Carmelo Anthony Is In The Twilight Of his Career

The Garden '95

Benchwarmer
I remember when Melo used to be a slasher first and he played above the rim and relied on his outside game when the defense sagged off to stop his drives. Carmelo used to be consistently a top 5 scorer while shooting the ball at a 47-48% clip. Now he has turned into basically a mid range jump shooter from triple threat position and he doesnt seem able to finish as well as he used to. He constantly gets blocked in the paint and it seems he cannot score as easily as he used to, and has to rely on way to many tough contested shots in order to score at a decent rate.

Melo used to be DOMINANT on the perimeter,UNGUARDABLE but now i find myself second guessing his shots as i am not as confident in him anymore, if i wouldve known we wouldve had this melo in the trade i wouldve never agreed to it but whats so shocking is that he is only 27 or 28 and his athletic ability from 4-5 years ago is completely drained, dwayne wade got stronger and overall more athletic and lebron has bulked up and become a new specimen but melo seems to either be out of shape or athletically drained as of right now as shown by his frequent injury problems, maybe he is just slowing down faster than anticipated

Here are his career scoring numbers:
THE RISE:
03-04: 21.0 PPG, 42.6 FG%
04-05: 20.8 PPG, 43.1 FG%
05-06: 26.5 PPG, 48.1 FG%
06-07: 28.9 PPG, 47.6 FG%
07-08: 25.7 PPG, 49.2 FG%

THE DECLINE:
08-09: 22.8 PPG, 44.3 FG%
09-10: 28.2 PPG, 45.8 FG%
10-11: 25.6 PPG, 45.5 FG%
11-12: 22.3 PPG, 39.9 FG%

(He is becoming a volume scorer each year after 07-08 season)


As you can see 06,07,08 were his "PRIME" years yet he was only 21-24 years old,as you can see he was trending upward into shooting 50% from the field and then suddenly without reason his FG% just dropped to a mediocre 44%. Why did this suddenly happen to one of the most if not the most consistent perimeter player in the league? And normally you can blame it on just having a slightly injury filled down season but why has he never shot above 45% from the field after that season? Was his injury so bad it took away his athletic ability? Maybe.

Something is not right with melo and if we had the 06-08 melo this team would be great as of right now.No more do we see melo slam dunks in traffic and when they do happen their rare sightings, never do we see melo go in the post on a regular basis anymore and dominate the smaller players. He isnt right and it seems he is trending downward as the seasons go by and he is only 27.

Melo is starting to slow down as a scorer and its obvious that his abilities are being diminished slowly but surely. He isnt as dynamic of a scorer anymore and is very streaky and erratic which isnt something the "Best Scorer" in the league is.

Look at these two videos:

#1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MszwRMCFhrU



#2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlQjcU9o7QE&feature=related


In video #1 Melo has more power on his drives and is more aggressive looking for contact but in video #2 his is more a finesses player.If you didnt know who he was you couldnt guess that the person in video 1 and 2 are the same person.

Bottom line is Melo reached a peak at a really young age and now it seems he started to decline right after that upward trend. That doesnt happen for no reason especially a superstar unless he had a major injury that he hasnt revealed because the melo we are seeing in MSG is not the one i was expecting at all.
 
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iJoe

Rotation player
Meh... I don't see that much of a difference honestly...

Melo was never a freakish athlete. He just has that rare combination of strength, soft touch and shooting that makes him impossible to guard one on one. He's got all the moves and tools to make him an efficient player for a long long time. Guy has the complete package on offense. Even Kobe said Melo has the most complete offense in the league.

All of his problems really stem from the mental side, though I'm sure injuries have something to do with it as well. He's just not a guy who has the drive to do it every single game. He's developed so many bad habits from mediocre teams as well. Its gonna be a tough process for him.

Amare and him are a terrible terrible fit in general. They both need a lot of time to adjust and we need to have some patience. At least we can look forward to see if Lin can make the transition easier.
 

NYCLakerfan

Rotation player
He is not in the twilight of his career come on now, he's been injured and he can't adjust and play through his injuries like Kobe. Before he was injured on an individual level he was playing great basketball he'll get a week or two to rest and most likely be back to normal.

I mean cmon dude is like 28 and he's in twilight.
 

Eman

Benchwarmer
He's still in the prime of his career. At least until he hits around 31. Then his numbers will of course start to drop significantly. Right now his numbers are down, but that can be attributed to a number of different factors.
 

Knicks4Life_1985

★The Floor General★
He is in a slump and after he gets back from injury and is scoring people are going to be on his nuts again. Story of NY Knicks
 

nuckles2k2

Superstar
When you're in a system that's built around the philosophy of score inside and get to the free throw line....your percentages are going to be higher. Shooting 47-49% as a wing player is high as shit, living around 45% (which he's at for the majority of your "decline years") is what you can realistically ask for from a wing who also shoots the ball, instead of driving and leaping all day like Wade and LBJ.


Which team leads the NBA in 706 free throws attempted, lead the NBA with 51.6 points in the paint, and are 2nd in the league in adjusted field goal percentage at .520?

I'll give you a clue: Danilo Gallinari now plays for that team, shooting a higher field goal percentage and taking a few more free throws than he's had at any other point in his career.

Coincidence?
 

Crazy⑧s

Evacuee
When you're in a system that's built around the philosophy of score inside and get to the free throw line....your percentages are going to be higher. Shooting 47-49% as a wing player is high as shit, living around 45% (which he's at for the majority of your "decline years") is what you can realistically ask for from a wing who also shoots the ball, instead of driving and leaping all day like Wade and LBJ.


Which team leads the NBA in 706 free throws attempted, leads the NBA with 51.6 points in the paint, and are 2nd in the league in adjusted field goal percentage at .520?

I'll give you a clue: Danilo Gallinari now plays for that team, shooting a higher field goal percentage and taking a few more free throws than he's had at any other point in his career.

Coincidence?

Nice and very astute post.

Backed up by facts courtesy of research and understanding.

These are the type of posts you get from a top notch poster.

Stick around and continue to expound, nuckles2k2.
 

fender0577

Rotation player
When you're in a system that's built around the philosophy of score inside and get to the free throw line....your percentages are going to be higher. Shooting 47-49% as a wing player is high as shit, living around 45% (which he's at for the majority of your "decline years") is what you can realistically ask for from a wing who also shoots the ball, instead of driving and leaping all day like Wade and LBJ.


Which team leads the NBA in 706 free throws attempted, lead the NBA with 51.6 points in the paint, and are 2nd in the league in adjusted field goal percentage at .520?

I'll give you a clue: Danilo Gallinari now plays for that team, shooting a higher field goal percentage and taking a few more free throws than he's had at any other point in his career.

Coincidence?
Preach on brotha, 45% from the floor, from a player, who shoots mainly jump shots are declining numbers?Some people in here are insane.
 

iSaYughh

Starter
^^ I agree with Nuckle's post, except the example of Gallo, which is slightly erroneous; or at least not apt to the point at hand.

And I can't resist, since I have a Gallo fetish:

The current play of Gallo, isn't a contrast to his play with us.

The current play of Gallo has been a natural continuation of the same style and effectiveness of play that he established with us.

Yes, he had a horrible fluke injury as a rookie, went 3pt manic for a while (granted, his 3pt % was elite then), but he only then trended more and more onto the same trajectory that he now finds himself at:

a hyper-efficient shooter, and slasher.

This was always his bread and butter, too, in Europe -- his 3pt shooting and range was always a huge draw, but his skills as a slasher and smart scorer were always there...even though so many hated on him out of ignorance, because they didn't like what they "saw", and their "eyes" told them something else.

Gallo will obviously continue to improve. His 3pt shooting this year has been underwheling, though his % is getting back up to it's probable mean: .360.

**Gallo also still has plenty of nights he jacks of 7+ 3's, and makes only one or two.
 

Starks

Starter
Twilight is way to strong a word. Twighlight is Ewing in Orlando, Pippen in Houston, Penny in Phoenix, etc.

Scoring and FG% are easy to pin point but theres many other facets to melo that show how he can dominate the game. I will say this though, he's already showing weight issues so expect him to bloat up as big as Charles when he retires.
 

pat

Starter
Twilight is way to strong a word. Twighlight is Ewing in Orlando, Pippen in Houston, Penny in Phoenix, etc.

Scoring and FG% are easy to pin point but theres many other facets to melo that show how he can dominate the game. I will say this though, he's already showing weight issues so expect him to bloat up as big as Charles when he retires.

Great to see you around here. Welcome back. Hopefully he will develop these weight issues once he retires and not now. Think Eddy Curry.
 

portega1968

El Cacique
some fans are in the twilight of their mental health

Melo needs to focus on strengthening his core and bringing down the fat% on his body, but other than that, he is primed for great moments!!!
 

abcd

KnicksonLIN.com
The reason why Anthony's field goal percentage has dropped is because he's shooting more 3 pointers.

Why is he taking more three pointers? Blame Antoni.

The Antoni SSOL requires you to score ASAP so that you can then get the ball back and score again.

Danilo Gallinari also shot 41% in the Antoni system. Look at him now.
 
some fans are in the twilight of their mental health

Melo needs to focus on strengthening his core and bringing down the fat% on his body, but other than that, he is primed for great moments!!!

Yeah I noticed that too, his head always looks fat.

Nutrition really shouldn't be a problem for him though, he could just ask for a diet plan and let his chef cook 3 meals a day in accordance with the plan.

This is something Amar'e does very well, he obviously follows some type of diet plan and his chef 'Maxiell' or whatever dude's name is (saw pics of him on Amar'es Twitter) cooks for him.

Amar'e is always ripped at about 8% body fat.

I guess Melo is somewhere between 14% and 18% true bodyfat (caliper method, not these inaccurate bodyfat-scales).

Come on Melo - it's not that hard, just leave the junk food out and get a decent chef who'll cook a lot of chicken, fish and lean meat for you with veggies, good fats (like olive oil) and the occasional fist size portion of pasta or rice.

I did it myself once, went from 21% bodyfat to 9,8% in 10 weeks and I didn't have a chef, had to cook every meal myself :thumbsup:
 

portega1968

El Cacique
Yeah I noticed that too, his head always looks fat.

Nutrition really shouldn't be a problem for him though, he could just ask for a diet plan and let his chef cook 3 meals a day in accordance with the plan.

This is something Amar'e does very well, he obviously follows some type of diet plan and his chef 'Maxiell' or whatever dude's name is (saw pics of him on Amar'es Twitter) cooks for him.

Amar'e is always ripped at about 8% body fat.

I guess Melo is somewhere between 14% and 18% true bodyfat (caliper method, not these inaccurate bodyfat-scales).

Come on Melo - it's not that hard, just leave the junk food out and get a decent chef who'll cook a lot of chicken, fish and lean meat for you with veggies, good fats (like olive oil) and the occasional fist size portion of pasta or rice.

I did it myself once, went from 21% bodyfat to 9,8% in 10 weeks and I didn't have a chef, had to cook every meal myself :thumbsup:

As a matter of fact, Carmelo eats very healthy and, according to this website (which may be more marketing than fact, who knows) trains hard:

http://www.muscleprodigy.com/carmelo-anthony-workout-arcl-1109.html

However, something seems wrong... he just doesn't look as cut as Amare, Wade, Lebron, Shump, etc
 
[FONT=verdana,geneva,sans-serif]Carmelo Anthony is not only one of the best basketball players in the world but also one of the hardest working. At 6’8, 236 lbs. and 8% bodyfat Anthony is a “genetic freak” according to his strength and conditioning coach, Stephen Hess. Hess trains with Anthony day in and day out to prepare him for the long and strenuous NBA season.[/FONT]
This article has to be either BS or just old. There is no way he's at 8% body fat. He definitely needs to get some tips from STAT on lowering his body fat%, he looks chubby and not cut. You sir get a rep point, I'm glad somebody finally mentioned his body fat%.
 

Forrest17

Rotation player
Melo needs to start taking better care of himself or else I have a feeling like hes going to keep getting injured like this.

Everyone is worried about Amar'e getting injured but honestly at this point I have more faith that Amar'e will stay heathy because he seems much more dedicated to keeping his body in the best shape possible.
 
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