|
Carmelo Anthony is one of the best players in the NBA today. He is even propounded to be the fourth best small forward of the decade. He is a very talented scorer and the 24-karat star of the Denver Nuggets' offense. He has never failed to average at least 20 points per game across his six-season NBA career. He is an Olympic gold medalist. Assuming he stays healthy and doesn't get into any off-court trouble, then he will probably be a member of the Western Conference All-Stars, this coming February.
In spite of all of those accomplishments and reasons to call Melo a "great player", I found it difficult to raise his position when I ranked the Top 20 Small Forwards for fantasy this season, over at Sports Grumblings.
He is an example of the not-so-great-divide between real-life talent and fantasy ratings and rankings. It is still, nonetheless, paradoxical as to how his greatness in the real sport has not been translated into direct value for fantasy.
Honestly, I've never drafted nor owned Melo in fantasy. So I had to do some digging, to remind myself why I have stayed away from this awesome basketball talent all these years.
Not All Small Forwards Are Created Equal
In my piece over at Sports Grumblings, I quoted Hoopedia's definition of a small forward to set the tone for my rankings. "The small forward is typically a prolific scorer and a strong defender. Versatility is normally the trademark of a good small forward, who must be big enough to play close to the basket, but quick enough to play on the perimeter..."
While I must admit that Melo fulfills the prolific scorer aspect of the definition, I find his stat line lacking in terms of considering him as a strong defender and as a versatile player.
Let's take a look at last Anthony's stats from the 2008-09 season: 66 Games; 22.8 PPG; 6.8 RPG; 3.4 APG; 1.0 3PPG; 44.3 FG%; 79.3 FT%; 1.1 SPG; 0.4 BPG; 3.0 TO
He was hampered by a wonky elbow for a large part of the season and we can probably attribute his statistical decline last season to that nagging injury. Yahoo has him currently O-Ranked at 34, even though he finished last season 104th overall. In the end, I would say that I would appreciate his scoring, rebounding (5th best RPG among small forwards), and reasonable FT% contributions (79.3% at 7.1 attempts per game). But I've noticed that he's been drafted, in fact reached for, early in the third round of most of the mock drafts I've participated in so far. I engaged a few fellow drafters in a discussion about what it is that they see in Melo. It boiled down to two general answers. First, people are still counting on him to bounce back well this season. Secondly, they also believe that he will be able to diversify his stat contributions this year.
In spite of those views, I cannot foresee him outperforming old veterans Paul Pierce and Vince Carter in fantasy this season. So I now propound the question, "Why reach for Melo ahead of those guys?" Aside from his youth and purported potential to improve, I don't see how his potential end-of-season value is enough to merit his current average draft position (ADP).
I guess I've stayed away from him for so long because I've opted to pick guys who score less than he does, but are able to  bring more significant contributions in other categories. He has his fantasy benefits, but his game is just not for me.
There are benefits to grabbing Melo in a draft. High scoring players tend to be snatched up early in most fantasy drafts. If he does bounce back, he should be a top 10 scorer easily. Carmelo also helps offset picking up low scoring PGs like Jason Kidd or Jose Calderon in the second round. His rebounds are solid enough to make him a target for big-ball draft strategies. Hopefully, his FG% will return to its old, more efficient form.
I rate Anthony right now as being somewhere between Kevin Durant, who quickly was able to diversify from his scoring-only rep and Josh Howard, a scoring forward who I am tired of waiting for to finally break out. Until he improves on defense or drastically increases the range and rate of his outside shot, I suppose I will keep on grabbing other players ahead of him and remain yellow about drafting the Melo.
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site.. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account! 
Your thoughts? Am I making a mistake by keeping Melo?