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  • September 06, 2008 05:12 PM ET

Hoops Junkie Haven Tournament Round 2: Better player Carmelo Anthony or Al Jefferson?

lakers#1 says ROLL TIDE! (113-54-14) vs 0x NBA/NFL Champion (68-16-11)
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Ox sent me two topics and this is the one I decided to choose.

Out of these two players we already decided I would go Melo and he would go Al.

Let's compare there career stats.

Anthony 24.4 PPG 6.0 RPG 3.0 APG
Jefferson 13.4 PPG 8.4 RPG 0.9 APG

As you can see, Anthony's stats are far better than Jefferson's over there careers. I know your going to argue that Jefferson wasn't a starter right away so how about last season's stats.

Anthony 25.7 PPG 7.4 RPG 3.4 APG 49 FG %
Jefferson 21.0 PPG 11.1 RPG 1.4 APG 50 FG %

Anthony's stats are still better. Jefferson has 3.7 more RPG, but Anthony has 4.7 more PPG, and 2.0 more APG.

Let's look at some accomplishments

All Star Apperances
Anthony 2
Jefferson 0

All NBA Teams
Anthony 2
Jefferson 0

Playoff Apperances
Anthony 5
Jefferson 1

Not to mention Carmelo Anthony has been on two Olympic teams.

The only other team Jefferson has been apart of is the All Rookie 2nd team, Anthony was on the All Rookie 1st team.

When you combine all that together it shows that Carmelo Anthony is a better player than Al Jefferson.


If you want to look at the career stats, you are correct saying that they can be misleading. But here's something for you; in 10 MORE minutes, Carmelo still has LESS rebounds. Carmelo is 6-8, so it's not like he doesn't have the height. Playing on a team known for it's scoring and playing on the wing, he still has less than 2 assists than someone who's played down low his entire career.

The big thing Carmelo has for him is scoring. But this is misleading, as well. He plays on a run-n-gun team and often has mismatches in his favor. On the other hand, Big Al is constantly getting double-teamed and usually faces defenses that are looking to shut him down and force other guys to beat them.

Carmelo got almost NO CLOCK on the 04 team that is one of the most disappointing of all-time.

Carmelo had to deal with the big 3, and rookies Kirk Hinrich, Jarvis Hayes, Haslem, T.J. Ford, Marquis Daniels, etc. Al had Howard, Okafor, Iguodala, Deng, Gordon, Josh Smith, etc.

Playoff appearances don't mean that much for this. LeBron has 3, Carmelo has 5? Is Carmelo better? Not even close.


Al plays MUCH MORE defense, doesn't have the off-court baggage, and brings more to the table. Al is better.


"The big thing Carmelo has for him is scoring. But this is misleading, as well. He plays on a run-n-gun team and often has mismatches in his favor"

I don't see how it is misleading when, Jefferson is the without a doubt the top player on the T'Wolves, and one of there very few bright spots. He is the #1 scoring option, so there is no excuses for him not leading Melo. Especially when you have a guy like Allen Iverson on his team who averages over 26 PPG.

"Carmelo still has LESS rebounds. Carmelo is 6-8, so it's not like he doesn't have the height."

Considering Jefferson is a Center and Melo is a SF, Jefferson should average more rebounds. You talk about the run n gun offensive style by the Nuggets and the fact they don't play much Defense. Jefferson has more rebounding opportunities.

Plus if Melo is on the perimeter and a shot goes up he is heading to the other end of the floor going for a home run play. That is just part of the run n gun offensive style.

Al Jefferson hasn't even made an All Star team yet, and he hasn't been on an All NBA team either. Melo has made two All Star Apperances and 2 All NBA Teams.

At this point Melo is better.


Denver scores 110+ points a game. So it's not like Carmelo is competing, EVERYBODY on that team scores. The Wolves score 95 a game. Big Al gets 21+ of those. He's constantly getting double-teamed, defenses are collapsing on him, defenses are planning for him, etc. When playing Denver, defenses have to worry about MUCH more than Carmelo. Big Al is the ONLY focus, yet he still manages to get his.

"Plus if Melo is on the perimeter and a shot goes up he is heading to the other end of the floor going for a home run play. That is just part of the run n gun offensive style. "

That is EXACTLY why it is irrelevant that Carmelo scores 4 more points a game. But, Big Al has a BETTER shooting %, which counts for something.


But here's why I want Al: DEFENSE.

Al isn't known for his defense, but he's no slouch, either. Carmelo is AWFUL on the defensive end. He's NEVER played any defense in the NBA.

25, 10 on Dwight Howard
David West- 20, 10; West had 12, 6
31, 14 on Dirk
Al Horford- 23, 16; Horford had 6, 7
Andrew Bynum- 24, 15; Bynum had 10
Amare Stoudemire- 32, 20; Amare had 16, 5
24, 14 on Shaq
39, 15 on Amare
40, 19 on NJN
26, 20 on Wallace

I could go ON AND ON, but I think you get it.


"That is EXACTLY why it is irrelevant that Carmelo scores 4 more points a game. But, Big Al has a BETTER shooting %, which counts for something."

You act like his shooting % is a lot better or something. Last sesaon Al Jefferson shot 1 % better from the field. Jefferson SHOULD shoot better from the field. Melo spends some of his time on the perimeter and shoots from downtown. Jefferson plays in the post and doesn't shoot from the outside. Little easier shot from from 5 feet than it is from 22.

You talked about earlier how Anthony only averaged 2 more assists. Then you talked about Jefferson seeing double teams. Jefferson should average more assists than he really does. If your doubled somebody has to be open.

Al Jefferson is no doubt a future star, but at this point in both of their career's Anthony has had a better one. Jefferson is going to be a superstar, but Anthony already is a superstar.

Melo has led the Nuggets to the playoffs every single season he has been in the NBA. He completley led the turn around. The year before he got there they were 17-65, his first season they went 43-39 and made the playoffs.

At this point Melo is the better player.


It's close; Jefferson is better. It's simple.

Jefferson was the 11th best passing C in the NBA. MIN was one of the WORST scoring teams. Jefferson is a VERY GOOD passing big man, he just doesn't get the stats because guys can't finish. I've watched this many times.

Melo HASN'T LED them to the playoffs every year. AI is the leader. When they get there, what happens? Nothing. Don't blame Al for playing on bad teams. Melo has problems with COACHES, TEAMMATES, and the LAW. Jefferson doesn't have that baggage.

Melo is better OFFENSIVELY. But more complete? NOT EVEN CLOSE. I'll explain.

Jefferson gets 1.4 blocks a GAME and nearly a steal a game, which is 5TH IN THE NBA FOR C. Melo barely gets a steal, and isn't even close to a block. Al is ONE OF THE BEST REBOUNDERS IN THE NBA.

Melo is AWFUL efficiency-wise. He has the 5TH MOST TO'S IN THE NBA. And he played LESS than everybody else up there except LBJ who had DOUBLE assists. Melo's one of the MOST CARELESS PLAYERS IN THE NBA.

You NEED to play defense. Melo plays NO DEFENSE. Hasn't, won't. Al held:

Horford to 6
Amare to 16
West to 6
KG to 10
Wallace to 5
Bosh to 14
Perkins to 1
Duncan to 12
Boozer to 12

Al SHUTS ALL-STARS DOWN.

Comments (12) Add A Comment

September 6, 2008  05:38 PM ET
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Alright, I've got an uphill argument ahead of me. First, let me ask that you please VOTE ON ARGUMENTS. Not because I'll necesserily have the better one, but because I know how everyone loves Carmelo.

September 6, 2008  05:39 PM ET
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"less than 2 assists"

I meant that he has less than 2 MORE if that makes sense...

September 6, 2008  05:44 PM ET
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Lets be real, cmon now 0x. I dont care personally for either player but Melo is SO much better. When you are the only player on one of the worst teams in the NBA, you can expect PPG and RPG up... you can hog the ball being the one shine spot of the team as of now. Melo shares the points with AI and rebounds with Camby... Melo is so much better than Jefferson and I dont even understand how it can be argued.

September 6, 2008  05:44 PM ET
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makes since 0x

September 6, 2008  06:33 PM ET
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Strong last argument lakers#1 very true!

September 6, 2008  06:58 PM ET
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So your voting against me because of that bball star 3? This TD is about who is the better player right now, not who is going to better later on.

September 6, 2008  07:00 PM ET
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I HATE CHARACTER LIMITS!!!!!! Lol

September 6, 2008  07:02 PM ET
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What is the last part of your argument saying 0x?

September 7, 2008  02:58 PM ET
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"Carmelo is 6-8, so it's not like he doesn't have the height. Playing on a team known for it's scoring and playing on the wing, he still has less than 2 assists than someone who's played down low his entire career."

Kind of contradictory here, 0x. If he plays on the wing, he should be getting less rebounds even though he's tall enough.

"I don't see how it is misleading when, Jefferson is the without a doubt the top player on the T'Wolves, and one of there very few bright spots. He is the #1 scoring option, so there is no excuses for him not leading Melo. Especially when you have a guy like Allen Iverson on his team who averages over 26 PPG."

The #1 scorer on a weak team is often plagued by good defense. Bad rebuttal, in my opinion. As far as Iverson and Melo averaging a lot together, that again relates back to their style of play.

"You talk about the run n gun offensive style by the Nuggets and the fact they don't play much Defense. Jefferson has more rebounding opportunities."

Quite the oppositve, in my opinion. More points means more possessions. More possessions means more shots. More shots means more rebounds.

"Plus if Melo is on the perimeter and a shot goes up he is heading to the other end of the floor going for a home run play."

I believe that's called cherry-picking, not run and gun. You are supposed to either stay around the three-point line for the outlet pass or crash the boards. There really isn't anything else you should be doing. You run to the other end when you see your teammate has secured the rebound.

"That is EXACTLY why it is irrelevant that Carmelo scores 4 more points a game. But, Big Al has a BETTER shooting %, which counts for something."

Very good rebuttal, 0x. Nicely done.

"Melo spends some of his time on the perimeter and shoots from downtown."

Woah, woah, woah, hold up. I believe you just said that he cherry-picks to get the easy score. Now all of a sudden, he's bombing it from deep. See, that's my problem with Melo. He doesn't play defense; he cherry-picks as you said and he often has a poor shot selection hoisting up three-pointers that isn't in the rhythm of the offense.

"You talked about earlier how Anthony only averaged 2 more assists. Then you talked about Jefferson seeing double teams. Jefferson should average more assists than he really does. If your doubled somebody has to be open."

Very good point. The obvious rebuttal to this would be that he doesn't have anyone good to pass to, but these players are in the NBA for Pete's sake. If they don't make a wide-open jumper, then they should either be on the bench or blaming Big Al for throwing such a god-awful pass.

But a fantastic (and when I say fantastic, I mean it) third argument by 0x completely swayed me to the right. Great throwdown, guys.

September 7, 2008  03:25 PM ET
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For the last part, I only said he shut down Amare and Bosh since Stoudemire he averaged 25+ and Bosh averaged 22+....

September 7, 2008  03:54 PM ET
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GOAT how do you figure it is a good rebuttal by 0x to say Jefferson shoots a better FG %? He shot 1 % better from the field last season. That is not a big difference, especially considering Jefferson plays in the post and should shoot better

 
September 7, 2008  08:50 PM ET
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Great job you two.

GOAT -- you wrote too much, lol.

My vote goes to -- Ox
Why? -- Better arguments in my opinion.

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