What do you get when you put together: (1) two of the most overrated, overpaid power forwards in the NBA; (2) two point guards over thirty, 32 and 37 to be precise; and (3) one of the most prolific scorers the game has ever seen? The 2014-15 New York Knicks.
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As previously predicted, this may not be a good year in Knicks’ franchise history. Their horrific roster’s first season under a competent offense (the triangle offense) will most definitely make this year a
dreadful
bad one for Knicks fans. Anyway, fortunately for the Knicks, they’ve got Carmelo Anthony and Anthony’s firepower should be enough to keep new yorkers hooked for at least another season.
It’s common for Anthony, the one-time scoring leader (2012-13), seven-time All-Star who led the Denver Nuggets all the way into the Western Conference Finals against the first-seeded eventual champions Los Angeles Lakers for a six-game battle in 2008-09, to be underrated.
As one of the most anticipated forwards of his generation, Carmelo came into the league via the 2003 NBA Draft, thus subjecting himself to continuous LeBron James comparisons. Anthony has been somewhat up to the challenge and leads the series between them, 11-10.
With the start of the NBA season upon us (just kidding, there’s still 48 days before it gets here), let’s take a trip down memory lane in which we look back at Anthony’s Top 5 performances of the 2013-14 season.
Feb. 19 @ New Orleans Pelicans: 42 points – 4 rebounds – 2 assists. (98 NYK – 91 NOP)
Kickin’ ass and taking names. Anthony exploded for his second 40+ point performance of 2014 against the visiting Pelicans. Hitting 18 out of 35 shots for a very cool 51 percent from the field and 1.2 points per shot, Carmelo propelled the New York Knicks’ offense against one of the up-and-coming defenses in the league led by Anthony Davis.
Even with Davis guarding the paint, Carmelo was able to score on 71.4 percent (5-of-7) of his shots down-low.
Thirteen of Carmelo’s 42 points came in the fourth quarter as the Knicks stopped a late push by the Pelicans.
However, Anthony’s defense delivered too, he posted a defensive rating of 99.9, a huge performance since had a 108 DRtg for the season.
Feb. 24 vs. Dallas Mavericks: 44 points – 9 rebounds – 4 assists. (110 DAL – 108 NYK)
As the Knicks tried to avoid their third loss in a row, they logged in one of the strongest shooting performances of the season by going .526/.424/.872 … and they lost.
Carmelo struggled down low against Samuel Dalembert’s defense as he shot 33.3 percent from the paint. However, he came close to a double-double as he had 44 points by shooting 48.2 percent from 2-point land, and a staggering 58.3 percent from beyond the arc (7-for-12; good enough for 50 percent of the Knicks’ 3-pointers), and nine rebounds (seven defensive) in 41 minutes.
Even though Carmelo Anthony didn’t disappoint, it still wasn’t enough to beat the far-superior Dallas Mavericks. This loss was the team’s ninth loss in the last eleven games.
Feb. 21 @ Orlando Magic: 44 points – 11 rebounds – 4 assists. (121 NYK – 129 ORL)
Magical night in Orlando.
With the Knicks coming out of their second win of the month against the Pelicans (first game listed in this article), the Knicks tried to gain momentum against the Orlando Magic.
This time, against a much inferior team even for Knicks’ standards, Carmelo came out firing. 13.9 percent percent of his points were in the paint as he went 2-for-4, a solid 50%, but real damage came as he enabled himself to go 14-for-24 from the field and, above all, 6-for-10 from downtown. He shot an out of this world .571/.600/.857 in the game on the way to a 135 OFRtg.
Still, it wasn’t enough. The Orlando Magic doubled the Knicks’ points, 16-8, during the game’s second overtime and the rest is history.
The Knicks lost the first game of what would become a seven game losing streak.
Nov. 14 vs. Houston Rockets: 45 points – 10 rebounds – 4 assists. (109 HOU – NYK 106)
One of Melo’s 22 double-doubles came against one of the top teams, not only in the league, but in the Western Conference, the Houston Rockets. Led by Dwight Howard’s presence in the paint, James Harden’s
and Chandler Parsons’
offense and Kevin McHale’s coaching abilities, the Rockets are evidently the best team that Melo torched for 40-plus.
Tonight, not even Dwight could stop Carmelo. Anthony put a clown suit on Howard by going 8-for-14 from below the rim. No easy feat at all against arguably the most powerful center in the league.
The Rockets eventually stopped the bleeding and handed the Knicks their first loss in what would finally end up as a nine game losing streak.
Jan. 24 vs. Charlotte Bobcats: 62 points – 13 rebounds – 0 assists. (96 CHA – 125 NYK)
| Basic Box Score Stats | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starters | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | TOV | PTS | +/- |
| Carmelo Anthony | 38:39 | 23 | 35 | .657 | 6 | 11 | .545 | 10 | 10 | 1.000 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 62 | +34 |
| Team Totals | 240 | 50 | 90 | .556 | 14 | 27 | .519 | 11 | 11 | 1.000 | 12 | 30 | 42 | 23 | 7 | 4 | 125 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/11/2014.
| Advanced Box Score Stats | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starters | MP | TS% | eFG% | ORB% | DRB% | TRB% | AST% | STL% | BLK% | TOV% | USG% | ORtg | DRtg |
| Carmelo Anthony | 38:39 | .787 | .743 | 3.4 | 41.4 | 22.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 49.5 | 166 | 114 |
| Team Totals | 240 | .659 | .633 | 32.4 | 83.3 | 57.5 | 46.0 | 8.2 | 6.3 | 4.0 | 100.0 | 146.9 | 112.8 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/11/2014.
Carmelo Anthony had, against the fifth best ranked defense in the NBA:
- 37 Points in the first half (including a buzzer-beating half-court shot).
- 25 Points in the second half.
- 62 Points (Career High).
- 23 Field Goals Made (Career High).
- 35 Field Goals attempted (Career High).
A virtuoso performance by Melo where he had, along with the previous career highs, 12 defensive rebounds and a plus-34 while he was on the court (the Knicks won by 29 so without Carmelo’s performance they would’ve lost the game by 5 … kind of).
Even though Carmelo had four 40-plus points outings during the month of February, the Knicks still came out of said month with a 2-11 (.154) devastating record good for, along with November (2-11), their worst month of the season. This by no means brings Melo’s offensive abilites into question, rather than proves the fact that Anthony’s supporting cast is
hideous
below average, at best. Fortunately for the Knicks they were able to re-sign Carmelo for the next five years ($124 million) and they’ve got a ton of money coming their way in the summer of 2015.
So rest assured, they will get better.