04-06-2021, 03:24 PM
(04-06-2021, 08:27 AM)DanSchwartzgan Wrote: I'm trying not to get too high or too low on Melli at this point. The D has been very encouraging. The team is +12, +1, -8, +22 and +5 with him in the game and the D-Rating in his time on the court is just stupid low. But, given all the other one dimensional guys we have, you would think Melli's opportunity would be limited if he continues to be sub-.500 in TS%.Thanks for looking up this info, Dan. It is great, the way you always provide support for your points.
You would think Carlisle would have to pick his spots in terms of making sure Melli is on with guys who can shoot. But, his best two 2-man lineups for O-Rating are with Powell and DFS (115.8 and 104.2). Imagine how it might work if one of Powell and Melli could hit an outside shot. The O-Rating is under 100 with shooters like Luka, THJ, Brunson and Maxi and he's only played 3 minutes in one game next to KP. It is super early and match-ups in only 5 games make a huge difference, but that is pretty much the opposite of what I expected to see.
Agree that it is pretty much impossible to draw conclusions about the best Melli lineups based on a super-tiny statistical sample size. Your eye/gut test might actually be more reliable this early.
Also agree that it will be hard to use Melli very much if he shoots this poorly. He ended up hardly appearing in NO, due to his offense being unplayably bad. Hopefully, that will come around. Luka seems to be making a targeted effort to feed him.