Fab Melo is not Thabeet

[JohnBagleyValueMeal]

I have some concerns about the kid from things I've heard from people I still know at Syracuse. You can say "he's still learning" in college, but with this Celtics team we really need guys that are going to be ready to contribute to a playoff team.

From what I've heard Melo spent a lot of time at local campus bars even while he was in danger of losing his academic ineligibility. That to me is a way bigger red flag than someone's knee or back issues...

[bballdog384]

From what I've heard Melo spent a lot of time at local campus bars even while he was in danger of losing his academic ineligibility. That to me is a way bigger red flag than someone's knee or back issues...

Yeah, he did. I've seen him there many times, even during the middle of the week. This is a big issue, but I guarantee the Celtics wont let him do this in the pros. With a good organization behind him, he could improve greatly. Or not, but its way too early for people to be calling him a bust.

[bucknersrevenge]

MAx please don't be an amateur poster.

He did score 7.8 pts on avg, but during the 2nd half he avg more like 12 points. Every # got better. From first year to 2nd everything improved. His body improved. I mean , at least he is improving.

Best also is that even at 70 percent of his peak, he was a beast defender. And was chosen on the all defensive team.

If we think about it this way, there is alot to be optimistic about. The size (same skeleton as howard), speed , athleticism (will improve as he shapes his body further) are all qualities of a potential top defensive centre.

It will be easier to sleep knowing guys like LEbron and WAde can't just have their way on the inside

Really?? Does anyone really think Lebron James and Dwyane Wade are gonna be scared of Fab Melo?? That kid is gonna foul out in 5 minutes.

[The Walker Wiggle]

MAx please don't be an amateur poster.

He did score 7.8 pts on avg, but during the 2nd half he avg more like 12 points. Every # got better. From first year to 2nd everything improved. His body improved. I mean , at least he is improving.

Best also is that even at 70 percent of his peak, he was a beast defender. And was chosen on the all defensive team.

If you're going to call out other posters let's get into it. You say Melo is improving. I say he's already twenty-two years old and so compared to other draft prospects has significantly less room for improvement. I say even at 7' he was a below average rebounder compared to other center prospect (9.2 rebounds per 40 to 11.35). He fouled at a worse rate (4.5 fouls vs 3.7) in a 2-3 zone that should've helped him, but which won't help him now with Doc's complicated rotations. And he was an afterthought offensively (12.4 points vs. 18.7) with bad hands.

That's leaving aside his suspensions and his personal life.

[The Walker Wiggle]

Yeah, he did. I've seen him there many times, even during the middle of the week. This is a big issue, but I guarantee the Celtics wont let him do this in the pros.

Don't overestimate a pro team's involvement in the personal lives of its players. It is surprising given the years and dollars that teams invest in first round draft picks, but the NBA is a self-starters' league. My impression is that young players are largely left to their own devices away from the practice facility. Even a 1st pick like Oden is on record that he often had minimal interaction with coaches and the front office while struggling with depression, rehab, and alcohol.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

Yeah, he did. I've seen him there many times, even during the middle of the week. This is a big issue, but I guarantee the Celtics wont let him do this in the pros.

Don't overestimate a pro team's involvement in the personal lives of its players. It is surprising given the years and dollars that teams invest in first round draft picks, but the NBA is a self-starters' league. My impression is that young players are largely left to their own devices away from the practice facility. Even a 1st pick like Oden is on record that he often had minimal interaction with coaches and the front office while struggling with depression, rehab, and alcohol.

This is the Celtics though...

[bballdog384]

MAx please don't be an amateur poster.

He did score 7.8 pts on avg, but during the 2nd half he avg more like 12 points. Every # got better. From first year to 2nd everything improved. His body improved. I mean , at least he is improving.

Best also is that even at 70 percent of his peak, he was a beast defender. And was chosen on the all defensive team.

If you're going to call out other posters let's get into it. You say Melo is improving. I say he's already twenty-two years old and so compared to other draft prospects has significantly less room for improvement. I say even at 7' he was a below average rebounder compared to other center prospect (9.2 rebounds per 40 to 11.35). He fouled at a worse rate (4.5 fouls vs 3.7) in a 2-3 zone that should've helped him, but which won't help him now with Doc's complicated rotations. And he was an afterthought offensively (12.4 points vs. 18.7) with bad hands.

That's leaving aside his suspensions and his personal life.

I'm sorry, but you are wrong as well. In the 2-3 zone, he was in the middle for every single play, and whenever someone drove the the hoop, he was there. This contributed to many of his fouls. Also, he was actually very good at taking charges.

Fab has TONS of room for improvement. He was sooo much better his sophomore season than his first. He lost 30 pounds and went from always being a step behind to being Big East DPOY. he went from being a joke to a BEAST in the paint. In one year! He's been playing ball for only 6 years too.

I've seen him every game for the past 2 years. He has good hands, a surprisingly good jump shot, and is a great passer for a big (including multiple no-looks in the same game? We were all going nuts in the student section at Cuse).

I'm not saying he's going to be amazing, but he definitely has a chance to be a starting center in this league. He has great size, and could end up being a steal.

[The Walker Wiggle]

I've seen him every game for the past 2 years. He has good hands, a surprisingly good jump shot, and is a great passer for a big (including multiple no-looks in the same game? We were all going nuts in the student section at Cuse).

You've clearly seen a lot more of him than I have, but going by the numbers he finished ahead of only Plumlee, Drummond, and Ezeli in assists per 40, and averaged twice as many TOs as assists.

I'd be curious to know what his % on those jumpers was? That would be a real asset to his offensive chances, since no legit 2012 center prospect scored less or drew fewer free throw attempts.

I'm also genuinely curious to hear what you'd attribute his defensive rebounding woes too? If he was typically meeting opponents at the rim he couldn't have been in terrible position? I don't know.

Here's hoping you're right and I'm wrong.

[blink]

I think it is fair to say that Fab Melo is def a project.  He lacks a lot of the skills that we would love to see in a 7'-0" big man.  But you see there just aren't that many 7'0" with an NBA ready body / and some documented good def ability.  I think everyone needs to relax a bit and give the kid a chance to show what he can do in our system.

This board is just crazy sometimes.  Everyone was screaming for a big man that could defend the paint and block shots.  Well, all you guys you got what you asked for.  I think maybe lower expectations is in order.  He wasn't picked in the top 5.  If Doc can get his head on straight, get him to hustle all the time and improve his pick and roll D I will be happy as a clam.  

Hopefully KG / PP / RR / RA can all mentor him as a person as well.  He seems a bit immature and just you know, young.  But lets all not dump all over him because he isn't dwight howard the 1st year.  I see him in a year or two being a vast improvement over hollins and steamer if he can continue to improve.  If he can't, well the market for true 7' centers is still out there.  He can be a trade filler to get someone else.

[KevinConnor]

Worst pick in a longtime! He will be out of the league in two or three years. I'm very disappointed.

[bballdog384]

I've seen him every game for the past 2 years. He has good hands, a surprisingly good jump shot, and is a great passer for a big (including multiple no-looks in the same game? We were all going nuts in the student section at Cuse).

You've clearly seen a lot more of him than I have, but going by the numbers he finished ahead of only Plumlee, Drummond, and Ezeli in assists per 40, and averaged twice as many TOs as assists.

I'd be curious to know what his % on those jumpers was? That would be a real asset to his offensive chances, since no legit 2012 center prospect scored less or drew fewer free throw attempts.

I'm also genuinely curious to hear what you'd attribute his defensive rebounding woes too? If he was typically meeting opponents at the rim he couldn't have been in terrible position? I don't know.

Here's hoping you're right and I'm wrong.

One of the biggest things with Fab is that he was not a central part of the Syracuse offense last year. There was rarely a play run for him and he didn't necessarily have that many passing opportunities. He did, however, show some flashes of brilliance with some of the assists he had. So I guess it is not that he is an amazing passer right now, but he shows a decent amount of potential with his court vision.

With regards to his jump shot, he once again did not take that many. I don't know the exact numbers, but regardless we were all impressed. There was one game where he made 3 15-18 ft jumpers in a row. Also, over the last 10 games of the season he shot over 72% from the line - which is a great number for a 7 footer, even though it is a relatively small sample size (21-29).

Most of his points came off of offensive boards and lobs - which he was always athletic enough and aware enough to catch and finish.

Regarding the low rebounding numbers, I think it is very similar to Perk. If you are defending the post, you actually are not in a great position to grab rebounds. About 70% of misses go to the opposite side of the hoop, and while playing post D he was not in a position to grab any of these. I also do believe that playing in a 2-3 zone puts the on ball defender out of position for rebounds, and as a center, Fab was almost always defending on the ball. His low number of 5.8 rpg is also misleading because he only played 25 mpg (I realize you mentioned the /40 #s). Also, the two wing defenders (usually Joseph 4.9rpg, Rak Christmas 10.1 r/40min, and CJ Fair 5.5rpg) were all very athletic and grabbed most of the boards.

Based on everything I've said, you probably think that I believe Melo to be a definite steal - which is not true. I didn't want the C's to pick him, mostly because of his maturity issues. I would have gone with Moultrie, but it is way too early to consider him a bust. I guess all the negativity about him got me a little defensive about my school... Comparing him to Thabeet (which everyone on this blog was doing) is just totally unfair because they are very different players and were picked at very different positions in the draft.

Fab is definitely a project, but if he focuses on basketball and stays out of trouble he could be a solid defensive center at some point. I think he'll be like Perk, with a lower BBIQ, but with a nice medium range jumper and a better blocker.



I do think, however, that Kris Joseph was a steal and will go down as one of Danny's best picks. He'll be a solid 6th man for a long time - reminds me of James Posey or a poor man's Paul Pierce.

 

[bfrombleacher]

Hasheem has stone hands, is immobile. Fab Melo is the opposite.

[jyyzzoel]

MAx please don't be an amateur poster.

He did score 7.8 pts on avg, but during the 2nd half he avg more like 12 points. Every # got better. From first year to 2nd everything improved. His body improved. I mean , at least he is improving.

Best also is that even at 70 percent of his peak, he was a beast defender. And was chosen on the all defensive team.

If you're going to call out other posters let's get into it. You say Melo is improving. I say he's already twenty-two years old and so compared to other draft prospects has significantly less room for improvement. I say even at 7' he was a below average rebounder compared to other center prospect (9.2 rebounds per 40 to 11.35). He fouled at a worse rate (4.5 fouls vs 3.7) in a 2-3 zone that should've helped him, but which won't help him now with Doc's complicated rotations. And he was an afterthought offensively (12.4 points vs. 18.7) with bad hands.

That's leaving aside his suspensions and his personal life.

the reason fab melo is in a different boat than other players his age is that even though he's 22 years old, he's only been playing the game for 5 years... 5 years!!!!! 2007.  since KG came to boston... that's all.

im very aware of his personal issues, but you also have to ask yourself, how well can someone maintain academic eligibility in COLLEGE when he didnt even speak english 4 years ago?

the kid was a really good pick, especially considering that had the heat got him - it really wouldnt have looked good for the rest of the league.

danny picked two awesome players. they were the right picks. even over PJ3, (tony wroten's debatable though).

[JohnBagleyValueMeal]

MAx please don't be an amateur poster.

He did score 7.8 pts on avg, but during the 2nd half he avg more like 12 points. Every # got better. From first year to 2nd everything improved. His body improved. I mean , at least he is improving.

Best also is that even at 70 percent of his peak, he was a beast defender. And was chosen on the all defensive team.

If you're going to call out other posters let's get into it. You say Melo is improving. I say he's already twenty-two years old and so compared to other draft prospects has significantly less room for improvement. I say even at 7' he was a below average rebounder compared to other center prospect (9.2 rebounds per 40 to 11.35). He fouled at a worse rate (4.5 fouls vs 3.7) in a 2-3 zone that should've helped him, but which won't help him now with Doc's complicated rotations. And he was an afterthought offensively (12.4 points vs. 18.7) with bad hands.

That's leaving aside his suspensions and his personal life.

the reason fab melo is in a different boat than other players his age is that even though he's 22 years old, he's only been playing the game for 5 years... 5 years!!!!! 2007.  since KG came to boston... that's all.

im very aware of his personal issues, but you also have to ask yourself, how well can someone maintain academic eligibility in COLLEGE when he didnt even speak english 4 years ago?

the kid was a really good pick, especially considering that had the heat got him - it really wouldnt have looked good for the rest of the league.

danny picked two awesome players. they were the right picks. even over PJ3, (tony wroten's debatable though).

I wouldn't be so concerned if it was just that the kid was struggling in class because his language issues, but people that followed him in college had real questions about his dedication and discipline--there was some question about him roughing up his girlfriend, he was out at bars instead of busting his tail to stay eligible, etc--and that's in the relative protection of Syracuse. What's going to happen in a bigger city, with lots more money, and without Boeheim (who might as well be the Emperor of Syracuse) to protect him?

Kid's definitely got NBA level size and athleticism on the defensive end, but the NBA is also about commitment and maturity. He needs to grow up fast.

[Celtics18]

From the clips I've seen, Fab looks more agile, mobile, and coordinated than he's given credit for. 

I'm excited about this pick.