Alone on a podium late Thursday night, Carmelo Anthony wrapped himself in comfortable catchphrases and verbal deflections. The Miami Heat had not shut him down. He was simply “missing shots that I normally make.”

The Knicks, down three games to none in the playoffs, were not defeated. “Our confidence is high.”

Anthony’s tone was unwavering, his faith absolute. This is how elite talent speaks, with a self-belief that borders on the absurd and occasionally veers into self-delusion.

The Knicks, who have been outscored by 60 points in the series, are not going to be the first N.B.A. team (out of 100) to overcome a 3-0 deficit. Anthony, who is shooting .344 and has twice as many turnovers (12) as assists (6), is not going to lead them back.

The Knicks will soon exit the postseason, their 12th straight year without winning a series. Their 13-game losing streak is the longest in playoff history.

“I wasn’t here for them losses,” Anthony bristled this week, though he has now been here for seven.

His dismissiveness misses the larger point: the Knicks traded a bounty for Anthony — four starters and three draft picks — to end their decade-long drought, to make May and June matter again at Madison Square Garden. Anthony demanded a trade on the premise that he, along with Amar’e Stoudemire, would turn the Knicks into a reasonable facsimile of the LeBron James-Dwyane Wade Heat.

So far, the Anthony-Stoudemire Knicks have accomplished no more than the Stephon Marbury-Tim Thomas Knicks (swept in 2004).

They have had their misfortune — injuries to Stoudemire and Chauncey Billups in 2011, injuries to Stoudemire and Iman Shumpert in 2012 — but great teams find a way to win. And when they fail, the great players absorb, reflect and rededicate themselves.

Anthony is not the reflective type. He has rarely taken responsibility for his team’s failures, preferring to shift blame toward injuries, coaches or the playbook. But the N.B.A. is a star-driven league, and Anthony — a star by reputation, if not achievement — must eventually confront his own résumé.

In nine postseasons, Anthony is 16-36 — the worst record among active players with at least 50 playoff games. He has won a first-round series only once, in 2009. Since then, he has lost 11 of 13 playoff games. If the Knicks lose Sunday, it will be Anthony’s third time getting swept in five years.

Anthony shot .375 against the Boston Celtics in last year’s sweep. He is shooting miserably against Miami, but he is still taking 30 percent of his team’s field-goal attempts while the offense stagnates and the Heat loads up its defense.

Playing Meloball — in which Anthony dominates the offense, usually in ball-pounding isolation sets — got the Knicks through a critical late-season period, without Stoudemire and Jeremy Lin, with a 9-4 record. Anthony was brilliant in that stretch, shooting high percentages and collecting 30-point games while the defense did the rest.

But we are now seeing the limitations of Meloball. It can win 45 to 50 games (as it did in Denver), but it cannot beat a team as talented and disciplined as the Heat.

Stoudemire hardly saw the ball in the first two games of this series. The Knicks’ 3-point shooters are not getting open looks, because the ball is not moving.

Anthony is a great scorer. He is not yet a great player, because he does not consistently elevate his teammates. He averaged a modest 3.6 assists per game this season, and has a career average of 3.1.

By contrast, consider his close friends from the 2003 draft class: Wade has averaged 6.2 assists per game for his career, and James 6.9. Both Miami stars can control a game through their playmaking alone. The same goes for Kobe Bryant (4.7 career average), when the mood strikes.

In Cleveland, James led his teams deep into the playoffs (including the 2007 finals) despite a lackluster lineup, proving that a selfless star is infinitely more valuable than a single-minded gunner.

Kurt Rambis — a former teammate of Magic Johnson and a former coach of Bryant — put it best in an ESPN podcast, saying of Anthony: “One of the things he has to learn is how to involve his teammates more. There’s a lot more to winning ballgames than just scoring points.”

George Karl and Mike D’Antoni tried in vain to sell Anthony on this virtue, costing Karl years of aggravation and D’Antoni his job.

Initially, D’Antoni asked Anthony to play point forward, giving him the ball control he desired, but with equal responsibility for scoring and playmaking. Anthony accepted the role grudgingly and played it poorly.

Once Lin emerged, the Knicks’ playmaking needs were resolved. But Anthony was uncomfortable in a point guard-dominated offense and admitted as much a week before D’Antoni resigned.

So far, the only offense that seems to please Anthony is one where everyone else passes and he shoots.

“Melo is going to have to raise his game,” Coach Mike Woodson said Friday, suggesting that Anthony needs some growth to escape his personal playoff rut. “He’s got to change that.”

Woodson, an interim coach with no leverage, has necessarily catered to Anthony’s desires. With a little job security, he might not be so forgiving. Phil Jackson, if he were enticed by the Garden’s riches, would certainly demand a more team-oriented game.

Anthony will be 28 this month — old enough to be considered a veteran, young enough to learn. The Knicks will never be an elite team until he matures. And he will never truly be a star until he evolves.

Howard Beck lays this egg when it's clear we are about to be eliminated. Should have wrote this when Melo was tearing up teams while Amare was sitting in his suit.

AnubisADL wrote:Damned if you do damned if you don't. If Melo ball wasn't played we don't make the playoffs and Melo gets roasted for not carrying the team.

Howard Beck lays this egg when it's clear we are about to be eliminated. Should have wrote this when Melo was tearing up teams while Amare was sitting in his suit.

Actually you don't know that because we didn't really try to play a more team oriented style that would still have included many touches for Melo. The key was to have EVERYONE comfortable. Woody did make a change for a couple of games and it worked, but he soon went back to Melo Ball. For a couple of games Woody broke out the Motion, Ball Movement, PnR sets and the team was flowing.

It was "You Dropped a Bomb on Me" -- and Carmelo Anthony and two sharpshooting subs sure did.

Anthony had 35 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his second career triple-double, and the New York Knicks made 19 3-pointers to keep alive their Atlantic Division title hopes with a 118-110 victory over Boston on Tuesday night.

J.R. Smith and Steve Novak both scored 25 points for the Knicks, who overcame a season-high 43 points from Paul Pierce and moved into sole possession of seventh place in the Eastern Conference while trimming Boston's division lead to 3½ games.

Novak hit eight 3s in the highest-scoring game of his career. Smith made all seven of his 3s in the first half, equaling a team record.

"Our bench was great tonight," Anthony said. "Novak and J.R., them guys combined for 50 points off the bench. When they get hot like that, it's hard to deal with."

The Celtics would have wrapped up their fifth straight Atlantic title with a victory. Instead, the Knicks stunned them with a record-tying 14 3-pointers in a 72-point first half and equaled their season high by finishing 19 of 32 behind the arc. They improved to 14-5 under interim coach Mike Woodson.

Tyson Chandler had 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting for the Knicks, who finished one short of their franchise record for 3s, set last season.

"We didn't defend the 3 at all tonight," Pierce said. "We dug ourselves a huge hole that we couldn't climb out of."
The Celtics watched Anthony score 42 points in a losing effort against Miami on Sunday and apparently overreacted to it, trying so hard to get the ball out of his hands that they didn't pay enough attention to his supporting cast.

The thing that Doc and many Knick fans didn't pay attention to is that the Knicks used a different offensive strategy against the Celtics because they didn't want to lose another game with Melo scoring 42 but no one else contributing. So they actually ran the offense with Melo as a decoy and they also used the Spread offense, motion off the ball and PnR. So it wasn't just that the C's doubled too much, they also had to deal with the Knicks moving and sharing the ball with quick and timely passes.

Woody didn't continue to stress these plays and the Knicks fell back into a stagnant Melo Ball offense. It can work here with Melo if he can buy in and learn how to function in a team oriented offense and not buck against it. He can do it if he wants to, but that's the question. Does he want to. So far in his career he hasn't shown a real desire for it.

Kurt Rambis — a former teammate of Magic Johnson and a former coach of Bryant — put it best in an ESPN podcast, saying of Anthony: “One of the things he has to learn is how to involve his teammates more. There’s a lot more to winning ballgames than just scoring points.”

George Karl and Mike D’Antoni tried in vain to sell Anthony on this virtue, costing Karl years of aggravation and D’Antoni his job.

Initially, D’Antoni asked Anthony to play point forward, giving him the ball control he desired, but with equal responsibility for scoring and playmaking. Anthony accepted the role grudgingly and played it poorly.

Once Lin emerged, the Knicks’ playmaking needs were resolved. But Anthony was uncomfortable in a point guard-dominated offense and admitted as much a week before D’Antoni resigned.

So far, the only offense that seems to please Anthony is one where everyone else passes and he shoots.

It gets you to the playoffs and little else.

Everyone calls this dude out for the player he is: A wonder athlete capable of doing wondrous things with a basketball but has yet to live up the the star billing post season.

Yes, he made the conf. finals once. He has a really bad post season winning %.

The good news he has a decent sample of game compared to McGrady, Marbury and Crawford.

nixluva wrote:

AnubisADL wrote:Damned if you do damned if you don't. If Melo ball wasn't played we don't make the playoffs and Melo gets roasted for not carrying the team.

Howard Beck lays this egg when it's clear we are about to be eliminated. Should have wrote this when Melo was tearing up teams while Amare was sitting in his suit.

Actually you don't know that because we didn't really try to play a more team oriented style that would still have included many touches for Melo. The key was to have EVERYONE comfortable. Woody did make a change for a couple of games and it worked, but he soon went back to Melo Ball. For a couple of games Woody broke out the Motion, Ball Movement, PnR sets and the team was flowing.

It was "You Dropped a Bomb on Me" -- and Carmelo Anthony and two sharpshooting subs sure did.

Anthony had 35 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his second career triple-double, and the New York Knicks made 19 3-pointers to keep alive their Atlantic Division title hopes with a 118-110 victory over Boston on Tuesday night.

J.R. Smith and Steve Novak both scored 25 points for the Knicks, who overcame a season-high 43 points from Paul Pierce and moved into sole possession of seventh place in the Eastern Conference while trimming Boston's division lead to 3½ games.

Novak hit eight 3s in the highest-scoring game of his career. Smith made all seven of his 3s in the first half, equaling a team record.

"Our bench was great tonight," Anthony said. "Novak and J.R., them guys combined for 50 points off the bench. When they get hot like that, it's hard to deal with."

The Celtics would have wrapped up their fifth straight Atlantic title with a victory. Instead, the Knicks stunned them with a record-tying 14 3-pointers in a 72-point first half and equaled their season high by finishing 19 of 32 behind the arc. They improved to 14-5 under interim coach Mike Woodson.

Tyson Chandler had 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting for the Knicks, who finished one short of their franchise record for 3s, set last season.

"We didn't defend the 3 at all tonight," Pierce said. "We dug ourselves a huge hole that we couldn't climb out of."
The Celtics watched Anthony score 42 points in a losing effort against Miami on Sunday and apparently overreacted to it, trying so hard to get the ball out of his hands that they didn't pay enough attention to his supporting cast.

The thing that Doc and many Knick fans didn't pay attention to is that the Knicks used a different offensive strategy against the Celtics because they didn't want to lose another game with Melo scoring 42 but no one else contributing. So they actually ran the offense with Melo as a decoy and they also used the Spread offense, motion off the ball and PnR. So it wasn't just that the C's doubled too much, they also had to deal with the Knicks moving and sharing the ball with quick and timely passes.

Woody didn't continue to stress these plays and the Knicks fell back into a stagnant Melo Ball offense. It can work here with Melo if he can buy in and learn how to function in a team oriented offense and not buck against it. He can do it if he wants to, but that's the question. Does he want to. So far in his career he hasn't shown a real desire for it.

Kurt Rambis — a former teammate of Magic Johnson and a former coach of Bryant — put it best in an ESPN podcast, saying of Anthony: “One of the things he has to learn is how to involve his teammates more. There’s a lot more to winning ballgames than just scoring points.”

George Karl and Mike D’Antoni tried in vain to sell Anthony on this virtue, costing Karl years of aggravation and D’Antoni his job.

Initially, D’Antoni asked Anthony to play point forward, giving him the ball control he desired, but with equal responsibility for scoring and playmaking. Anthony accepted the role grudgingly and played it poorly.

Once Lin emerged, the Knicks’ playmaking needs were resolved. But Anthony was uncomfortable in a point guard-dominated offense and admitted as much a week before D’Antoni resigned.

So far, the only offense that seems to please Anthony is one where everyone else passes and he shoots.

+1
Good post.

Jmpasq wrote:Doesnt matter what ball we play the Heat still would win. Dantoni's No defense, Woodson's no offense, Melo Ball, the problem is they arent as good as the Heat

Pretty much sums it up.

Seriously, I don't think there are many (if any) actual "Melo Lovers". There are certainly guys who disagree as to the usage of Melo. To quote the two extremes: "Give it to melo every time and let him go ISO while everyone else stands around." or "Make Melo run to the corner on every play, and maybe the PG will pass it to him."

The coach needs to be flexible enough to do whatever it takes to win in a given situation, and hopefully the players will buy in and execute the plans. It isn't about loving a particular player more than the team, it's about what the best tactics are in a given situation.

BasketballJones wrote:"Melo Lovers", "Melo Fanboys". Sounds almost as icky as "Larry Lover". Who are these perverts? We need names!