Nene must be trapped back in Denver, because he made some interesting comments about new Houston Rockets teammate Carmelo Anthony. According to Mark Berman of Fox 26 KRIV, Nene still believes that Melo is a top-10 player in the league.
“He can be whatever he wants to be. He’s talented. It doesn’t matter how old he is. When he commits to do the right thing and they use his talent, man get out of the way. Simple as that. For me he’s a top-10 player in the league, still”
Nene was a longtime teammate of Melo with the Nuggets, but the veteran big man is off on this one. He’s not necessarily wrong until he declares Melo to be a top-10 player in the league. Of course, Anthony is still talented and is still capable of putting up big numbers on a given night.
But he’s definitely not the same player he was five years ago. He’s a complete liability on defense and he’s lost a step with age. He’s still a knockdown spot-up shooter and a bully as a small-ball 4, but is he a top-10 player in the league? No shot.
Melo should mesh well offensively alongside the always dangerous James Harden and Chris Paul. Their ability to run the pick-and-roll will open up opportunities for Anthony at the 3-point line, which is where he’s best at this point in his career.
Saying definitively that Melo isn’t a top-10 player isn’t a slight. He’s still capable of being a productive player on an excellent team. But he’s past the point in his career when he can carry a team like the elite players in the league can.
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