IN THE STARS
Anthony now a team guy
Anthony, an All-Star starter, is improving with age, according to Knicks coach
THERE WAS Carmelo Anthony receiving the ball near the 3-point line, played closely by Utah’s Trevor Booker down the stretch of Wednesday’s one-point game. Anthony didn’t dribble. He lifted the ball over his head, watched Arron Afflalo run to an open spot on the other side of the court and nailed him with the pass. Three points, Knicks. That play was essentially recreated 25 seconds later, this time with defender Gordon Hayward up in Anthony’s chest. Instead of lowering his head for a move to create his own shot − as we’ve seen him do countless times in his career − Anthony surveyed the floor like a quarterback, waiting until Langston Galloway ditched his defender in the opposite corner. Anthony hit him with a dart. Three points, Knicks. There are a lot of instances of teams just paying lip service to its preferred storyline, which often resembles something like this: (insert star player here) is such an unselfish teammate; he doesn’t care about his stats; he just wants to win; he makes everyone around him better. It was a hard narrative to trust at many stages of Anthony’s NBA path, especially when he was delaying knee surgery to play in an All-Star game. But there is enough evidence during his butterfly season − now at a large sample size − to suggest Anthony has turned that corner.
It prompted coach Derek Fisher to suggest something Wednesday that was previously considered silly: at 31 years old coming off knee surgery − with 12 seasons under his belt − Anthony is improving, not deteriorating, and there’s room to grow.
“Obviously, he’s continuing to rise. And I think the interesting thing for Melo is that there’s this land of opportunity out there that he has not quite accessed yet,” coach Derek Fisher said. “And that’s what we’re here to do alongside him. In terms of where I rank him (amongst all-time greats), I don’t know. I’m hopeful that the product is so unfinished that we’ll end up ranking him pretty high. He’s a prolific scorer, no doubt about it. But I think the other facets of the game that he’s capable of dominating as well − those are the parts that will elevate him and elevate our team.”
The numbers tell the story: Anthony’s averaging the most assists in his career (4)− a number that continues to rise − and the fewest shot attempts in over a decade. He’s rebounding more (7.6 per game). The Knicks (22-22), who can get above .500 for the first time since November with a win Friday against the Clippers, are 0-4 when Anthony doesn’t play.
Fisher tossed some credit to the system for Anthony’s revamp, perhaps throwing a little shade at Mike Woodson’s isolation-heavy philosophy.
“To me, he’s a more willing passer than he’s given credit for. But if you’re playing isolation basketball your spacing is not what it should
PHOTOS BY AP be,” Fisher said. “And the more we could play with good spacing, I think he’ll make the right passes if he sees who is open.
“He has that ability. All the facets of the game he’s capable of being really, really good at a high level − scoring, rebounding and sharing the ball,” Fisher said. “And he showed a level of trust in his teammates that’s required for us to be successful. And the more his teammates have trust in themselves in those moments, and take and make those shots, and not be afraid of that moment, that builds trust as a unit that we’re going to need late in these games.”
On Wednesday night in an overtime victory over the Jazz, Anthony certainly trusted his teammates and they delivered on his game-high nine assists. In overtime and the final minute of regulation, Anthony assisted on three 3-pointers − to three different players. It’s becoming common for an evolving player who was labeled too selfish to win.
“Those are simple plays that you have to make,” he said.