Carmelo Anthony’s injury provides a unique opportunity for the New York Knicks and their role players to take advantage of the extra playing time.
It’s safe to say at this point that the New York Knicks’ season is lost.
Daily Knicks
The Eastern Conference is just good enough to leave them in the dust, and the Knicks, simply, haven’t looked good all season. Although it’s early and the Knicks have a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, there’s really nothing positive to take away from the Knicks’ season so far.
I repeat: There’s nothing positive to take away from the season so far.
That was until Carmelo Anthony got hurt in Monday’s game against the Houston Rockets. Anthony left the game with back spasms, and the extent of his injury is unknown.
Before I continue, I just want to point out Anthony has been one of my favorite players throughout his entire career. I’m a Melo apologist. He can do very few things wrong in my eyes.
With that said, Anthony missing a major amount of time might be the best thing for the Knicks.
Look, the Knicks are terrible, but they aren’t going to get better by keeping their young players on the bench and letting Anthony shoot 20-plus times per game. I think Anthony scoring like the league’s top scorer is the best thing for the Knicks when it comes to winning, but it’s not the best scenario for the Knicks development of young players.
| Rk | Player | G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P% | TRB | AST | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Iman Shumpert | 14 | 27.9 | 4.4 | 9.6 | .459 | .442 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 1.1 | 11.6 |
| 3 | Shane Larkin | 14 | 26.1 | 2.3 | 5.6 | .410 | .375 | 1.8 | 2.7 | 1.4 | 5.7 |
| 4 | J.R. Smith | 14 | 25.8 | 3.9 | 8.8 | .439 | .318 | 2.4 | 3.4 | 0.9 | 10.0 |
| 5 | Jose Calderon | 2 | 23.5 | 2.0 | 6.5 | .308 | .333 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 6.0 |
| 6 | Amar’e Stoudemire | 14 | 23.1 | 4.8 | 8.8 | .545 | 7.4 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 11.7 | |
| 7 | Quincy Acy | 12 | 22.2 | 2.1 | 4.5 | .463 | .000 | 6.0 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 5.1 |
| 8 | Pablo Prigioni | 13 | 20.6 | 2.2 | 3.9 | .549 | .514 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 6.2 |
| 9 | Tim Hardaway | 15 | 17.7 | 3.3 | 7.8 | .419 | .364 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 9.1 |
| 10 | Samuel Dalembert | 15 | 17.4 | 1.5 | 3.4 | .451 | 4.5 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 3.3 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/25/2014.
If Anthony misses a considerable amount of time 20-25 games, the Knicks will be forced to get Tim Hardaway Jr., Shane Larkin, and Iman Shumpert more time to show what they can do and improve like they’ve never had the opportunity to in their short careers.
It also gives Phil Jackson and Derek Fisher time to evaluate talent and see who’s worth keeping. Without Anthony, someone is going to have to step up. Plus, if the Knicks want to make some trades, guys might be able to increase their trade value by increasing their production with Anthony out.
Unfortunately, the main man that would benefit from Anthony missing time is rookie Cleanthony Early, but he’s going to be out for at least another three weeks after an arthroscopic procedure on his knee.
Still, other than Anthony’s struggles at the beginning of the season, he’s been one of the best scorers in the NBA throughout his career, and he’s going to be able to play that role in any offense. The Knicks need their role players to be better; that’s it, that’s all.
Let’s be honest, other than for a minute during the offseason, we knew this is what the Knicks would be. Quincy Acy, Jason Smith, and all those other role players were not going to be good. Now, they have a chance to get better without the pressure of getting the ball to Melo.
Stoudamire and Knicks worst-player– sorry for the snark– Andrea Bargnani, are also going to see bigger roles if Anthony is out for a long period of time.
As both are free agents this offseason, it’s going to be very interesting to see how those players are able to establish themselves without Anthony in the front court.
Even J.R. Smith can benefit from Anthony’s injury. Smith needs space and he needs opportunities. Without Melo, Smith is going to be able to take as many shots as he can handle, which, if you were wondering, is infinite.
Anthony’s injury is devastating, if it’s serious back spasms like it’s thought to be. Those can be especially problematic with any player, let alone a player that’s logged as many minutes as Anthony has. Who knows how long he’ll be out, but I don’t think it’s the end if the world for the Knicks. It might actually be a blessing in disguise.