Gallinari and Chandler mostly sharing their time at #3 averaged higher numbers than Anthony does playing solo, I posted all their stats in other thread. Denver without Anthony and with some medicore players instead made a 18-7 run to the playoffs and almost every Nugget fan was surprised how their ball movement and defense got better without "Lamelo" as they used to call their former superstar. They are simply happy they're a better team than they were before the trade plus they have more depth and plenty salary room to further improve.
I also love the idea that Melo thought the grass was greener out of Denver. Last time he went 1-9 in any stretch was in 2004. And despite all the crap he did to screw up his career (no list necessary), the media/fan backlash was never that strong here. He's gonna get ripped apart if the Knicks keep losing.
Melo had no idea how good he had it in Denver, most of us knew he gave minimal effort at times, had some off the court issues, and did not like playing within a real team system, but he was given a pass because he was our guy. In New york that **** does not fly, they expect more from their stars, and Melo will have to figure out how to give more to survive.
You have to say based on performance that Felton, Chandler, Gallo and (maybe even) Mozgov are fundamentally good defensive players. Someone coached them on defense. Karl's scheme now works because... of better players.
After 7 1/2 years, Melo is still pulling the same crap he always has, I can remember many games where the Nuggets lost and he was happy, I also remember plenty of games where he played like ****, and found a way to blame the loss of others.
It is funny how hard Knicks fans have tried to defend Melo over the last few months, one day you will realize that according to Melo it is never his fault when a team loses and all on him that they won, just as I said in my post. It has nothing to do with being bitter, but everything to do with reality.
So the Nuggets come back down to earth at some point. Down to what? Right now they are on a 67 win pace. They are doing it by defense against good playoff teams, it is not like they are cleaning up against a bunch of the bottom dwellers. It is funny and sad how underrated so many of the Nuggets players have been over the years, and right now they are proving it. Even if all they are is a 50-55 win team, they still are the same or better then they were prior to the trade.
The problem with Melo here in Denver was that everyone stood around watching him create his own shot - when the best offenses pass the ball off of pick and rolls and screens, moving it around until the open shooter is found. Watching Denver play since the trade, it's almost day and night difference - you can clearly see the rotations on defense are better, the passing is crisper, and you can't count on who is going to attack you. We have a ton of good 3 point shooters, and we can dribble penetrate with the best in the league.
Personally, I could care less if you are right or wrong because the Nuggets win/lose are now playing a brand of basketball that is very fun to watch in comparison to the stand around and watch one guy operate on offense that created no player or ball movement, which is what they were doing on offense prior to the trade. Plus, now instead of missing rotations and playing sloppy defense, they are playing some great team defense.
And more, and more, and more...