Carmelo Anthony leading the entire NBA in scoring isn't the only reason in which he's considered to be a strong contender (moving forward) for league MVP either, but also due to the simple fact that no other MVP contender has had to carry his team as much as Melo has thus far through 2012-2013. But yet only 4 NBA teams feature a stronger record when compared to our New York Knicks in whom are being led by Carmelo Anthony.

Not to take anything away from these all-time great players, but to add some perspective...

How many injuries has LeBron had to overcome with Miami?
How many injuries has Durant had to overcome with OKC?
How many injuries has Parker had to overcome with San Antonio?

LeBron James has only been without the likes of Mike Miller for 9 games, Shane Battier for 6 games, Wade for 4 games, Bosh for 3 games, Cole for 2 games, Haslem for 2 games and without Ray Allen for 2 games.

Only 28 games missed in regards to key players for both LeBron and Miami.

Kevin Durant has been without the likes of Reggie Jackson for 12 games, Hasheem Thabeet for 5 games, Serge Ibaka for 2 games, Kevin Martin for 2 games, Thabo Sefolosha for 1 games and without Russell Westbrook for 0 games.

Only 22 games missed in regards to key players for both Durant and Oklahoma City.

Tony Parker has been without the likes of Kawhi Leonard for 19 games, Stephen Jackson for 17 games, DeJuan Blair for 14 games, Manu Ginobili for 13 games, Tim Duncan for 10 games, Matt Bonner for 8 games, Gary Neal for 5 games and without Danny Green for 2 games.

88 games missed in regards to key players for both Parker and San Antonio.

I only ask this question because...

Carmelo Anthony has been without the likes of Iman Shumprt for 37 games, Marcus Camby for 35 games, Amar'e Stoudemire for 30 games, Rasheed Wallace for 29 games, Kurt Thomas for 19 games, Raymond Felton for 12 games, Jason Kidd for 5 games and without Steve Novak for 1 game.

168 games missed in regards to key players for both Carmelo and New York.

You could even combine all of OKC, MIA and SAS's key injuries and it still wouldn't amount to 168. 138 to be exact.

Carmelo Anthony had carried his team like a work horse here in 2012-2013. And I've enjoyed the way he's done so. We're 29-13 during games in which Melo has played. A winning percentage of .690% despite all of our team injuries.

With all that stated, I believe that Ewing's greatest offensive season was back in 1989-1990 (23 years ago). His first (and only) All-NBA First Team selection.

Ewing averaged 28.6 points, 2.9 offensive boards, 2.2 assists and 3.5 turnovers per game (off of .551 shooting from the field). A Free Throw percentage of .775%. Got to the line 7.9 times per game.

Melo's averaging 29.0 points, 1.5 offensive boards, 2.8 assists & 2.7 turnovers per game (off of .454 shooting from the field). A Free Throw percentage of .833%. Getting to the line 7.4 times per game.

I personally believe that Carmelo Anthony's putting up some of the greatest offensive performances we've ever seen/enjoyed as a fan base/franchise. We can always agree to disagree, but there is no question in regards to Carmelo Anthony being our franchise player and/or team leader come game night. I really appreciate the different types of ways that he's held our offense together as our guards have struggled shooting from the field. He leads the entire league in scoring at 29.0 points per game as our Knicks rank 9th in scoring.

It's simply amazing how we now feature a top 3 MVP contender for the first time since Patrick Ewing dating back to Ewing's prime years. Our greatest Knick since Patrick Ewing and it's a remarkable feeling.

it basically tells us that durant is the better teammate, a better facilitator. assist totals are... nice-- but don't tell us very much.

durant's TS% which is a measure of efficiency, combining total points/FTA/3ptA, is at 65.4% which is one for the ages.
melo's TS% is 57.2 and regressing as we get further into the season. 56%TS is mediocre, the equivalent of 45-46FG%

it's like comparing bird to wilkins. were they on the same level?

raven wrote:After the article I posted on Grantland about Durant's incredible season (), here are a few facts about Lebron's own insane season:

- In the past two decades, only two players have shot 56+ pct from the floor on 18+ attempts per game: Shaq and LeBron.

- LeBron is 20 of 21 FG (95.2 percent) in the first quarter during this 5 game streak of his.

- LeBron is shooting 71.4 FG% over his last five games. Michael Jordan's best FG% over five games? 69.6 FG% back in 1988.

- LeBron has shot at least 50 pct in 17 of his 19 games in 2013. Carmelo has shot 50+ pct in just 16 games this season.

- List of players who can match LeBron in assists per game and 3FG% this season: Steve Nash and Jose Calderon. That's it.

- Last one: LeBron is currently shooting 56 pct from the floor and 42 pct on 100+ threes. No one's ever done that.

So all in all, I'm not a carmelo hater although I don't like him that much either. He's a gifted scorer for sure, but he lacks the ''it'' thing that makes MVPs unique players.

He's a very good player, great even sometimes, but he's flawed and I doubt he'll be able to lead the Knicks to a championship. I really hope he'll prove me wrong though.

Damn I still wish Starks made that Game 6 last 3 point shot...

Carmelo is good enough to win a championship. He needs to stay out of Knick business. He could've taken less like Lebron and WQade did to be a Knick--that is the killer. If he had taken less and we had Danillo Chandler Mosgov Lin this team would be unbeatable. Right now he needs to be quiet on business end of things--the team as comprised is not good enough. The big killers are J Kidd being overused and dropping off substantially (and he is not coming back)the Ronnie Brewer failure and the Camby/Wallace disaster. I cant count Shumpert because I did not expect anything from him this year(although that hurts bad too) but Melo is a guy who can help a team win--he just cant make believe he can score 56 a game to do it.

By Month GP FG%
November 12 .509
December 14 .395
January 12 .382
February 6 .233

fishmike wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:

raven wrote:After the article I posted on Grantland about Durant's incredible season (), here are a few facts about Lebron's own insane season:

- In the past two decades, only two players have shot 56+ pct from the floor on 18+ attempts per game: Shaq and LeBron.

- LeBron is 20 of 21 FG (95.2 percent) in the first quarter during this 5 game streak of his.

- LeBron is shooting 71.4 FG% over his last five games. Michael Jordan's best FG% over five games? 69.6 FG% back in 1988.

- LeBron has shot at least 50 pct in 17 of his 19 games in 2013. Carmelo has shot 50+ pct in just 16 games this season.

- List of players who can match LeBron in assists per game and 3FG% this season: Steve Nash and Jose Calderon. That's it.

- Last one: LeBron is currently shooting 56 pct from the floor and 42 pct on 100+ threes. No one's ever done that.

So all in all, I'm not a carmelo hater although I don't like him that much either. He's a gifted scorer for sure, but he lacks the ''it'' thing that makes MVPs unique players.

He's a very good player, great even sometimes, but he's flawed and I doubt he'll be able to lead the Knicks to a championship. I really hope he'll prove me wrong though.

Damn I still wish Starks made that Game 6 last 3 point shot...

Carmelo is good enough to win a championship. He needs to stay out of Knick business. He could've taken less like Lebron and WQade did to be a Knick--that is the killer. If he had taken less and we had Danillo Chandler Mosgov Lin this team would be unbeatable. Right now he needs to be quiet on business end of things--the team as comprised is not good enough. The big killers are J Kidd being overused and dropping off substantially (and he is not coming back)the Ronnie Brewer failure and the Camby/Wallace disaster. I cant count Shumpert because I did not expect anything from him this year(although that hurts bad too) but Melo is a guy who can help a team win--he just cant make believe he can score 56 a game to do it.

thats the one Lebron comparison where he really fell short. Taking less money to win puts you in a rare place in sports. People can knock Bron all they want but he took less to make that team better. Melo cost us the money and the players and it still hurts. We got a stud player but are we now stuck in Nuggets land of not being able to improve the team enough to make the trade worth it? Kidd is Mr November. If you look at this roster over all we are getting very little from all these old guys they signed. Kurt, Sheed, Prigo, Kidd, Camby.. After a great start from Kidd this way of going about filling out the roster has yielded nothing

Exactamundo.

Right now he can barely get off the ground and get a shot off

yellowboy90 wrote:No Tony Parker love. The guy is at 54% and 40% with nearly 8 assists.

Always has been in the Scussin go back and look at the original Carmelo MVP thread I believe started by jhustlaz

3G4G wrote:

fishmike wrote:12 games in Nov Kidd shot 51%...

By Month GP FG%
November 12 .509
December 14 .395
January 12 .382
February 6 .233

Remember when very few of us gauged the pulse of this team by what Kidd was doing and ascribed TEAM mvp consideration to him? Well every since his play has dropped off we've looked pretty suspect as a team regardless if Melo drops 40+ or scores 20-25.

yeah i remember that. i remember saying thank god kidd is in the backcourt covering the flaws of ray felton in terms of offensive cohesion. but then woody got desperate and had to play kidd over 30 minutes a game where he was clearly suited to 18 minutes maximum. the strain caught up with kidd and he has not been the same player since. that's what happens when you have an old team... players with skills and BBIQ break down and the team unravels.