He grabbed 11 rebounds yesterday. He doesn't have bad hands, he is just learning about positioning for the rebound because he has only played the middle of a zone defense where his main job was to alter shots from guards driving to the hoop.
Euro NBAfan with all respect how much have you seen of his game? He has horrible hands, he did in Summer League and he did in Syracuse.
Reading a box score is great but here is some film for you.
Notice how a lot of them bounce off his hands. He does get the easy ones but is lousy in traffic.
c4, thanks for the video on melo. what i also saw in that short video was a very tall person with a fair amount of athleticism...but with no idea whatsoever on how to box out or gain a good position for rebounds.
too much of his time was spent watching the ball instead of anticipating and moving into a better position, or better yet, already being in a good position to rebound. he had to reach over the backs of opposing players a lot in that video. not a good sign i think.
in that video, melo was also pushed around quite a bit under the basket...and this was done by college players. in the nba, many pf and centers will simply push him out of position for rebounds.
melo averaged 5.8 rebounds last year in syracuse with a defensive scheme that made it more difficult for him to grab rebounds. (he averaged 2.7 OR and only 3.2 DR.) add to this the fact that he is relatively new to basketball and we can see him as a young player who has a lot to learn.
melo needs a lot, i mean a lot, of practice, a lot of personalized teaching, and in-game time to develop his skills. he also needs to be in the weight room everyday. being on the celtics bench will only provide him with practice and a weight room. being with the fabulous red claws, melo would get all of the above. i like how the celtics consider the redclaws to be a teaching team, a place to learn. melo needs that.
all in all, melo is a fine pick at the early 20s in the draft. a lottery ticket. the celtics get nothing now, but maybe, perhaps, might, could be they will have a good nba center in 2 years.
perk took 3 years to really develop and he was worth the time and wait. (averaged 3:30 and 9:05 min/g his first 2 years.)
considering what some people on this board are willing to trade to get players such as gortat, melo was worth the gamble and will be worth the wait.
if doc wants to put melo into games now, fine. its doc's call, but i think melo will stink. that other players may also currently stink doesnt change the fact that melo will stink.
collins now averages 10 minutes a game, having played in a total of 2 games. i just dont think that melo, even if given every single second of collin's floor time, would make any difference at all in the celtics win-lose record or over all play.
i believe the depressingly mediocre w-l record of the celtics is due far more to having new players on the team and lack of defensive consistency than anything else. melo wont cure these problems. he wont cure defensive problems. he wont cure rebounding problems.
Celtics Basketball
