Melo won't play against the Lakers on Friday?

As I was watching it with a few of my friends, I kept saying that he’d probably be out 2-3 weeks.

the ankle looked pretty bad…. also i doubt he gives a shit about his stats cuz he prob knows that if you miss games it also messes w your chances of winning the MVP

I just think that Chauncy has played on an ankle thats not perfect so why doesn’t Melo come and help the team win? Wear a brace on the ankle don’t drive the lane as much, probably won’t score 30 but perhaps provide an outside presence that allows Nene/Graham/Kmart/ etc some more freedom inside.

I get the feeling Melo is saying to himself, “I need to heal up so I can be the MAN again.” Its a team sport, and Melo IS the man, however he can still contribute to allow for a team victory even if he’s not at full speed. Karl can reduce his minutes and switch up the rotations.

full disclosure: clearly I’m an idiot and Melo camping in the corner draining 3’s would only hurt our chances to take down a high scoring team like the Suns….. wait a sec.

Carmelo Anthony was a legitimate MVP candidate for the first 3 months of the season. But after his injury, it has CLEARLY been proven that while Carmelo may be the best player on the team, Chauncey Billups is clearly the MVP of the nuggets team. Subsequently, I have not even heard Carmelo Anthony’s name mentioned in regards to the MVP.

I have also heard some people speculate that Melo is perhaps sitting out to protect his scoring lead. Well, Carmelo Anthony did not average about 30 points a game by accident. The reason he averages 30ppg, is because he usually DOES score that much in every game. This isn’t like Johan Petro having a 50 point game and then sitting out to win the scoring title because it was obviously a fluke. Melo can score whenever he wants, sitting out to win the scoring title makes no sense.

stop coming up with crazy theories people. He just wants to be 100% before he comes back. Even before the ankle injury, you could see Melo wincing in pain in almost every game. He was clearly banged up all over the place, and he doesn’t want to have to deal with lingering injuries/pain down the stretch when the games REALLY MATTER. It is likely that Karl keeps saying Melo is going to play because he believes it is a (slight, albeit) competitive advantage. It is amazing how one bad game can spawn the panic and terror I’ve seen here in the past 24 hours.

Where in the hell did you come up with this one? I admit, there may be reasons Melo is sitting out that are questionable, since it’s hard to understand why he was supposed to be back like 4 games ago and still isn’t, but this theory is just out there. Personally I think Melo has about a 15% chance at winning the MVP and I think he probably feels the same way, so there’s no reason he would be sitting out for his numbers because the only way he wins the MVP is if the Nuggets pass the Lakers for first in the West and in order to do that we need him.

it couldn’t possibly be that Melo has the best interest of the team in mind now could it?

When Chauncey waits until he’s 100% to come back everyone says its a smart move but when Melo does it he’s faking it or not tough enough or trying to protect his numbers/mvp status?

What is this crazy talk?!

Like snowboard said up there. If Melo comes back he will just be shooting jumpers and play less defense than he already does.

Melo has been great this year because he’s been punishing people in the post and getting to the freethrow line basically at will. The main reason he isnt back is because his explosive first step (which he has been known for) is not there. He cant be as effective without it. Not to mention that he’ll just get blown by off the dribble (think about when the magic recently beat the celtics. KG played with his gimp knee but he couldnt even pursue Rashard Lewis on his game winning layup!).

Also. You dont want Melo being Kobe. Taking like 7 more shots a game but averaging less points a game. You also dont want Melo pulling a Gilbert Arenas (No I’m not talking about guns here, ha!) and should be happy he’s not Tracy McGrady (Imploring to the coach he can play when he’s actually at like 60 percent. Not to mention he has a 23 million dollar contract).

In conclusion, I do think that Melo wants the scoring title but not at the expense of his team and winning the championship this year. I’d rather him get healthy and help this team make a run for that gold ball and not know if he’s gonna be in or out of the lineup. Chauncey tried to come back early for Christmas against Portland (I believe) and didnt play the second half. He rested and then proceeded to play the best month of his career. Get healthy. Come back. Do work.