2025 NBA Season

[xzone]

It's already time for Melo to leave this team and it's already stopped. I don't have a problem with Melo either, he was a very high level player in his old days, now he can't contribute even if he wanted to, I think he should leave the team. A little change will be useful for the Lakers, Lebron James's time is running out, he can no longer find the same rhythm in every game, even if he finds it, he will not find it in the future.

If he still got the contract with the Lakers, there's no way for him to leave and violate the contract. The team has all the means to whether use him or not with every game that they have. It's just sad that when a player like him that has been one of the superstars before, doesn't get a playing time anymore and when the contract expires then possible that there will be no renewal for him anymore. He can be part of the coaching staff and just like the other veteran NBA players got, still they're able to work with their passion and sport that they love.

Melo is no longer a player who can take too much time as a player or contribute too much to the team. But if there is such an experienced player in a team, it will help you psychologically.
We can say that he does not perform much differently than a player who has played in the NBA for 1-2 years now. However, I am very curious about which team he will play in what role, he used to be one of my favorite players

[Baofeng]

Well Carmelo is still hoping that one team will get him for this season, there were even rumors that some Chinese team are interested on him. We have seen Dwight move to that country to pursue his love of the game.

But I guess Carmelo has that pride in himself, and maybe believed that a team will acquire him for help. However, we all know that every team has settled down already and for me there are no teams right now that will be a perfect fit for him. Same here, no hate for him, but I guess it's time to really retire and he is no longer in his prime unlike Lebron.

He expressed that he will not play overseas and will wait for the chance to play again in NBA. But after this season, if no one gets his service, I think that will change. Dwight Howard is quite successful in Taiwan and paid handsomely. If he still wants to play basketball, overseas is a good idea. Even at his age, he will still be very competitive in Taiwan or Korea.

I think ex-NBA players become quite successful overseas, like the recent one, Dwight is enjoying his stint in there, and statistics shows that he is amongst in the top 10, in scoring, rebounding, and assists although his team is not doing good.

So Carmelo will have a lot of tinkering to do right now, whether heed the call of Dwight because if I remember it correctly, Dwight try to recruit him before the opening of the NBA season but we never heard anything about Carmelo as he still expressed his priority as the NBA.

[Japinat]

Celtics won the game despite missing 2 of their starters. This team played great defense and the main weapon in their game was their 3-point shooting. I think Memphis needs to improve their rebounding department, and also they love to play one-on-one which makes them very predictable.
The good ball movement is gone, we know that Morant can generate points, but eventually, he'll be tired and will be less accurate.

Who is this Sam Hauser from the Celtics? The name isn't that popular, but he scored more than 10 points in his last 4 games.
What's good with the Celtics is their depth. In the playoffs, this is what you need. A good starters and a bunch of role players that can step up. The depth of the Celtics is just way too good because they have players that can step up in absence of their core players. They don't have neither Brown or Smart, but they have players like White, this Hauser player and their newly acquired Muscala who scored double digits. Add as well their three-point shooting which the shot 21/51 for 41.2% from it. How can the Grizzlies allow them to shot 51 tries and make 21 of them?

Many are looking at the Suns right now ever since the KD trade, but let's not forget about the Celtics. I still believe that with their roster, they can dominate the East in the playoffs and has a high chance to go to NBA Finals again.

I agree, Ja Morant has reasons why he is looking at Boston Celtics, right now they are on top of the East, just slightly behind the Bucks who are in a 10 game winning streak.

But I think Celtics is more complete and I would say that their stint in the Finals last year was a blessing for them. Now they are more mature and even if they have a issue in the beginning (coach), they are not that affected and it seems everyone has forgotten that already. And now we have seen players in their bench like Sam Hauser who is contributing, their bench is deep and I think only Milwaukee can match it in the league.

Boston Celtics are at the top of the table right now in the Eastern Conference. And I also do not think that people are actually not interested enough in the Celtics. They are more interested in who is getting traded or not. Sam Hauser is absolutely not very popular, but he is certainly scoring like a popular player for sure.

Celtics is a team that is not dependent on certain players. They are a team that can rely on any player. Almost all of the players in the team have the capability to play well when needed. And that is a certain type of depth that every team aspires to have, Now that is what they are showing. Even without too very important players in the team, they are performing really well and also winning games.

Not just in Eastern Conference alone, in fact, they are leading the whole league with Denver Nuggets behind them as they got 41 wins while Nuggets got less than 40 wins. Although, I will admit that I somehow expected that this will happen this season after what the Boston Celtics showed to us in the last season where they started quiet and suddenly rose through the ladder when the regular season was approaching its end. And then, they swept the Brooklyn Nets to eliminate them in the 1st round of playoffs.

Now, this is their time and they might take the championship with them if they can retain a healthy roster until the end but aside from that, they have to go through another couple of intense games in the playoffs again.

[FanEagle]

Considering Melo hasn't played a single game this year, it's safe to say even he has accepted the fact that he is forced to retire. Don't get me wrong, he has been an amazing player all his career, and he is top 10 in scoring all time list, so this dude is just the perfect scorer of a by gone era, back in the day when everyone did ISO play to score, this dude was one of the best to do it, he was really awesome.

However, with the motion offense becoming more common, three pointers becoming more common and players defending a lot more on perimeter and need a lateral quickness, he is just a net negative these days at his age and that's normal, Wade retired a lot earlier than him when he realized that. So, it's normal for him at that age to retire. It's Lebron that is the unusual one, nobody should be playing that well at that age, dude is superhuman.

[btc_angela]

Considering Melo hasn't played a single game this year, it's safe to say even he has accepted the fact that he is forced to retire. Don't get me wrong, he has been an amazing player all his career, and he is top 10 in scoring all time list, so this dude is just the perfect scorer of a by gone era, back in the day when everyone did ISO play to score, this dude was one of the best to do it, he was really awesome.

Yeah, prime Melo is beautiful to watch, his clutch jump shots and his energy in the court. I remember him and Kobe going at it in the conference finals if I'm not mistaken, it was a great duel but in the end, Kobe and Lakers won, but it was a prime Melo that time.

However, with the motion offense becoming more common, three pointers becoming more common and players defending a lot more on perimeter and need a lateral quickness, he is just a net negative these days at his age and that's normal, Wade retired a lot earlier than him when he realized that. So, it's normal for him at that age to retire. It's Lebron that is the unusual one, nobody should be playing that well at that age, dude is superhuman.

He wasn't able to adjust his jump, and maybe I would say that he didn't take care of his body like Lebron. Not sure if he even lift weights, while Lebron become bulkier, stronger and improve every facets of the game, Melo stays with his ISO plays and shooting ability. But as the game progresses he wasn't able to cope with the changes in the NBA and his lack of defense too is one negative side of his game. But still one of the best scorer in the game that we had, Denver and New York was his best team and hopefully one of those two can retire his jersey.

[wheelz1200]

Considering Melo hasn't played a single game this year, it's safe to say even he has accepted the fact that he is forced to retire. Don't get me wrong, he has been an amazing player all his career, and he is top 10 in scoring all time list, so this dude is just the perfect scorer of a by gone era, back in the day when everyone did ISO play to score, this dude was one of the best to do it, he was really awesome.

However, with the motion offense becoming more common, three pointers becoming more common and players defending a lot more on perimeter and need a lateral quickness, he is just a net negative these days at his age and that's normal, Wade retired a lot earlier than him when he realized that. So, it's normal for him at that age to retire. It's Lebron that is the unusual one, nobody should be playing that well at that age, dude is superhuman.

Still not entirely convinced someone might not pick him up.  For a good 5-15 minutes off the bench he can still bucket.  I agree the game has changed to a more 3pt game and his breakdown and butter was his mid range game which is basically non existent anymore.  As a knick fan he was fun to watch.  Dude in his prime was one of the best pure scorers in the league.

[Kasabus]

Yeah, just realized that there will be another better team that will take him out. And that with that, he'll be able to move along if ever the rumors are true if he's going to be back in Clippers.

Hopefully clippers will be able to to have him, and I also read some article that CP3 wants Melo on the team. How realiable is that?

I've also read that thing about CP3 telling that Suns should also acquire Melo. It's written in some articles and sports publishing websites.
(https://www.basketballinsiders.com/news/chris-paul-wants-phoenix-to-offer-a-contract-to-carmelo-anthony/)

I think it's quite reliable enough to consider that Chris Paul indeed asked the Suns management to acquire Carmelo Anthony in the free agency as this news has been spreading throughout almost every sports outlet. I mean, we couldn't blame the man because he is indeed feeling that this might be his last chance to get at least one ring before he starts considering a retirement as he's already approaching his 40s as well.

And I don't view Melo as a liability because the man can still provide good contribution coming from the bench and while it's evident right now that the Suns is lacking role players before they gave a big portion of the roster just to get KD.

[gagux123]

I confess that I am very surprised with this news and also with other negotiations...

I believe, nowdays Beverly can be an interesting player to have on a team, he is far from his prime, he still manages to do something that can help the team he is playing

The only trade I put my thumbs down was because I thought they had strong bonds in the team and he was really helping to make the game more fun but at the end, he was traded and probably stress about it because based on his post, he wasn't expected about it. Though he will be back will De Agello Russel, the Lakers have a different plan. Now that Westbrook is no longer there and they acquired some decent players to help them, they really need to do better and get to the spot where they will be in the playoff tree this season.

well, I hope that soon Beverly and Westbrook will be able to play again in a decent and competitive team.

Several people criticize Beverly, but the performance he had in the Rockets was good, he is not an allstar player, but I have no doubt that he can help a team he is part of.
Beverly is very defensive, is a trashtalker player and knows how to provoke his opponent lol

I could even compare Beverly with Stephenson or even Smart.
They are players who are not offensive, but they are agile, "trashtalkers", good defenders, and have great flexibility in defending, being able to defend against a PG player or even a PF.

[chaser15]

Still not entirely convinced someone might not pick him up.  For a good 5-15 minutes off the bench he can still bucket.  I agree the game has changed to a more 3pt game and his breakdown and butter was his mid range game which is basically non existent anymore.  As a knick fan he was fun to watch.  Dude in his prime was one of the best pure scorers in the league.

I have to agree. Don't look at the stats but Melo in his post-prime period, when he's on the court, his shooting is really efficient. His catch-and-shoot is still effective. Off the bench, he still can contribute. This is not the first time that Melo is in a situation where he's idle and waiting for such offers from other teams.

I do think that Melo is still not done yet. In the off-season, I believed there will be a team that will sign him for a 1-year veteran contract. New York, Denver Nuggets, and Portland Trail Blazers are those teams I think will give him that chance before he retires.

[danherbias07]

Still not entirely convinced someone might not pick him up.  For a good 5-15 minutes off the bench he can still bucket.  I agree the game has changed to a more 3pt game and his breakdown and butter was his mid range game which is basically non existent anymore.  As a knick fan he was fun to watch.  Dude in his prime was one of the best pure scorers in the league.

Yeah, 3 point field goal is always the fun one now. There is DeRozan, Fox, Shai, and more players who specialized in two-pointers/mid-range shots, and yet they are not on the front page of the trends when it comes to offensive strengths.
The fun on jump shots was gone after Jordan and Kobe, those who will do it today will not be celebrated too much.  You must shoot three's if you want more attention.
About Melo, he may actually help offensively but he will also be the weakness on the defensive side. I hate to say it but the better days are already gone.
I'd prefer to see him in the coaching staff helping the shooters be better.

[jakelyson]

And I don't view Melo as a liability because the man can still provide good contribution coming from the bench and while it's evident right now that the Suns is lacking role players before they gave a big portion of the roster just to get KD.

I am not so sure about that. If I am right, Melo has not played this whole season. He would be very rusty coming in if the Suns will acquire him. Plus, he does not contribute anything in defense. But if Paul is really pushing it, maybe the Suns can offer a 10-day contract just to see him play on the court. They can gauge from there if is still an asset or already a liability.

There is DeRozan, Fox, Shai, and more players who specialized in two-pointers/mid-range shots, and yet they are not on the front page of the trends when it comes to offensive strengths.

The only one I know that tries to revive the mid-range game is Kawhi. But with his body always injured, barely anyone notices how good mid-range game could be. When healthy, Kawhi can display how efficient mid-range can be. Not as celebrated as a 3-point shots right now, but very efficient. 

[harizen]

Speaking of Carmelo Anthony, a last run would be great. Regardless of he's lacking defense, that's not important and matters since after all, he can contribute on the offense effectively and it's not that he will play over 10 minutes or even just sit him on the bench. Just one last run and that's it. After all, when teams signed him before, it's not that you can expect Melo to play defense at that point of his career.

Hopefully, Chris Paul's hopes to have Melo on their team will be granted.

[ultrloa]

Speaking of Carmelo Anthony, a last run would be great. Regardless of he's lacking defense, that's not important and matters since after all, he can contribute on the offense effectively and it's not that he will play over 10 minutes or even just sit him on the bench. Just one last run and that's it. After all, when teams signed him before, it's not that you can expect Melo to play defense at that point of his career.

Hopefully, Chris Paul's hopes to have Melo on their team will be granted.

He's lack of defense is now an important matter since he will be a loophole the team and can cause problem to them. He will be a easy target for an attack to get easy basket so he's still a liability for a team especially when defensive situation is needed. But its good to get this guy in the team especially with the suns since they still need more shooters in second unit.

[Dave1]

Speaking of Carmelo Anthony, a last run would be great. Regardless of he's lacking defense, that's not important and matters since after all, he can contribute on the offense effectively and it's not that he will play over 10 minutes or even just sit him on the bench. Just one last run and that's it. After all, when teams signed him before, it's not that you can expect Melo to play defense at that point of his career.

Hopefully, Chris Paul's hopes to have Melo on their team will be granted.

Lebron got his in Lakers and still the same though, no defense, yeah he contributed but that's about it. So not sure how he will be a good fit for the Suns when they have all the offensive load already, Booker, KD and CP3.

What the Suns need is to have a good defensive player, they have lost two of their best in that trade. So doesn't make sense for the argument of Suns management to get him because of Anthony's last run with them or the willingness of CP3 to have him as a team mate.

[Captain Corporate]

I agree with others, him being such a terrible defender is the reason why he is not in the league anymore. I mean that dude wouldn't even guard us at this point, he isn't just bad defender by his own merit and talent anymore, he is a bad defender in his mind as well, doesn't even attempt to try a defensive move anymore, he just lets whoever he is guarding to score, well that's how he was when he last played. He doesn't even play that much of a great offense anymore to make that worthy, if he was scoring like 15-20 points in 25-30 minutes, I could see why his lack of defense could be ok, but he doesn't even shoot that efficiently anymore so nobody needs him.

[mirakal]

I think Melo's career is over, he averages 13 PPG with the Lakers but he does not give a big impact on the team to win. Maybe if the Suns will acquire him, that will give him a bigger chance to win a championship than his contribution to the team. I have no hate for Melo, but his time being a contributor to the team is already over.

If there's someone I think they should sign, it should be DeMarcus Cousins, he'll surely be a good backup Center for Ayton.

Who knows, friendship can win over game contribution. But I do agree with what you say, if they will ever try to sign Melo then I think he will just be a roster filler or a backup shooter for garbage times. Maybe he could also offer some advice to young players in their team.

About Cousins, yes, I'd take him over Melo. He had been showing all his workouts in his social media accounts and I think he suited to play again.
But no team had been interested with him yet and the All-Star is near. If Suns really want to strengthen their core, they may need to add some defensive players because they are now filled with offensive ones.

They both needed an offense and a defense kind of player and it really depends on the Suns how will they weigh the scenarios because I know that they are also thinking a good contributor from the bench or if someone from the main line-up will have an early exit because of some problems and injury. Same here, DeMarcus Cousins is probably much better if we compare him and Melo.

[freedomgo]

It's already time for Melo to leave this team and it's already stopped. I don't have a problem with Melo either, he was a very high level player in his old days, now he can't contribute even if he wanted to, I think he should leave the team. A little change will be useful for the Lakers, Lebron James's time is running out, he can no longer find the same rhythm in every game, even if he finds it, he will not find it in the future.

If he still got the contract with the Lakers, there's no way for him to leave and violate the contract. The team has all the means to whether use him or not with every game that they have. It's just sad that when a player like him that has been one of the superstars before, doesn't get a playing time anymore and when the contract expires then possible that there will be no renewal for him anymore. He can be part of the coaching staff and just like the other veteran NBA players got, still they're able to work with their passion and sport that they love.

If given that chance, he can continue working with the team, if it's already done with his career maybe sitting as a coach or assistant coach
will fit for him, he got the talent that he can share with the newcomers.

Like what you mentioned, there are veteran stars who became a successful coach after playing and if Melo will have that chance/opportunity
then it's a good to grab.

But the thing is, there are no teams right now in the league who seems interested to get Melo whether if they need someone from the coaching staff or as a player. It's unfortunate to see him now that he's like waiting for nothing and sooner, he will become a forgotten all-star player and will only remember on his prime years and not what he did afterwards. Maybe soon, he can have a special seat again in the league, hopefully.

[danherbias07]

Dallas Mavericks lost again.
This ain't looking pretty, that's two games with Luka and Kyrie playing side by side. Some may say Minnesota Timberwolves got stronger because they now have Conley which had good chemistry with Gobert but this is a Mavs team with two superstars so it's kind of odd to use that kind of reason.
Maybe I just expected too much from the Mavs and I thought it could work out early, they may need more time to fit but they need to make haste because their rank will keep on moving down for every loss they will take.

Mavs 121 - Twolves 124.
Luka said he should've given Kyrie the crucial shot in their game against the Kings but now I think he should've taken it. There's some shyness in the air for both Kyrie and Luka, it may take some time to fit in.

[Questat]

Mavs 121 - Twolves 124.
Luka said he should've given Kyrie the crucial shot in their game against the Kings but now I think he should've taken it. There's some shyness in the air for both Kyrie and Luka, it may take some time to fit in.

LOL, that's hilarious, whoever shoots the ball should have the confidence to do it, whether he'll miss it or not, it's just the play that has to be followed. These superstars have not won a game together, not sure who or what is the problem, but you are right, they need some time to fit in.

[LogitechMouse]

Dallas Mavericks lost again.
This ain't looking pretty, that's two games with Luka and Kyrie playing side by side. Some may say Minnesota Timberwolves got stronger because they now have Conley which had good chemistry with Gobert but this is a Mavs team with two superstars so it's kind of odd to use that kind of reason.

Defense. That's the problem of the Mavericks right now.

Yes you got 2 all-star players that are very good in offense and it's pretty obvious that they are both stepping up offensively. On the other hand, they are very awful defensively and no other team is good in defense as well. Yes your team scored 121 points which is high, but how can you allow your opponent score 124 points? Even before the trade, they are already at the bottom when it comes to defense. Now that they lost their best defender which is Dorian Finney-Smith, I expect them to go even lower when it comes to defense. Like I said, I'd rather focus more on defense than offense. Just look at how the Celtics played last season.

Maybe I just expected too much from the Mavs and I thought it could work out early, they may need more time to fit but they need to make haste because their rank will keep on moving down for every loss they will take.

Give them some time. The chemistry will be build anytime soon.

On the other hand, expecting too much will just hurt you . Look at the Nets right now and it was 3 years ago. Many expected the KD-Irving will be a perfect duo, and adding Harden to the team made them almost impossible to stop. Many has high expectations to the team, but what happened to them? Only won 1 playoff series, got swept against the Celtics and now they are now with different teams already. Don't expect too much always because the teams that you don't expect to win a title might be the ones who will win it all.