Ex-coach’s critiques out of line
A MID a wave of anti-Carmelo Anthony fervor in the city during one of the frequent dismal stretches for the Knicks last season — which naturally was all Anthony’s fault — an opposing executive shook his head and laughed.
“Let me ask you,” he said, “who leads the Knicks in scoring?” Anthony. “Who leads them in rebounds?” Anthony. “Who leads them in assists?”
Anthony was the answer as a trend started coming into view for even the dimmest bulbs.
“So what the [heck] else is he supposed to do? That guy gets a bad rap.”
Perhaps the worst rap is being laid on Anthony by his former coach in Denver, Hall of Famer George Karl, the fifth-winningest coach all time. Karl, in his upcoming book “Furious George,” portrayed Anthony as self-centered, spoiled, not among the hardest workers on Earth and as defensively capable as a kumquat. He lumped Anthony with other players, describing them as “AAU babies [like] the spoiled brats you see in junior golf and junior tennis.” Then on Page 2 … Anthony chose to take the high and said he would let others, like Kenyon Martin and J.R. Smith who fired back at Karl barbs via Twitter, speak for him.
“Everybody else is speaking up for me at this point from their own experience, so I really don’t have to speak on it,” Anthony said after the Knicks beat the Magic, 106-95, at the Garden.
“It’s different when you go to bat for yourself, and it’s you against somebody else’s word,” Anthony said. “It’s a big difference when you have guys who were actually in it there and have their own experiences that can speak on it from their own standpoint.
“Nothing disappoints me anymore. I hope he just finds happiness in what he’s doing with his book.”
Why would Karl attack him now? They divorced five years ago. Oh wait, book sales.
“He was also a user of people, addicted to the spotlight and very unhappy when he had to share it,” Karl wrote.
“He really lit my fuse with his low demand of himself on defense,” Karl offered. “Since Carmelo only played hard on one side of the ball, he made it plain he couldn’t lead the Nuggets.”
OK, Anthony never is going to be a first-team all-league defender, but he plays hard — you don’t lead any team in three major categories without going hard.
Leadership? Anthony has united the Knicks, getting them together for offseason sessions in Puerto Rico. And last summer, coach Mike Krzyzewski and the U.S. Olympians had no trouble with Anthony when they won the gold medal.
“I have an unbelievable respect for Carmelo,” Krzyzewski said. “He has become our leader and has become a really good leader.”
Both coaches at Thursday’s game, the Knicks’ Jeff Hornacek (naturally) and Orlando’s Frank Vogel, had nothing but high praise for Anthony.
“Carmelo for us has been great. ... All I can go by is what I’ve seen out of Carmelo here,” Hornacek said. “He’s been a great leader.”
Vogel, admitting he could only address Anthony the player, said, “He’s somebody that’s at the top of the scouting report every time you play a Carmelo Anthony team.”
Oh, Anthony’s a spoiled AAU brat? Yeah, find pro athletes who aren’t. Good luck with that.
Anthony often is maligned in New York because, well, it’s New York. Other big-name stars in other sports — Derek Jeter, Eli Manning — delivered titles. But again, they led star-filled casts. The Knicks gave up a boatload of assets to obtain Anthony, prompting Karl to claim the Nuggets won the trade.
Hornacek, who played in Utah for Jerry Sloan, admitted he “probably” would have felt betrayed had that Hall of Famer ripped him after the fact.
“You always have faith in any guy that’s coached you,” Hornacek said.
Well, maybe not always.