Can Fab Melo be a Deandre Jordan, Hibbert, Perk etc?

[CelticG1]

Omer Asik?

[Tr1boy]

Jordan is a perfect comparison. And we should be all happy if that is what ends up happening. Jordan has been improving every single year in the nba. Not the highest IQ, like Melo, but he plays within the system and his size, quickness, length lets him "Cheat" to get easy dunks, shot blocks, rebounds.

Melo i think though has a higher ceiling. His shooting touch looks really good, passing is good and has 2 years of college experience.

I'm not expecting much this year but by next, he should surprise many

[TripleOT]

Melo has great size and is a better than average athlete at that size.  he hasn't been playing basketball very long.  I put very little stock in his problems in college. 

In the No Boys Allowed league, you either figure it out the first couple of years on your rookie contract, or you'll end up in the D league making $500 a week.

Melo is being repped by uber-agent Arn Tellem, and is being trained by the pre-eminent basketball skills trainer, Rob McClanaghan, who has done a remarkable job with players like Westbrook, Love, KD, Horford, etc.  Rob Mac was the guy who trained Brook Lopez to become an effective low post scorer. 

If you watch the training video below, you will see that Melo has the tools to be an effective NBA center. Will he put the work in and will he have the smarts and heart for the NBA game? That's the $40 million question, which is at least how much money guys as big as Melo get on their first non-rookie deal if they can be a decent starter. DeAndre Jordan got $43m and he made like four shots outside of the paint his entire career.   Brendan Heywood got $50m and he's a bum.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8K-EKA_vwOU     

[celtsfan84]

Omer Asik?

Asik was a two-time All-Star in the Euroleague before being drafted. Also doesn't seem new to basketball.  Not quite.

Jordan is a perfect comparison. And we should be all happy if that is what ends up happening. Jordan has been improving every single year in the nba. Not the highest IQ, like Melo, but he plays within the system and his size, quickness, length lets him "Cheat" to get easy dunks, shot blocks, rebounds.

Melo i think though has a higher ceiling. His shooting touch looks really good, passing is good and has 2 years of college experience.

I'm not expecting much this year but by next, he should surprise many

DeAndre was a much better rebounder.  Rebounding is the easiest skill for a 7 footer and one that usually translates from college to the pro level.  Fab should be a much better rebounder.  Yet he is not.

Melo has great size and is a better than average athlete at that size.  he hasn't been playing basketball very long.  I put very little stock in his problems in college. 

In the No Boys Allowed league, you either figure it out the first couple of years on your rookie contract, or you'll end up in the D league making $500 a week.

Melo is being repped by uber-agent Arn Tellem, and is being trained by the pre-eminent basketball skills trainer, Rob McClanaghan, who has done a remarkable job with players like Westbrook, Love, KD, Horford, etc.  Rob Mac was the guy who trained Brook Lopez to become an effective low post scorer. 

If you watch the training video below, you will see that Melo has the tools to be an effective NBA center. Will he put the work in and will he have the smarts and heart for the NBA game? That's the $40 million question, which is at least how much money guys as big as Melo get on their first non-rookie deal if they can be a decent starter. DeAndre Jordan got $43m and he made like four shots outside of the paint his entire career.   Brendan Heywood got $50m and he's a bum.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8K-EKA_vwOU     

This all sounds really good and all, but how often do those guys actually develop into useful players? On one in 50 occassions at best?  People were just as or even more optimistic about Sene, Petro, O'Bryant, Thabeet, Diop, and countless others.  Literally countless others.

Not trying to be negative.  I love the Sullinger pick.  We've just seen the "raw big man just needs time to develop" angle play out about a million times.  It almost always ends badly.  DeAndre Jordan is the best case scenario and a highly unlikely one.

[perks-a-beast]

Melo has great size and is a better than average athlete at that size.  he hasn't been playing basketball very long.  I put very little stock in his problems in college. 

In the No Boys Allowed league, you either figure it out the first couple of years on your rookie contract, or you'll end up in the D league making $500 a week.

Melo is being repped by uber-agent Arn Tellem, and is being trained by the pre-eminent basketball skills trainer, Rob McClanaghan, who has done a remarkable job with players like Westbrook, Love, KD, Horford, etc.  Rob Mac was the guy who trained Brook Lopez to become an effective low post scorer. 


If you watch the training video below, you will see that Melo has the tools to be an effective NBA center. Will he put the work in and will he have the smarts and heart for the NBA game? That's the $40 million question, which is at least how much money guys as big as Melo get on their first non-rookie deal if they can be a decent starter. DeAndre Jordan got $43m and he made like four shots outside of the paint his entire career.   Brendan Heywood got $50m and he's a bum.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8K-EKA_vwOU     

Your post just made me very optimistic. Thanks for the insight.

[bdm860]

DeAndre was a much better rebounder.  Rebounding is the easiest skill for a 7 footer and one that usually translates from college to the pro level.  Fab should be a much better rebounder.  Yet he is not.

Like 7'2" Roy Hibbert averaging 5.9rpg for his career at Georgetown?  At the max he only got up to 6.9 in his best season, a whole 1 more rebound per game than 7'0" Melo averaged in his best year?

Hey I admit, I thought Hibbert would be a bust because of that, how could this 7'2" dude not average more rebounds than that, especially with so few quality big guys in college, but he's done very well in the NBA.  So I'll hold out faith that Melo can do something similar.

[Rondo2287]

How does playing in the Zone effect rebounding numbers?  I am looking at the season rebounding leaders for the orange and since 1999 only 2 Centers have lead the team in rebounding (Etan Thomas, Rick Jackson) all other have been forwards. 

[celtsfan84]

DeAndre was a much better rebounder.  Rebounding is the easiest skill for a 7 footer and one that usually translates from college to the pro level.  Fab should be a much better rebounder.  Yet he is not.

Like 7'2" Roy Hibbert averaging 5.9rpg for his career at Georgetown?  At the max he only got up to 6.9 in his best season, a whole 1 more rebound per game than 7'0" Melo averaged in his best year?

Hey I admit, I thought Hibbert would be a bust because of that, how could this 7'2" dude not average more rebounds than that, especially with so few quality big guys in college, but he's done very well in the NBA.  So I'll hold out faith that Melo can do something similar.

Hibbert's rebound percentages were a good amount higher and half of Fab's rebounds were offensive boards.  Makes me think he either had the benefit of playing with poorer shooters than Hibbert and may have done the Moses Malone trick of padding offensive rebound numbers with multiple putback attempts on one possession.

It is the 3 defensive rebounds per game and low rebound percentage that concern me.  Hibbert was better than him on both.  And Hibbert was more polished offensively.  I see where that comparison comes from, but I don't see it applying.

[OsirusCeltics]

Everyone's better than Perk

I think Melo would be better than Jordan, but if he wants to be as good as Hibbert, he has to work on his post moves

[Snakehead]

How does playing in the Zone effect rebounding numbers?  I am looking at the season rebounding leaders for the orange and since 1999 only 2 Centers have lead the team in rebounding (Etan Thomas, Rick Jackson) all other have been forwards. 

Was going to say this.  It hurts.  I mean you could still average a bit more than he did but when you play a zone your focus rebounding is on blocking out the man in your zone over pursuit of the ball.  The C is roaming a wide area too so he could end up blocking someone out near the foul line frequently.

[bdm860]

DeAndre was a much better rebounder.  Rebounding is the easiest skill for a 7 footer and one that usually translates from college to the pro level.  Fab should be a much better rebounder.  Yet he is not.

Like 7'2" Roy Hibbert averaging 5.9rpg for his career at Georgetown?  At the max he only got up to 6.9 in his best season, a whole 1 more rebound per game than 7'0" Melo averaged in his best year?

Hey I admit, I thought Hibbert would be a bust because of that, how could this 7'2" dude not average more rebounds than that, especially with so few quality big guys in college, but he's done very well in the NBA.  So I'll hold out faith that Melo can do something similar.

Hibbert's rebound percentages were a good amount higher and half of Fab's rebounds were offensive boards.  Makes me think he either had the benefit of playing with poorer shooters than Hibbert and may have done the Moses Malone trick of padding offensive rebound numbers with multiple putback attempts on one possession.

It is the 3 defensive rebounds per game and low rebound percentage that concern me.  Hibbert was better than him on both.  And Hibbert was more polished offensively.  I see where that comparison comes from, but I don't see it applying.

Where are you getting your rebound percentages from?

Using draftexpress's comprehensive stats, Melo was grabbing 21.5% of his teams offensive rebounds and 14.2% of his teams defensive rebounds.

Hibbert's senior year he was grabbing 22.4% of offensive rebounds, and 16.5% of defensive rebounds.

Those aren't a good amount higher, especially when Hibbert was 2 inches taller and a much more polished player.

[CelticG1]

Omer Asik?

Asik was a two-time All-Star in the Euroleague before being drafted. Also doesn't seem new to basketball.  Not quite.

Jordan is a perfect comparison. And we should be all happy if that is what ends up happening. Jordan has been improving every single year in the nba. Not the highest IQ, like Melo, but he plays within the system and his size, quickness, length lets him "Cheat" to get easy dunks, shot blocks, rebounds.

Melo i think though has a higher ceiling. His shooting touch looks really good, passing is good and has 2 years of college experience.

I'm not expecting much this year but by next, he should surprise many

DeAndre was a much better rebounder.  Rebounding is the easiest skill for a 7 footer and one that usually translates from college to the pro level.  Fab should be a much better rebounder.  Yet he is not.

Melo has great size and is a better than average athlete at that size.  he hasn't been playing basketball very long.  I put very little stock in his problems in college. 

In the No Boys Allowed league, you either figure it out the first couple of years on your rookie contract, or you'll end up in the D league making $500 a week.

Melo is being repped by uber-agent Arn Tellem, and is being trained by the pre-eminent basketball skills trainer, Rob McClanaghan, who has done a remarkable job with players like Westbrook, Love, KD, Horford, etc.  Rob Mac was the guy who trained Brook Lopez to become an effective low post scorer. 

If you watch the training video below, you will see that Melo has the tools to be an effective NBA center. Will he put the work in and will he have the smarts and heart for the NBA game? That's the $40 million question, which is at least how much money guys as big as Melo get on their first non-rookie deal if they can be a decent starter. DeAndre Jordan got $43m and he made like four shots outside of the paint his entire career.   Brendan Heywood got $50m and he's a bum.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8K-EKA_vwOU     

This all sounds really good and all, but how often do those guys actually develop into useful players? On one in 50 occassions at best?  People were just as or even more optimistic about Sene, Petro, O'Bryant, Thabeet, Diop, and countless others.  Literally countless others.

Not trying to be negative.  I love the Sullinger pick.  We've just seen the "raw big man just needs time to develop" angle play out about a million times.  It almost always ends badly.  DeAndre Jordan is the best case scenario and a highly unlikely one.

I said he could be an Asik type player. Good defender and shot blocker.

If we are going off of right now than he isnt even an NBA player.

[fairweatherfan]

How does playing in the Zone effect rebounding numbers?  I am looking at the season rebounding leaders for the orange and since 1999 only 2 Centers have lead the team in rebounding (Etan Thomas, Rick Jackson) all other have been forwards. 

Was going to say this.  It hurts.  I mean you could still average a bit more than he did but when you play a zone your focus rebounding is on blocking out the man in your zone over pursuit of the ball.  The C is roaming a wide area too so he could end up blocking someone out near the foul line frequently.

The zone is generally designed to make teams chuck 3-pointers, which tend to result in long rebounds that Cs aren't likely to get.  If there's a play at the basket, the C is almost always responsible for challenging the shot, which again hurts rebounding.  Even the occasional high post jumper usually calls for the 5 to run out at it. 

Melo's not a great rebounder but the zone absolutely cost him a lot of rebound chances.

[hardlyyardley]

Fab Melo today reminds me so much of the young Kendrick Perkins of 2003, only a little older and not as fat....so Oklahoma City has a Perkins at 2/3 of his mobility from 2008 and we have a player to develop in Melo, a hopefully healthy Jeff Green and most likely one of the first three picks in the second round next year.....what am I missing ?

[celtsfan84]

Omer Asik?

Asik was a two-time All-Star in the Euroleague before being drafted. Also doesn't seem new to basketball.  Not quite.

Jordan is a perfect comparison. And we should be all happy if that is what ends up happening. Jordan has been improving every single year in the nba. Not the highest IQ, like Melo, but he plays within the system and his size, quickness, length lets him "Cheat" to get easy dunks, shot blocks, rebounds.

Melo i think though has a higher ceiling. His shooting touch looks really good, passing is good and has 2 years of college experience.

I'm not expecting much this year but by next, he should surprise many

DeAndre was a much better rebounder.  Rebounding is the easiest skill for a 7 footer and one that usually translates from college to the pro level.  Fab should be a much better rebounder.  Yet he is not.

Melo has great size and is a better than average athlete at that size.  he hasn't been playing basketball very long.  I put very little stock in his problems in college.  

In the No Boys Allowed league, you either figure it out the first couple of years on your rookie contract, or you'll end up in the D league making $500 a week.

Melo is being repped by uber-agent Arn Tellem, and is being trained by the pre-eminent basketball skills trainer, Rob McClanaghan, who has done a remarkable job with players like Westbrook, Love, KD, Horford, etc.  Rob Mac was the guy who trained Brook Lopez to become an effective low post scorer.  

If you watch the training video below, you will see that Melo has the tools to be an effective NBA center. Will he put the work in and will he have the smarts and heart for the NBA game? That's the $40 million question, which is at least how much money guys as big as Melo get on their first non-rookie deal if they can be a decent starter. DeAndre Jordan got $43m and he made like four shots outside of the paint his entire career.   Brendan Heywood got $50m and he's a bum.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8K-EKA_vwOU    

This all sounds really good and all, but how often do those guys actually develop into useful players? On one in 50 occassions at best?  People were just as or even more optimistic about Sene, Petro, O'Bryant, Thabeet, Diop, and countless others.  Literally countless others.

Not trying to be negative.  I love the Sullinger pick.  We've just seen the "raw big man just needs time to develop" angle play out about a million times.  It almost always ends badly.  DeAndre Jordan is the best case scenario and a highly unlikely one.

I said he could be an Asik type player. Good defender and shot blocker.

If we are going off of right now than he isnt even an NBA player.

I suppose he could be. You might be right. But Asik is a very good rebounder too.

DeAndre was a much better rebounder.  Rebounding is the easiest skill for a 7 footer and one that usually translates from college to the pro level.  Fab should be a much better rebounder.  Yet he is not.

Like 7'2" Roy Hibbert averaging 5.9rpg for his career at Georgetown?  At the max he only got up to 6.9 in his best season, a whole 1 more rebound per game than 7'0" Melo averaged in his best year?

Hey I admit, I thought Hibbert would be a bust because of that, how could this 7'2" dude not average more rebounds than that, especially with so few quality big guys in college, but he's done very well in the NBA.  So I'll hold out faith that Melo can do something similar.

Hibbert's rebound percentages were a good amount higher and half of Fab's rebounds were offensive boards.  Makes me think he either had the benefit of playing with poorer shooters than Hibbert and may have done the Moses Malone trick of padding offensive rebound numbers with multiple putback attempts on one possession.

It is the 3 defensive rebounds per game and low rebound percentage that concern me.  Hibbert was better than him on both.  And Hibbert was more polished offensively.  I see where that comparison comes from, but I don't see it applying.

Where are you getting your rebound percentages from?

Using draftexpress's comprehensive stats, Melo was grabbing 21.5% of his teams offensive rebounds and 14.2% of his teams defensive rebounds.

Hibbert's senior year he was grabbing 22.4% of offensive rebounds, and 16.5% of defensive rebounds.

Those aren't a good amount higher, especially when Hibbert was 2 inches taller and a much more polished player.

Between two and three percent is actually pretty high for a difference in defensive rebounding.  And Hibbert being taller is an asset. And Hibbert had a better offensive game.