Dime is the premier basketball magazine, covering the NBA, NCAA, High School, Playground and International basketball - as well as sneakers, fashion and music.
Issue link: http://dimemagazine.epubxp.com/i/130678
DIME MID-SEASON REPORT NIKE 4 CARMELO ANTHONY Whereas the deck was stacked against New York this year with Amar'e Stoudemire sidelined for the opening two months, and a combined 155 years of backup old age sprawled out along the bench, Carmelo was also facing the most important year of his career. He wants to be known as an elite player, and considers himself an elite player. Yet at 28, he's in his physical prime and hasn't maintained consistent team success. You probably know by now that Anthony sports the worst postseason record of any player in league history (.308 winning percentage), even after entering the NBA in 2003 with big-game credentials. Carmelo's incredible success at Syracuse didn't pass over, is just 3-12 in 15 postseason games with the Nuggets and Knicks. In two years in New York, he's 1-8 in the playoffs (Even though in two of those games – Game 4 in 2012 against Miami and Game 2 in 2011 against Boston – 'Melo unleashed unreal individual performances in pressurepacked situations.). Because of this, Anthony's now stereotyped as a selfsh player who can't win, won't defend and doesn't know how to make his teammates better. We're not saying it'll happen, but if you were building a story about redemption – especially in basketball terms – those would be some of the key ingredients needed. His success as a small power forward is often discussed, and because he's playing a lot of it this year, he's on the verge of his best statistical season as a Knick. Anthony's reentered the MVP conversation because he's racking up foor burns, scoring 27.5 points and hitting proving again why NBA champions are so glorifed. It's super hard to win. Do the shearing lights of New York City play a factor here? Of course. Everything is magnifed in the Big Apple, especially when your NBA homecoming was hyped like he was General Maximus reappearing to lead the Roman army. Manhattan will always add a little extra. But this is more about Anthony's maturation as a player and his career legacy, not that it's coming in New York. The 6-8 scoring machine could be playing in Minnesota, and we'd still be discussing his repeated fameouts in the NBA's second season. Since Denver nearly made the Finals in 2009, Anthony 57 over 37 percent of his threepointers as the Knicks have raced out to a 38-24 record as of press time. For a while, they were sniffng on the Heat's heels for the best record in the East, and if they had been able to pull off a No. 1 seed in the playoffs, you could bet legions would've offered 'Melo's MVP credentials over LeBron. Anthony faced more question marks than anyone heading into the season, and for the frst time in his career, basketball analysts weren't just dogging his lack of success, but also his talent. In their offseason #NBARank Twitter discussion, ESPN famously listed 'Melo as only the 17th-best player in the league. That's heresy, especially after watching the team respond to his newfound defensive effort this year. He has the narrative to win an award like this, but in the end, the three guys ahead of him have been a little better on the court.