Knicks>Raptors? Ryan Ruocco thinks so!

[psrs1]

What are you talking about? Calderon & Bargnani =top 5 D (don't we know it?). Esp with DPOY candidate Melo.
I find Knick fans (most, not all) and writers (most) very delusional.

Wait till 10-15 games in. The fans and media will turn on Knicks.

[Mapko]

Ryan who..I'll I gotta say is Calderon and Bargnani,enough said.
Good luck with that knick fans,oh yeah,didn't they get rid of Chandler.
Enjoy the ping pong balls,lottery bound.

What are you talking about? Calderon & Bargnani =top 5 D (don't we know it?). Esp with DPOY candidate Melo.
I find Knick fans (most, not all) and writers (most) very delusional.

[peanutwoozle]

The only reason I would say Carmelo is probably not a leader is because his mustache is terrible.

George Karl seems to think Melo is not a leader. http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/54144...m#.U9K_1PldW9Q

Who am I going to believe, a guy who coached him for most of his career, or some guy on a forum. I think the coach is a more reliable source.

[iblastoff]

The only reason I would say Carmelo is probably not a leader is because this WCF Nuggets team and the New York team two years ago that played well all had really good veterans on it that would keep guys in check. This New York team doesn't. I think the teams he's on does well when they are good veteran guys on it.

the 2 years ago knicks and the knicks just last season were practically the same.

[Mindlessness]

The only reason I would say Carmelo is probably not a leader is because his mustache is terrible.

I agree.

[stooley]

The only reason I would say Carmelo is probably not a leader is because this WCF Nuggets team and the New York team two years ago that played well all had really good veterans on it that would keep guys in check. This New York team doesn't. I think the teams he's on does well when they are good veteran guys on it.

The only reason I would say Carmelo is probably not a leader is because his mustache is terrible.

[GLF]

The only reason I would say Carmelo is probably not a leader is because this WCF Nuggets team and the New York team two years ago that played well all had really good veterans on it that would keep guys in check. This New York team doesn't. I think the teams he's on does well when they are good veteran guys on it.

[peanutwoozle]

Are you going to argue that Melo wasn't a leader on those 07-09 Nuggets?

I will argue that Melo wasn't the leader of the Nuggets of 08-09, Chauncey was.

[peanutwoozle]

Nuggets in 2008-09 that went to the WCF had the 8th ranked defense. Were also in the top 10 the previous year.

Melo is not the problem. If you surround Melo with the right personnel you can field a legitimate contender. Melo himself is not a bad defender, he's just OK on that end.

That is because of Chauncey giving him a piggyback ride.

[stooley]

ie) the Andrea Bargnani effect

lol.

it seems it may actually be contagious

[OldSkoolCool]

He is but those night when he puts forth any effort is becoming rarer and rarer and his level of disinterest is getting lower.

ie) the Andrea Bargnani effect

[raptors999]

I honestly think Melo is a good defensive player when he tries.

He is but those night when he puts forth any effort is becoming rarer and rarer and his level of disinterest is getting lower.

[torch19]

I honestly think Melo is a good defensive player when he tries.

[white men can't jump]

Last season.

It looks decent...but there are some things that make me raise my eyebrow a bit. Nothing crazy, just hard to believe certain guys are that high.

Garnett is a bit surprising...he looked terrible last year, but I guess he was probably still the Nets best defensive big (Plumlee would be if he was consistent I think). Still, in no world would I count Garnett as a top 5 defensive C last year. Pierce is very surprising...the guy has never really been better than average as a defender. He also played at PF for a lot of last year.

Carter has been fairly solid in recent years as a bench guy. Better than he was for much of the middle of his career as a starting playing heavy minutes, but still surprised he's that high.

That's about all. Aldridge and Nene are a bit surprising, but they're both very solid...just a bit surprised they're that high. And I can't pretend I know anything about Wolters since even when Milly played Toronto it was hard to really pay attention. Still his presence is surprising.

[Mindlessness]

I don't know - dxRAPM seems pretty solid. Top 5 players at each position (20+ MPG):

C - Garnett, Sanders, M Gasol, Bogut, Howard
PF - Duncan, NeNe, Gibson, Ibaka, Aldridge
SF - Iggy, Draymond Green, Pierce, George, Wallace
SG - Danny Green, Tony Allen, Vince Carter, Shumpert, Sefolosha
PG - Bledsoe, Rubio, Holiday, Paul, Wolters (6th is Beverley, 7th is Bradley)

Rock solid defenders all.

Melo ranks 55th of 75 SF's. And 290th overall.

Fair enough.