Carmelo Anthony is one of the players most responsible for the New York Knicks’ performance of late.
I believe it goes without saying that Carmelo Anthony is playing some of his best basketball this season.
It’s kind of funny really because early on this season, I was so frustrated with Anthony’s poor, nightly performances. He’s really stepped up lately, though. Despite the New York Knicks only being 21-22 this season, it’s reassuring to see MSG’s superstar playing like his old self again.
Over his last 10 games, Anthony is averaging 20.5 points, 4.9 assists, 8.0 rebounds, and 48% from the field. The scoring figure is a bit low, but this should be expected. The Knicks managed to scoop up some free agents that can score in Anthony’s place. Arron Afflalo, Lance Thomas, and Derrick Williams have all shown us what they’re made of.
Meanwhile, Carmelo has been assisting on a lot of their scoring throughout the season. Which leads me to what I’d like to address first hand. Assists. And for the purposes of this article, I will only be discussing Carmelo’s time on the Knicks.
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I’ve only been watching basketball for a few years now, and I’ve learned a hell of a lot about the Knicks after the Linsanity era. Carmelo Anthony became a symbol for this team, of course, following Amar’e Stoudemire‘s short reign. During Melo’s first few years in New York, I noticed he didn’t really pass the ball a lot. As I learned throughout the years, he had every right not to pass the ball because the players surrounding him were not capable of scoring like he was.
This sadly led to the 17-65 season that Knicks fans will dread for eternity. I’m in no way mad at Melo, he’s had to deal with some horrible performances for years now. Time and time again, I’ve seen Anthony pass to his teammates only to miss a wide-open shot in crunch time (I’m sure we all witnessed the recent Jose Calderon shot against the Spurs). I’ll be fair in saying that Calderon wasn’t exactly open for the shot, but it was definitely a shot he could have taken comfortably.
Melo passes the ball, mostly, to Robin Lopez, Kristaps Porzingis, Calderon, and Afflalo, which kind of gives me heartburn because I’d like to remove Calderon from that list altogether. Thankfully, Porzingis gives Melo the most assists from his passes. This goes to show that Anthony is showing trust in his rookie.
That’s a huge step for the All-Star forward. Porzingis is taking a huge amount of stress off of Anthony, especially because they dominate the frontcourt together. Porzingis’ size and frame is allowing Melo to score efficiently, as well as dish the ball if he’s got the hot hand.
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Of course, I must give credit where credit is due, and that credit goes to Afflalo. He’s been able to hit huge shots as well, so the scoring load continues to move away from Melo’s shoulders. This allows him, I think, to operate more fluid on the court. The lane has been opening up for Melo, he’s been hitting amazing shots from mid-range, and he hit that jaw-dropping three-pointer over Nerlens Noel on Martin Luther King Day to force the first overtime.
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Against the 76ers, Anthony had a bit of a shooting drought as he shot 7-of-28. On top of that, however, he managed to grab 7 rebounds and dish 8 assists, closing out a nerve-racking double overtime game. I’d have to attribute the poor shooting to his tender ankle, which is usually a tough part of the body to play on with explosiveness. Regardless, Anthony is without a doubt performing at an elite level again, and after playing 49+ minutes against Philadelphia, he deserves a good rest.
Every player will go through their struggles, Carmelo Anthony included. But if he can keep up this growth in his all-around game, the Knicks can expect to see a quality post-season appearance.
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I’d also like to add that I am more than happy to hear any of your opinions that are Knicks-related, so feel free to follow me on Twitter or post in the comments!