Prime Carmelo Anthony vs. Prime Bernard King

[iDunk]

We haven't seen Melos peak yet, he's being vastly misused by the Knicks.

[get these NETS]

carmelo is a throwback to the elite mid 80s sfs...

they were among the best all around scorers the league has ever seen

aguirre, english,dantley.nique,bird,king


it was a scoring position...

bird, paul pressey had passing skills and systems/players that took advantage of those skillls but for the most part...sf position was about getting buckets in a wide range of ways

the guys had unique talents but ..all could post up, face up, good footwork, good outside shooting, midrange game...


melo and king is a good comparison...comparable skill set...king had quickness advantage and played more aggressive game

[PHaYze]

Melo will be in the HOF. If it was the NBA hall of fame then he probably wouldn't make it.

Him absolutely shitting on the NCAA his only year, along with his Olympics play, never missing the playoffs(until maybe this year), total points, most points in a quarter will get him in. If he somehow ends up winning anything then he'll be a 100% lock.

[PHaYze]

We haven't seen Melos peak yet, he's being vastly misused by the Knicks.

IDK, Melo seems off. He's missing so many shots he easily made w/ Denver. He needs to work his ass off over the summer.

[Shepseskaf]

People forget that this is a BASKETBALL HOF and not a NBA HOF. His contribution for team USA and his college accomplishments will probaly get him in. Along with his stats , all-star selections and all-nba teams picks.

You may be right in this, but it still doesn't sit right with me. Carmelo may wait through a few years of eligibility, though, if he does get in.

[bizil]

I don't think King was as one dimensional as many think. He has a career rebounding average right around six a game. Which featured a couple of seasons with 9.5 boards and 8.2 boards. Those are very good even great numbers for a SF. Sure he wasn't a dominant all around guy like Bird, Bron, Hondo, Pippen, or Barry. But guys like Nique, King, and English were very good rebounders for a SF. All of them have posted 8-9 rebound seasons before.

But most importantly, King was epic at the MOST PREMIUM ASSET IN BBALL! And thats the ability to be an alpha dog scorer and takeover a game. U have to remember that the better all around player ISN'T the better player in all cases. I've seen Paul Pressey brought up in this thread. He was one of the first point forwards and capable of playing three positions and defending them as well. But King was CLEARLY a superior player to Pressey. Because King's IMPACT on a game in greater. King was a better scorer and rebounder than Pressey. Pressey was a better defender and passer. So King has two edges on Pressey. Nique and English have the same edges on Pressey.

And I very much believe Melo and King have many similar traits. This myth that Melo isn't explosive enough to be considered similar to King is comical. Both are explosive on that baseline and strong finishers. Both also have a great first step. But they aren't freakish like Bron, Dr. J, or Nique.

[bizil]

carmelo is a throwback to the elite mid 80s sfs...

they were among the best all around scorers the league has ever seen

aguirre, english,dantley.nique,bird,king


it was a scoring position...

bird, paul pressey had passing skills and systems/players that took advantage of those skillls but for the most part...sf position was about getting buckets in a wide range of ways

the guys had unique talents but ..all could post up, face up, good footwork, good outside shooting, midrange game...


melo and king is a good comparison...comparable skill set...king had quickness advantage and played more aggressive game

Well said sir! Those 80's guys all had great scoring skillsets!

[SwooshReturns]

I thought Melo and Glenn Robinson were closer as players than Melo and King.

[LockoutOver11]

Melo will be in the HOF. If it was the NBA hall of fame then he probably wouldn't make it.

Him absolutely shitting on the NCAA his only year, along with his Olympics play, never missing the playoffs(until maybe this year), total points, most points in a quarter will get him in. If he somehow ends up winning anything then he'll be a 100% lock.

ouch, if the knicks miss the playoffs. ny is gonna go crazy, knicks turmoil. thank god im not a fan of my hometown team. too bad because i like alot of their pieces. hate the coach. hate the owner.

[SwooshReturns]

We haven't seen Melos peak yet, he's being vastly misused by the Knicks.

Yea we have, dude ... players at their peak are usually from 24 - 28 (sometimes 30)

Carmelo has clearly reached the pinnacle of what he will be as a player. And he's probably been there for 3 or 4 years now.

[Shepseskaf]

Carmelo has clearly reached the pinnacle of what he will be as a player. And he's probably been there for 3 or 4 years now.

Agreed.

If he actually spent some time on fitness, Carmelo would have extended this. He's on the downside now, with a fat contract.

[Xiao Yao You]

Sounds like a lot of players who are not comparable with Dominique are being considered comparable with Dominique. Wilkins was much better than any of the guys being mentioned. One of the greats.

He was a great scoring SF just like the others we're talking about. Like Carmelo he was placed higher in his day based on ESPN highlites and hype. Was never really that impressed by him hopping all over the court myself. Like Carmelo in NY, Atlanta added high priced FA's Reggie Theus and Moses Malone one year that was supposed to be them over the top. He just wasn't that great.

No surprise that his teams were not any good.

He led a the saddest franchise in all of basketball at the time from 30 wins to 45 and a Midwest division title for their first playoff appearance and start the great string of playoff appearances that Sloan/Malone/Stockton now get the credit for. That included an incredible first half that got a crappy coach in as the west all-star coach.

I won't hang it all on him because I obviously don't know about it all to such a crazy extent.

Obviously. Once they started to put some other pieces around him he got them involved and they started to win.

his talent level is much better than all the older guys he's being compared to in this thread, minus Wilkins.

Maybe but that doesn't make him better than a guy that worked as hard as A.D. to succeed. Arguably the best low post scorer ever inch for inch. I've heard he was really only 6'2". Very strong and one of the best conditioned athletes. A master at drawing fouls. Could hit the hit outside shot if you gave it to him. Would blow by you with a head and shoulder fake while drawing the foul if you didn't. Could pass out of the coverage and hit the offensive glass.

Carmelo was lucky to have the chance to work with him in Denver. They have a lot of similarities in their games.

I thought Melo and Glenn Robinson were closer as players than Melo and King.

Great comparison. Again the hype doesn't equal the player.

[TheBluest]

Who's the better player?

I don't know which thread is worse asking if....


Melo has been a Top 10 Player in his career

or

Comparing primes, Melo vs King


Bernard would destroy Melo. it would be an atrocity of all atrocities to witness

[pauk]

Bernard King by far

[bizil]

He was a great scoring SF just like the others we're talking about. Like Carmelo he was placed higher in his day based on ESPN highlites and hype. Was never really that impressed by him hopping all over the court myself. Like Carmelo in NY, Atlanta added high priced FA's Reggie Theus and Moses Malone one year that was supposed to be them over the top. He just wasn't that great.



He led a the saddest franchise in all of basketball at the time from 30 wins to 45 and a Midwest division title for their first playoff appearance and start the great string of playoff appearances that Sloan/Malone/Stockton now get the credit for. That included an incredible first half that got a crappy coach in as the west all-star coach.



Obviously. Once they started to put some other pieces around him he got them involved and they started to win.



Maybe but that doesn't make him better than a guy that worked as hard as A.D. to succeed. Arguably the best low post scorer ever inch for inch. I've heard he was really only 6'2". Very strong and one of the best conditioned athletes. A master at drawing fouls. Could hit the hit outside shot if you gave it to him. Would blow by you with a head and shoulder fake while drawing the foul if you didn't. Could pass out of the coverage and hit the offensive glass.

Carmelo was lucky to have the chance to work with him in Denver. They have a lot of similarities in their games.



Great comparison. Again the hype doesn't equal the player.

Nique was great, hell an icon in my book. He was much more than a great player. He helped the NBA put a lot of asses in the seat and ratings wise. Nique was box office, the shining box office star of the Southeast. This was before the Heat, Charlotte, and Orlando came around. Nique on TBS was all the Southeast had for a long time. He redefined the SF position and athletic ability in the L. If u look at the freak athlete SF who was an alpha dog scoring machine, the tree went like this:

Baylor
Hawkins
Erving
Wilkins

After that u had guys like Bron come along. But Nique has a firm place in that group. The other SF's like King, English, Aguirre, Dantley, and Kiki while great didn't redefine the SF position in the manner that Wilkins did. Larry Bird said himself that he, MJ, King, and Wilkins were on another level when it came to perimeter scorers during that time. And I feel Bird was right, even though u had many SG's and SF's who were awesome, legendary scorers. I feel Bird's two greatest rivals at SF turned out to be Dr. J and Dominique. King would have been in there as well if not for injuries. But Bird and Nique actually had the longest most enduring rivalry at the SF spot in that particular era.

And u mention Theus and Moses on that Hawks team. They didn't keep that Hawks team together long enough. But Nique led many of those Hawks teams to 50+ win seasons. And the East was loaded with Boston, Detroit, Milwaukee, and later Chicago. Nique NEVER had the consistent firepower that those teams had.