Carmelo Anthony Is The Knicks New Point Guard

When you think of Carmelo Anthony, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Scoring. There’s no question that ‘Melo can put the ball in the hole from anywhere on the basketball court — he’ll give you 26 a night, easy –, what about his passing, though? For starters, his career average of 3.1 assists doesn’t exactly jump-out at you, but Ive watched this guy play ball since his days at Oak Hill and I’ve seen him make some incredible passes, when he chooses to do so. I’ve seen him make no-look passes, behind-the-back passes, half-court passes and plenty of other jaw-dropping passes.

This video is a perfect example –

Amazing, right?

When ‘Melo was traded to the Knicks last February, things didn’t exactly go the way they had hoped. Did Amar’e and Anthony score a lot of points together? Yes. They even scored a bunch of points as a team, but their defense was non-existent and they had a 14-14 record post-signing. They couldn’t find the right spacing — which makes sense since both guys play from the same spot on the floor — and at times they looked lost. Shockingly, although not really since he’s playing under Mike D’Antoni’s offense, ‘Melo’s offensive stats skyrocketed once he could officially call Madison Square Garden his new home.

2010-11 stats with Denver: 25.2 points per game, 2.8 assists, 82.3% from FT, 33% from 3s and shot 45.2% from the field.

2010-11 stats with New York: 26.3 points per game, 3 assists, 87.2% from FT, 42.4% from 3s (which is just astounding) and 46.1% from the field.

Last month, D’Antoni stated that the Knicks offense would run through ‘Melo, not Amar’e (which makes sense). From high school, to college, to the pros, the offense has always ran through whatever team Anthony has played on. Offensively, he’s that good.

Kevin Clark of the Wall Street Journal put things in perspective when it came to Anthony’s new point guard duties:

So here’s how it will work — Anthony will decide when to run point (it’s mostly based on feel) and dribble up the floor. The former point guard will sprint to the corner and simply act as another shooting option or in some incarnations, there will be no point guard on the floor at all. Landry Fields, the team’s shooting guard, will be on the other side. From there, Anthony’s bottomless bag of moves will start. According to those that have guarded him, he is at an advantage because he is six-foot-eight, at least two inches taller than almost every guard, meaning he can see the defense in front of him without interference. He has fast enough feet to jet past even the peskiest of defenders and he has a quick release to his pass.

According to Iman Shumpert, the rookie who has guarded him in practice, he’s a threat to shoot as soon as he’s within 30 feet. Mostly, though, he’ll start a pick-and-roll, a play in which a player (Chandler or Stoudemire) sets a screen for the ball handler (Anthony) before slipping behind the defender. The big man not in the pick-and-roll will almost certainly be open for a jump-shot. It is, coaches say, an unguardable play.

Before this idea came to mind, ‘Melo always was an unarguable player. You can’t stop him. The only way he’ll be stopped is when he does it himself, which is when his shots aren’t falling and he decides to get trigger happy.

Although he’s basically done this his entire career, D’Antoni believes the Melo-run offense can be sustainable for at least 30 minutes a night:

“Oh yeah, it’s harder to isolate all the time and go one-on-one all the time. He did that 20, 30 minutes a game before anyway,” D’Antoni said. “I think it will be easier for him to run the point-forward, run the pick-and-roll and get easier shots. I think it will be easy for him.”

D’Antoni then went on to say that Anthony’s height is key:

“He’s 6-foot-9, he sees over the top of everything, he’s got good pace for it. Melo is a complete player, he understands the game, he has a finesse passing game with it and you can almost run anything with him at the point guard and it’s going to work,” Dan D’Antoni said. “I think Melo understands the positions to put Amar’e in, where can score, that’s what a point guard does. I think he has that mentality, he might be ‘Magic’ [Johnson] Melo, I don’t know.”

I mean, really, how do you stop a point-forward who’s 6-foot-9? Did you see how many guys struggled to guard Hall of Famer’s like Magic Johnson and Larry Bird? There’s a reason they have jerseys hung up in their respective team’s arenas. Those guys were phenomenal at what they did and paved the way for players like LeBron James and Carmelo to bring different attributes to the game than most would ever daydream about.

During the Knicks-Nets preseason match-up Wednesday night, I didn’t see a whole lot of the new offense, which is understandable considering that it’s only preseason (I wouldn’t want to play with all my new toys at the same time, either). The most important thing about all this doesn’t have to do with a new playbook, it’s the fact that ‘Melo has taken on an even bigger leadership role than he ever has. The ball is literally in his court now.

He’s now the guy who will have to develop a Chris Paul mind-state while maintaining his Michael Jordan scoring mentality..

If he makes the right decisions, the Knicks could be playing in the NBA finals come May.

And f he makes those decisions, he has a chance to do something LeBron never could.

Video: Chris “Birdman” Andersen’s PETA AD

Easily the most colorful player in the NBA, Denver Nuggets shot-blocker and energy provider Chris "Birdman" Andersen became the recent addition to PETA'S "Ink, Not Mink" campaign, which has featured other ballplayers such as Amar'e Stoudemire and Gilbert Arenas. Checkout Bird's spot below for a behind-the-scenes look at his photo shoot and what really goes on in at some of China's fur farms.

Video: Rajon Rondo Throws No-Look-Over-The-Head Alley-Oop

Once this NBA lockout ends, I need my man Danny Ainge and the Boston Celtics front office to sign a young high flyer to catch oops from Rondo like this one. This actually went down over the weekend during the State Farm Big Blue All Star Tour and on the recieving end of the no-look-over-the-head alley-oop was Kenneth Faried, Denver Nuggets rookie.

‘Melo’s Post Play Could Make Him The Best In The League

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said it and how many times I’ve had to defend it, but in my eyes, Carmelo Anthony is the best overall player in the league (trust me, it has nothing to do with him being my all-time favorite player). I’m sure most will argue, but I’m always prepared to defend. At this point in time, with Kobe on the downside of his career, LeBron James is the most likely candidate for the best player in the league. Only problem is, he really doesn’t have a complete all-around game. His jump shot is mediocre, he sometimes struggles with his free-throw shooting and more than obvious, he has no post-game.

‘Melo, on the other hand, has a complete game. Sure he might take less consistent shots more than consistent ones, but that has nothing to do with his game, that’ just bad decision making and trying too hard (which he had to do in Denver). Lets state some of the obvious first, ‘Melo is one of the Top 5 physical players in the league, homie loves contact. Why else would they call him “The Bully?” He’s from the streets of Baltimore and hooped for most of his life in the streets of New York. It doesn’t matter how you try to guard him, you can’t. From 15 to 20 feet out, there’s really no one better at shooting the ball. From his patent jab-step, his footwork, quick first step and array of spin moves, the guy is a bull. You can’t contain him.

If you try to take away his drive to the basket, he’ll just murder you with his jumper. Crowd him and he’ll kick it out to a teammate, slip past you for a strong finish and more than likely an and one. Put someone bigger on him and he’ll destroy them with his speed. Put someone smaller and he’ll take them down to the block and embarrass you. He was closer to 250 pounds two years ago, but this offseason he said that he’s around 230 and stronger than he’s ever been. According to ESPN New York blogger Jared Zwerling, there’s one NBA trainer in the league who believes ‘Melo could be the best player in the game if he utilized his size a little more in the point and developed a baseline jumper.

“He could get away with playing power forward, so why not take advantage of the smaller three’s in the NBA?” he said. “If teams want to put someone quicker on him, Melo can take him down low. It’ll be easier for him to score and attract more double teams, which will open things up on the court for other guys.”

Although it’s nothing new, it’s still something to think about. When ‘Melo played in Denver, coach George Karl knew exactly how to use him the right way and took advantage of every opportunity that was given on the court. There were times when he had to play power forward and he’d finish the game with a career-high 22 rebounds. He’s relentless, he’s now healthy after having both knee and elbow surgery during the lockout, and I’m eager to see him back on the court. If he’s looking to develop that baseline fadeaway, though, where else to look than his sponsor? The great player of all-time, Michael Jordan.

Report: J.R. Smith Signs One-Year Deal With China

As a huge Nugget’ fan, this is starting to get hard to swallow. First we lose one of our starters for the 2011-12 season (if there even will be one) in Wilson Chandler, and now it’s being reported that J.R. Smith has signed to play overseas in China as well. According to Yahoo! Sports Adrian Wojnarowski, Smith has signed a one-year deal with Zhejiang Wanma of China Basketball Association. As the deal goes with Chandler, the CBA has a no opt-out clause which means both Smith and Chandler have to play the entire year overseas before they can make their way back into the NBA.

Smith – who has been known as an enigma and a pain in George Karl’s ass – is one of the league’s most hot and cold players. One game he’s going off like Jordan in Game 6, and the next he’s colder than Adam Morrison’s shooting hand. Despite all of that, he’s still one of the most potent scorers in the league off the bench and still makes Denver better with him on the court. It’s obvious that some guys who have big contracts (i.e. LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant) are sitting comfortably and enjoying their time by playing pickup ball during the lockout, there are still some guys who are looking to make money while there’s money to be made, and one of those guys is Smith.

He needs to make as much money as he can right now because it’s evident that teams will be going after Chandler when he makes his return to the NBA next season but it’s hard to picture which teams will be jumping the gun for J.R.’s mishaps and inconsistency.

Danilo Gallinari Wants To Take A Sheet

Danilo Gallinari wants to take a shit sheet. A sheet of what? Energy.  Bron Bron and Amare shit sheets too.  Hit the jump to see that. Find out more:

For more information:

http://www.facebook.com/TakeaSheet
http://www.twitter.com/TakeaSheet
http://www.TakeaSheet.com

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The Official 2011 NBA Playoffs Schedule

40 games in 40 nights! Let’s get it! It’s NBA Playoffs time – 2011 version. This photo was surfacing around the office inbox’s and I actually thought it was funny even as a Celtics fan myself. What’s even funnier though is that these Knicks’ fans think they can actually hang with the Celtics. New York doesn’t play a lick of defense so it’ll be an easy series in 5 games, maybe 6 if we’re playing sloppy.

Derrick Rose and the Bulls will breeze through the Pacers, same with the Heat and the 76ers. The Magic will see some resistance from the Hawks but they’ll be okay too. After that though, there’s no calling it. All four teams are talented and I haven’t been this excited to see how everything plays out. There’s no clear cut front runner and every team could make a run to the championship.

On the west side (*throws up Avon Barksdale W*), I’m kinda shocked that the Nuggets have managed to do so well with out Melo and Billups and even with so many injuries in the beginning of the year. To come out of the west though I’m going to roll with young Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook to take their games to another level.  Playoffs START NOW!

Eastern Conference

(8) Indiana Pacers (37-45) vs. (1) Chicago Bulls (62-20)
(7) Philadelphia 76ers (41-41) vs. (2) Miami Heat (58-24)
(6) New York Knicks (42-40) vs. (3) Boston Celtics (56-26)
(5) Atlanta Hawks (44-38) vs. (4) Orlando Magic (52-30)

Western Conference

(8) Memphis Grizzlies (46-36) vs. (1) San Antonio Spurs (61-21)
(7) New Orleans Hornets (46-36) vs. (2) Los Angeles Lakers (57-25)
(6) Portland Trailblazers (48-34) vs. (3) Dallas Mavericks (57-25)
(5) Denver Nuggets (50-32) vs. (4) Oklahoma City Thunder (55-27)

Carmelo Anthony’s Interview With Conan O’Brien

Crazy!  This Carmelo Anthony interview with Conan O’Brien was filmed literally hours before the official trade to New York was made.  Melo truthfully still had no idea where he was ending up (or staying) but then by the time this aired, everyone knew he was a Knick.  If you watch the full interview you can see Conan give Melo a hilarious Nets / Nuggets / Knicks jersey all sewn together as one.

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Carmelo Anthony Is Finally A New York Knick

FINALLY!  This almost became as bad and annoying as this summer with all of the “where is LeBron going” talk.  After all the speculation between the Knicks and New Jersey Nets, Denver finally agreed upon a deal with the Knicks to send Carmelo Anthony’s talents to the Big Apple.  The full details should be settled in the morning but for now check out DenverPost.com for the latest as they were the first to break the story.

Note – that’s not an official image but just a great photoshop courtesy of @EliFromBrooklyn.  Carmelo isn’t pictured in his typical #15 because the New York Knicks already have #15 retired.

The NBA’s Dunks of The Night Starring Sam Young & J.R. Smith

The NBA had 3 crazy dunks last night.  The first one is above and stars Sam Young catching a dirty alley-oop on Kris Humphries aka Kim Kardashian’s new man.  Yo Kris, you’re supposed to be giving your pornstar reality star chick facials, not taking them!  Below and after the jump is J.R. Smith just doing his weekly Sportscenter Top 10 highlights.  Nothing new for him…

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