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The Mailbag

Lebron "hands down?" You gotta be kidding. No disrespect to Lebron, but Carmelo is right there with him. The stats are comparable (and don't forget that my man has been on a scoring binge ever since the All-Star break). And as for the pressure--I admit that LBJ had more coming in to the season, but what about the pressure of trying to make the playoffs? Out west? By beating all that tough comp? Did you SEE the Portland game? Carmelo is clutch. So don't give me that "hands down" b.s. They both deserve the award. By the way, Carmelo has apologized and eaten a lot of crow for his refusal to check in to the Detroit game. Get over it. - Allen, Denver of course

Oh, I'm over it, fella. And your man still isn't getting the award. And just because Carmelo apologized, doesn't mean that it didn't happen. It did happen. It's part of Carmelo's rookie year. Unless I'm mistaken, that is the year on which the Rookie of the Year award is judged. And I did give you the "hands down b.s." and I'll give it to you again. LeBron's a better player. Hands down, feet down, lips down, pancreas down, anything you wanna put down, put it down on LeBron James winning rookie of the year. It's not like I don't think Carmelo's good, I think he's awesome. But if I had to pick one of those two to build a franchise around, I take LeBron every time, and I'd be 90% of NBA GMs would agree with me. And you're right, Melo was absolutely clutch in the Portland game. And he was a big part of the Nuggets making those playoffs. But they didn't make the playoffs because Carmelo's better than LeBron, they made the playoffs because the Nuggets are better than the Cavs... way way better. Carmelo deserves a lot of credit, he just doesn't deserve rookie of the year, and that's how it goes.

I think you don't have enough respect for RJ. I agree that he is not the best option at the 3, but you can't say that his name is not big enough and then say that you'd take Carmelo, Bruce Bowen, Lebron and a lot of bunch of player that too don't have a big name. Also, I, as seeing Latvian and European basketball a lot, am just astounded of your ignorance about Big Ben intimidating the Latvian centers. Believe me, the Latvian centers are bigger, taller and not afraid of Big Ben. Don't under appriciate them. I agree that the US needs good defense players, and I agree Big Ben needs to be on the team.

On the subject of rookie of the year, I totally agree with you. You could have added that Carmelo, at least in the games i've seen, is much worse at his shot selection and decision making then Lebron is. It seems though that Carmelo will have the slight edge, with the Nuggets making the playoffs and Lebron not carrying and contributing enough in the last stretch of the season when the Cavs finished poorly. - Raanan, Israel

I do respect RJ. I just think, like you said, that he's not the best option at the 3. It's not about how big his name is (obviously, if I said I'd take Bruce Bowen over him), it's just that he doesn't belong alongside the best players in the game. I respect RJ a lot. He's one of the better players in the league, but he's just a notch below Olympic-team caliber. What I said about Bruce Bowen and the inclusion of defensive players was kind of an unrelated thought. Maybe I wasn't clear about it, but of course, I don't think Bruce Bowen is a better overall player than Richard Jefferson, I just think Team USA is better off having some defensive specialists around.

As for the Latvian centers, I was overstating. Making a little joke. Obviously, I don't expect anyone to actually turn around and run to the airport. I don't disrespect the Latvian centers, I was just expressing the Ben Wallace intimidation factor, and chose Latvia as an example. It's probably best not to take everything I say quite so literally. But thanks for writing.

Just 2 quick things. Lamar Odom should not be behind Bruce Bowen. All that Bowen can do is defend, and Odom can do that as well as rebound. He obviously doesn't care that much about his own scoring, either, playing on "loaded" Miami team. As for Rookie of Year, how about looking at statistics other than the main 3 and wins? What about percentages, turnovers, blocks, steals, plus/minus ratings, etc? I heard somewhere that Melo is beating out Lebron in all shooting categories. That may be something to keep in mind, as well. - Kyle, Richford, NY

Odom's a better player than Bowen, sure, and although we haven't talked about him a lot in The 'Bows this year, I've got big respect the year he's had in Miami. He wasn't behind Bowen on the list because Bowen's a better player, he's behind him because I think Team USA specifically needs non-scorers. Guys who can't score, don't want to score, and are only interested in keeping others from scoring. Incidentally, Lamar Odom, if he was averaging 40 and 20, wouldn't be picked for the Olympic team. Not that I agree with it, but he's had a few too many herbal issues to be considered for Team USA.

As for the LeBron/Carmelo stuff you mentioned, sure, we'll take a lot at the other stats. Carmelo does have an edge in FG% and 3PT%, but the advantages, especially in FG%, are slight. LeBron averages a half a turnover more per game than does Melo, but a guy who's counted on to handle the ball a lot more is going to commit more turnovers. LeBron's 3.5 per game aren't so good, but Melo's 3 turnovers per game are highest in the entire league among forwards. LeBron averages more blocks and more steals per game. Carmelo averages more fouls.

I love Thowin' Bows and especially the mailbag, but I gotta take issue with your ways to fix the Raptors. I don't think they need to find a GM who'll keep KO, I don't think O'Neill is a bad coach. I just think he's not a head coach, he's a defensive specialist, a great guy to have as your assistant coach, but you need a guy who's more flexible to the abilities of the team. The head coach's job is to get the most out of the team he has, not force them to play the only style he knows.... At least in my opinion. - Brad, Ottawa

You may be right that he's a better assistant than a head coach, but I don't know if I agree about adapting to the talents of the team. In some respects, that's true, but not if adapting means giving up defense and toughness. If a team's strengths are forcing it inside to the post, or getting out and running, sure, you'll wanna emphasize that. But if a team is soft, you don't wanna make it a goal to emphasize the softness. The Raptors don't wanna go into next season with an ad campaign that says, "Raptors Basketball: Softer Than Yo' Grandmama's Thighs."

Vince Carter and Jalen Rose have both said they wanted him to be back, and Rose said that the people criticizing O'Neill were cowards. O'Neill's an intense guy, and he'll get in someone's face, but some teams need that. In a game early this year, Vince Carter was knocked to the floor, and just laid there... until O'Neill screamed at him to get his ass up and go play defense. Carter got up and dropped 39 points that night.

But O'Neill spoke out and said the organization wasn't all that committed to winning, and the organization did what any organization does when faced with honest criticism: they fired the guy who gave it to them. Maybe KO was gone anyway, but it was just childish. O'Neill didn't slander anyone, he didn't say anyone was a bad person, he didn't insult anyone's wife or hit on their daughters. He just said what he thought needed to be fixed. The orga perfectly logical and reasonable argument about why I'm wrong, and I know I'm wrong, and I'll just blurt out, "WELL WHY DON'T YOU SHUT UP?" Very nice, Raptors.

But they do speak German in Belgium! (At least some of them do.) Malmedy has a German newspaper, for goodness sakes. - Carter, Washington

I feel redeemed. Thanks for writing, and you're right, German is one of three officially recognized languages of Belgium. The other two are French and Dutch, and those two are the main languages. English is also widely spoken. Major ups to the people of Belgium for their multilinguicity and outstanding waffles.

Hey man, do you know if Josh Childress is entering the draft or not. I was really impressed with his game during the NCAA tournament. What do you think of his game. - Jordan, Toronto.

Childress has declared for the draft, but hasn't hired an agent, so he retains his college ability. I'm guessing that if someone promises him he'll go in the Top 15 or so, he'll go ahead, hire an agent and give the NBA a go. As for his game, I like it. I don't know if he'll ever be an NBA superstar, but scouts love his length, athleticism, and afro. I see him being a very good off-guard. He can shoot, handle the ball, and at 6'8", he can effectively defend three positions. I hate it when I have to sound like Mel Kiper, but it's impossible to talk about draft prospects and not do it.

More mailbag responses are coming later this week, so I missed your letter, check back soon.

Just a quick note to anyone writing in... no letter written in ALL CAPS will ever be included in the Throwin' Bows mailbag. Not only will I not respond, I'm not even going to read it.

Question, comment, problem, tirade, hate mail, love note? Send it along here.

M.J. Darnell runs www.themightymjd.com.