he didn't block opponents shots he was usually either letting them score or sending them to the line.
Looking at Melo he seems to play defense with his feet. There was a play there on defense where he just got into position, stood his ground, and raised his arms in the air. His reach was so insanely long that the defender had no hope in hell of shooting it over him , and because he was in position and not swiping at the ball there was no foul call. That is
smart defense, and to see that excites me even more than the block becuase it means he doesn't just block shots, he's a legitimate low post defender.
I honestly believe that defensively he is NBA ready
right now. It's only his offense that clearly needs a LOT of work.
Also, anyone concerned about the Courtney Lee disappearing act?
Yes and no.
I wasn't concerned about the missed shots - we all know Lee can shoot, and he's proven that over the last several seasons. I'm pretty sure he just had an off game, and it could also have to do with pre-season rust that's yet to be shaken off.
I also thought his decision making was sound. I thought he took good shots and looked solid handling the ball, the shots just didn't go in.
I was more concerned on defense where I thought he played with inconsistent effort. At some points he looked agile and quick footed on Defense, while at other times opponents seemed to go straight past him like he was standing still.
I don't think he's ever going to be an all-star, but he is athletic and seems fairly fundamentally sound. If he can play defense with more consistency (and his shots start falling) then I think he'll be an important part of the team.
It's so funny right now looking at this team with all the talent we have, and then thinking back to our past teams when the second-string guys we depended on were guys like Keeyon Dooling, Von Wafer, Brian Scalabrine and Leon Powe.
On any one of those teams a guy like Courtney Lee would have been our #1 scoring option off the bench, yet right once Avery returns I see him potentialy being our 4th option off the bench (behind Terry, Green and possible Sullinger if he keeps playing this way).
Our depth is just insane.