It's great and all that all these guys are giving their expert opinions on Melo

[crimson_stallion]

Rondo
AB
Melo
Love
Hump

Is this a contender?

I disagree.

If you have Rondo, Bradley, Melo and Love then IMHO you are a contender, no matter who your center is.

I find it highly unlikely that this lineup would not be able to take team to a top 4 finish in a weak Eastern Conference.  What other team in the East (not called Miami) has a two man combo that can put up as many points as Love and Melo?

More important is how those two guys would work together.  Melo draws so much offensive attention every night - he is practically going to be double-teamed every time he touches the ball.  That leaves a LOT of extra room for Love to operate. 

Plus I do think Love would work well with Rondo, as I think he'd be more effective catching the ball and scoring (much like KG later in his career) then  he would be at creating his own offense.

Yes, defense would be a weakness for sure.  I guess thequestion mark here is whether that lineup can score enough points to offset the poor defense (Bradley is really the only above average defender on that roster).  Melo and Love can obviously score, but what abotu Rondo, Bradley and Hump?  I don't see any one of those guys scoring much more than 15 PPG, and neitehr Rondo or Hump is really much of a threat stretching the floor.

[LatterDayCelticsfan]

Until Melo starts turning every time he touches the ball into another iso. :-P Can you imagine Rondo and Love standing around helplessly as Melo goes 1 on 1 with Lebron for like the 5th possession in a row?

[fitzhickey]

Until Melo starts turning every time he touches the ball into another iso. :-P Can you imagine Rondo and Love standing around helplessly as Melo goes 1 on 1 with Lebron for like the 5th possession in a row?

I can't because I don't think Melo is foolish enough to do that.

[RJ87]

Until Melo starts turning every time he touches the ball into another iso. :-P Can you imagine Rondo and Love standing around helplessly as Melo goes 1 on 1 with Lebron for like the 5th possession in a row?

I can't because I don't think Melo is foolish enough to do that.

Do people forget Melo played with Chauncey Billups? And that team went to the conference finals? It's not like he's not capable of sharing the ball. When he plays with Team USA, he plays a ton off the ball. His iso play is a direct result of the type of teammates he has - the Knicks's second option his JR Smith. JR SMITH. Put him with other talented offensive players, he'll share the ball.

[BballTim]

Until Melo starts turning every time he touches the ball into another iso. :-P Can you imagine Rondo and Love standing around helplessly as Melo goes 1 on 1 with Lebron for like the 5th possession in a row?

  I'd hope he'd rather take the relatively easy shot he'd have when he gets a pass than work for the contested iso shot.

[hwangjini_1]

Until Melo starts turning every time he touches the ball into another iso. :-P Can you imagine Rondo and Love standing around helplessly as Melo goes 1 on 1 with Lebron for like the 5th possession in a row?

and if history holds true, this is exactly what would happen. that is my major concern about possibly adding melo, his propensity for hero-ball and unwillingness to sacrifice his game for the team on a steady basis.

now then, maybe melo joins the celtics has an epiphany ala pierce and sees the beauty of team ball, transforming his game to include more passing, defense, etc. maybe he has only played melo-ball since his team mates are awful and he had no choice. maybe stevens can show him the wisdom of changing his game.

if so, then sign me up for getting melo on board. he is a great, great scorer and athlete.

but that is the key question, isnt it? will melo change who he has been for most of his career?

[D.o.s.]

Until Melo starts turning every time he touches the ball into another iso. :-P Can you imagine Rondo and Love standing around helplessly as Melo goes 1 on 1 with Lebron for like the 5th possession in a row?

and if history holds true, this is exactly what would happen. that is my major concern about possibly adding melo, his propensity for hero-ball and unwillingness to sacrifice his game for the team on a steady basis.

now then, maybe melo joins the celtics has an epiphany ala pierce and sees the beauty of team ball, transforming his game to include more passing, defense, etc. maybe he has only played melo-ball since his team mates are awful and he had no choice. maybe stevens can show him the wisdom of changing his game.

if so, then sign me up for getting melo on board. he is a great, great scorer and athlete.

but that is the key question, isnt it? will melo change who he has been for most of his career?

If his play in the Olympics is any indication, there shouldn't be much of a problem.

[KGs Knee]

Until Melo starts turning every time he touches the ball into another iso. :-P Can you imagine Rondo and Love standing around helplessly as Melo goes 1 on 1 with Lebron for like the 5th possession in a row?

and if history holds true, this is exactly what would happen. that is my major concern about possibly adding melo, his propensity for hero-ball and unwillingness to sacrifice his game for the team on a steady basis.

now then, maybe melo joins the celtics has an epiphany ala pierce and sees the beauty of team ball, transforming his game to include more passing, defense, etc. maybe he has only played melo-ball since his team mates are awful and he had no choice. maybe stevens can show him the wisdom of changing his game.

if so, then sign me up for getting melo on board. he is a great, great scorer and athlete.

but that is the key question, isnt it? will melo change who he has been for most of his career?

If his play in the Olympics is any indication, there shouldn't be much of a problem.

Yeah, I don't believe for one second that if you put Melo alongside other star scorers he would still hog the ball. He just hasn't ever had that in the NBA. AI and Amare were not the players they previously were before they teamed up with Melo.

Also, despite the fact that people still have this impression of Rondo being a poor leader, the fact is, NBA players respect him immensely. Melo and Love have seen a Rondo control a championship level offense, and be able to distribute the ball appropriately to HOF players. I think they would definitely follow his lead.