Carmelo Anthony finally got what he wanted. Instead of staying with the stagnant Denver Nuggets, he took his talents to MSG. The era where franchise players stay on the same team for their whole career is over. Ever since the Boston Big 3 was formed in 2007, a few NBA teams have been stocking up on superstars; you no longer need 1, but 2 or 3 elite players to win a championship. Whether this is good or not for the league is debatable.
So Melo’s wish was granted and now he will play alongside Amare Stoudemire in the Big Apple to bring glory back to the Knicks franchise, which hasn’t had a winning record in 9 seasons. Anthony has played with a scoring superstar in the past, Allen Iverson, and it worked out pretty well. So why wouldn’t it work out now?
Mike D’Antoni’s offense is the complete opposite of Melo’s. The Knicks coach teaches run and gun, fast paced and high volume shot offense with less defense. Anthony tends to slow down the game, run lots of iso plays and take many shots which will affect Stoudemire’s number of touches. Even if the two can work out who gets how many shots, it will be hard to work the coaches offensive tactics. Plus point guard Chauncy Billups isn’t getting any younger, so pushing the ball may not be the best option.
Then there’s of course the lack of defense. Anthony isn’t a reputed defender, although he has improved this year. They have to play lock down D to beat teams like the Celtics or Heat.
Still, one can’t focus on the negative aspects of this trade. A team with 2 of the top 10 scorers in the league is bound to have some success. Melo will take some scoring pressure of of Stoudemire and draw double teams to free shooters like Billups or Fields.