New York Knicks: 5 bold predictions for 2017-18 NBA season

3. Carmelo Anthony will average 30 points per game

The New York Knicks haven’t done the roster many favors in their handling of the situation with Carmelo Anthony. Luckily the Phil Jackson era is over and hopefully, everybody can move past that and onto matters on the court.

The fact still remains that the Knicks are 9-51 with Melo out of the lineup in the past three seasons. He led the team in scoring this past season with 22.4 points per game.

In the latest diss, the ESPN‘s recent #NBARank seemed to rattle the 33-year-old superstar as well. Melo was ranked as the 64th-best player, just behind rookie Lonzo Ball of the Los Angeles Lakers, a player who has yet to play in a regular season NBA game.

That should be enough motivation for Anthony to perform at an even higher level. His production from the 2015-16 season to the 2016-17 season remained largely unchanged outside a few numbers.

Melo on the court with Kristaps Porzingis produced some good results and if Porzingis continues to play like he has in EuroBasket, it may be hard for Melo to leave anyways.

Look for Melo to play strong as an ode to helping develop the Knicks’ young guys while also developing his game. After the summer he’s had, 30 points per game should be no sweat for him.