Fab Melo can really run...

[Sketch5]

He made some really nice passes as well. One was were he went to shoot jumped and found a cutter. He's raw but for only playing for 6 year, 2 at the college level, the guy isn't half bad.

I think some of his problem is he's got so much info coming at his he's trying to apply it all at the same time. Im sure at some point Doc will say, you need to do this and this only. He will, and once he gets it were its second nature, Doc will come back to him with some thing else.

[Celtics4ever]

He has terrible hands.

aye, but hands can be improved with hard work.  A few month of it and it should be ok.  If I can see it I know Doc can and they will work on it.

[Neurotic Guy]

journeyman center at best.

That's a definitive assessment of a very raw player.  Even dilligent viewers of Syracuse games haven't (by many accounts) seen enough to have a definitive judgment.  I think all we can do right now is look at basic skills and physical attributes. He is big and tall (at least we know that for sure).  He can already block shots at a high level. He runs the floor pretty well and he can supposedly shoot a mid-level jump shot (though he is reluctant to do so).

He MAY be turn out to be a bust or journeyman.  But how in the world could anyone know his ceiling at this point?  Journeyman may be correct.  It may not.  We won't know for a few years.

[gar]

Poor guy can set pics and show on D; but his rebounding, passing and offense (post and shooting) are horrible. Can't believe we took him so high. He will be useless for at least 2-3 seasons if at all.

Yes he can run; but they had to teach him how to do even that.

[Celtics4ever]

I think he is raw.  We might have something in three years, seven footers don't grow on trees.   Boy, Mason Plumlee looked good.

[rickyfan3.0...]

He's not going to be good. Guys who don't produce in college (which he did not) most certainly do not produce on the pro level.

His ceiling is Steimsma. He'll probably have a similar career path to Sean Williams.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

He's not going to be good. Guys who don't produce in college (which he did not) most certainly do not produce on the pro level.

His ceiling is Steimsma. He'll probably have a similar career path to Sean Williams.

He had 4 blocks a game in the Big East. For what his role on this team is gonna be, that's production.

I disagree that his ceiling is Greg. He's playing with nothing but basics and yet he looks like he can play. Imagine if the coaching gets to him and he learns more.

[Boris Badenov]

I remember Perkins looking pretty lost out there initially.

I know that Melo is older, but there's the countervailing factor of his starting to play so late.

So, there's reason to believe he still has lots of room to improve.

But yeah. Anyone who looks overwhelmed by summer league play is nowhere near ready to step on the NBA court.

[csfansince60s]

I remember Perkins looking pretty lost out there initially.

I know that Melo is older, but there's the countervailing factor of his starting to play so late.

So, there's reason to believe he still has lots of room to improve.

Agree...There's a lot of room for improvement. But the raw materials are there.

He's more athletic than Perk, has better hands than Perk, can block shots better than Perk and passes better than Perk.

These are pretty solid tools to work with.

Now if he has 3/4 of Perk's work ethic and commitment, we're gonna really have something.

[Reyquila]

We wont play him for running; He has to play basketball

[vjcsmoke]

A more athletic Perkins would be great.  Not sure Melo is as nasty as Perks on D.  But you can't teach his size and agility.  Big men take some time to develop so we'll see.  Honestly, a center doen't have to have that much offensive game.  Melo just has to learn a couple of post moves that leverage his height advantage and just be a beast on the defensive end. 

I am concerned about rebounding though.  IMO that is a must skill that the Celtics lacked last year that killed them.  Their defense would hold only to give up offensive rebounds and give the other team another chance to score.

I remember Perkins looking pretty lost out there initially.

I know that Melo is older, but there's the countervailing factor of his starting to play so late.

So, there's reason to believe he still has lots of room to improve.

Agree...There's a lot of room for improvement. But the raw materials are there.

He's more athletic than Perk, has better hands than Perk, can block shots better than Perk and passes better than Perk.

These are pretty solid tools to work with.

Now if he has 3/4 of Perk's work ethic and commitment, we're gonna really have something.

[wahz]

He's not going to be good. Guys who don't produce in college (which he did not) most certainly do not produce on the pro level.

His ceiling is Steimsma. He'll probably have a similar career path to Sean Williams.

He had 4 blocks a game in the Big East. For what his role on this team is gonna be, that's production.

I disagree that his ceiling is Greg. He's playing with nothing but basics and yet he looks like he can play. Imagine if the coaching gets to him and he learns more.

Your right,in my opinion. I just want to make clear that is 4 blocks PER game. He had ten in one game.

Steimsma wasn't good in college and he has improved tremendously. Guys can and do improve

[ctrey]

Lets take a breath. Now I must admit I was not thrilled with the Melo pick. I felt that even though we needed a center, there were other players at 22 we should have chosen. That said, we should wait and see. At 22, if we get a player that ends up like Perk that is great. Melo is going to need a lot of training but you have to be very impressed with his progression from year one to two. He anchored one of the best defensive teams in the nation and when he got suspended they fell apart. I am willing to take a wait and see approach on this. Centers normally take a few years to develop so we should be patient. If he ends up giving us 10 points, 7 boards and 2 blocks along with tough D in general while playing around 30 minutes a game in a few years I would call that an awesome 22nd pick. If he competes and works hard, that is quite possible.

[TripleOT]

He's not going to be good. Guys who don't produce in college (which he did not) most certainly do not produce on the pro level.

His ceiling is Steimsma. He'll probably have a similar career path to Sean Williams.

The NBA all time leader in blocks per game only was able to get on the court for 300 minutes for his college team in two seasons.    There certainly are precedents for specialists like shot blockers to flourish the NBA despite skimpy college production. 

I don't know how posters can look at a guy for 40 minutes of playing time and make all these grand pronouncements either way. - Melo's going to be good or Melo won't even be able to do this or that.

I look at a young big man and try to figure out if he has the size and tools to be an NBA player.  How he actually plays in his third summer league doesn't weigh too much in my evaluation. I look to see how competitive he is, and how hard he's playing. 

On all these counts, Melo looks good. 

Regarding Melo's hands, a couple of times in yesterday, he was thrown passes that are very difficult for most 7 footers to handle.  One he scooped up flawlessly, but the one Sully threw him he couldn't handle.  To be fair,  he would have needed a first baseman's glove for it. 

He's shown court awareness with a couple of deft touch passes.  He's shown that he can get across the lane and block and contest shots from guys that he isn't covering.  He bodied up Plumlee as a low post defender a couple of times.  These are all good signs.   

 

[nickagneta]

Can someone name for me the last center that couldn't average 10 PPG or 6 RPG in college that became anything but a bust in the NBA?

Even just one player?