Phil Jackson Says Carmelo Anthony May See Time At Power Forward

It didn’t take long for New York Knicks president Phil Jackson to talk about how the team may operate differently on both ends of the floor this season.

The most interesting tidbit of information Jackson dropped at the team’s media day on Friday is that Carmelo Anthony may see more time at the power forward spot this season, as reported by ESPN.com’s Ian Begley.

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While speaking with the media, Jackson approached the idea of moving Anthony around the floor in order to give the team a different look on offense, all thanks to the team’s signing of center Robin Lopez.

"“One of the reasons why we really thought Robin would be the best fit for us as a center was that it would allow us to be more flexible as a team and Carmelo can play more of a ‘4’,” Jackson said. “As opposed to maybe a Greg Monroe who is not the same size, not the same defensive player.”"

With that being said, Jackson didn’t confirm Anthony’s primary position, as that has yet to be determined. In terms of what will allow Anthony to switch between small and power forward, it will all be based on the matchups the team sees.

"“A lot of how Carmelo is going to approach the game is who’s going to guard him and the matchups that go along with that process,” Jackson said. “One of our reasons to get [free agent Derrick] Williams was the fact here’s a guy, 6-8, who can play 3s, 4s, interchangeable, has the speed and activity to play with or for Carmelo in any situation.”"

The real question is do the Knicks have an advantage with playing Anthony at a bigger position?

Offensively, New York could do a lot of different things with Anthony being the versatile big in the Triangle. Anthony possesses the ability to handle the basketball as well as post-up, meaning that he doesn’t have to have a designated spot and responsibility on the floor. Anthony can play up top or down low and switch between the two with ease because he has go-to moves anywhere.

The team already runs its offense through Anthony to begin with, so giving him more opportunities to post-up and draw a double team could give the other players on the floor more looks on offense, so long as Anthony makes good decisions with the basketball in terms of when to shoot and pass.

The real problem with playing Anthony at the 4 may be on defense, as even though it would be better for him to guard slower players as opposed to quicker wings on the perimeter, the strength difference would be apparent and opposing teams could play bigger lineups to take advantage.

It’s still unknown what the extent of Anthony’s time at power forward could look like, but I wouldn’t put it past Jackson to actually make this happen. If he and head coach Derek Fisher hadn’t had a conversation about this already, then he wouldn’t have come out and said it to the media.

The NBA is trending towards small-ball nowadays, and the Knicks may end up being the latest team to board the hype train.

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