Fab Melo working hard to improve his game

[green147]

I haven't been the biggest Fab fan, but I respect a good work ethic in any Celtics player. Hopefully he can get better and earn some minutes.

Steve Kyler @stevekylerNBA about 15 minutes ago
Celtic big man Fab Melo is in the gym... Coaches say he's been working hard 10 straight days, very motivated.

vine.co/v/hMgzt1iJVd3

[green147]

vine.co/v/hMgzt1iJVd3

[green147]

https://vine.co/v/hMgKMtnl6wz

He made a jumper! Boring say at work....

[oldutican]

Not being a hard worker was a rap on him at Syracuse. You can't teach height, and with hard work he could become a serviceable player.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Not being a hard worker was a rap on him at Syracuse. You can't teach height, and with hard work he could become a serviceable player.

Where are you getting this info from? From all I've heard is that he's been a hard worker, including Syracuse.

[Global Celtic]

Fab Melo simply isn't good at basketball.

[CelticG1]

Fab Melo simply isn't good at basketball.

You don't necessarily need to be good at basketball to be good at basketball 

[PhoSita]

Even that first video with him "setting a pick" and rolling to the basket doesn't exactly instill confidence . . . he just doesn't look very coordinated or decisive in his movements.

He may be a very hard worker, but it seems like what Fab is lacking most of all is just basic physical coordination.

As others have indicated, though, that's not an absolute bar to being a useful NBA player when you're 7 feet tall.

[Mencius]

Even that first video with him "setting a pick" and rolling to the basket doesn't exactly instill confidence . . . he just doesn't look very coordinated or decisive in his movements.

He may be a very hard worker, but it seems like what Fab is lacking most of all is just basic physical coordination.

That's what I see when I watch him, too.  It always surprises me when I read some sports writer describe him as 'a freak athlete', which I actually did read at some point last year.  Makes me wonder if the guy had ever actually seen Melo play.  He seems average athletically, but still somehow uncoordinated, and his lateral movement is mediocre at best.  Mainly though, nothing seems instinctual to me when I watch him.  He just always seems slow; slower than his average athleticism would suggest he should be. 

Needless to say, I don't have high hopes for Fab.  I think this'll be his last year in green.

[WeMadeIt17]

Doesn't excite me.

[LooseCannon]

Even that first video with him "setting a pick" and rolling to the basket doesn't exactly instill confidence . . . he just doesn't look very coordinated or decisive in his movements.

Maybe he can turn out to be one of those guys who looks uncoordinated but is actually effective in the same way that Paul Pierce looks slow but is deceptively quick.

[timobusa]

Doesn't excite me.

You and me both.

Keep him in the D-League.
Then let him go after his rookie contract.

[aporel#18]

Even that first video with him "setting a pick" and rolling to the basket doesn't exactly instill confidence . . . he just doesn't look very coordinated or decisive in his movements.

Maybe he can turn out to be one of those guys who looks uncoordinated but is actually effective in the same way that Paul Pierce looks slow but is deceptively quick.

TP. He's working hard, or so it seems, so he'll improve. How much? We don't know, only can hope, but he's doing what's needed.

As an Optimist Prime (credit goes to Fair/Foulweatherfan for the Optimist Prime/Negatron dicotomy), I see him becoming a useful player in a couple of years. And I understand the CelticsBlog Negatrons have a point when they say Melo will never be an NBA player, but what's the point in stating it in every thread about him, even when the thread is about him putting in the work to improve?

As a TA fan, I've read "Bad Tony" threads ad nauseam in CelticsBlog, and then, when Ainge didn't offer him a bigger role (which was the right decision at the time, IMO) and he went to find his place in Memphis, people started calling DA out and praising TA as an All NBA defender. I'm not comparing TA to Fab, but I think we should cut some slack to Celtic players, and allow them to improve before we label them as "useless". When Troy Murphy was the genius deadline signing, I hated to see Erden and Gody walk to make room for him, but even then I tried to find good things about Troy. And given the huge amounts of love some guys like Shav or Steamer get around here, I think Fab Melo deserves his time to develop.  /rant

[PhoSita]

Even that first video with him "setting a pick" and rolling to the basket doesn't exactly instill confidence . . . he just doesn't look very coordinated or decisive in his movements.

Maybe he can turn out to be one of those guys who looks uncoordinated but is actually effective in the same way that Paul Pierce looks slow but is deceptively quick.

I sure hope so.  We know for sure that he has good timing and coordination for blocking shots, and his form on his jumper / free throw is pretty good.  All of that should give us hope as far as him learning to move more fluidly and purposefully.  Confidence will probably make a big difference there, too.

[j804]

and he clumsily rolls to the basket nearly falling down, is this some kind of joke?