Knicks star forward Carmelo Anthony has gotten a rap for being a guy who was only interested in scoring and his own personal interest.
He’s taken even more heat, no pun intended, for only getting out the first round of the playoffs only once.
After watching LeBron James finally win that coveted NBA Championship, Melo must have known the pressure and conversation about the best player in the league with a ring, would finally shift to him.
Carmelo Anthony has embraced a switch to power forward, and started this season off with a focus not seen in him before.
ESPN New York is reporting that one person knew Melo could perform like this the whole time.
Former Knicks general manager Donnie Walsh spoke out recently about a few things, one being Melo’s willingness to finally embrace all facets of his game.
“It was always there,” Walsh said of Anthony’s ability to play defense. “Carmelo is one of the few players in this league who can do everything. And now he’s doing everything.”
“He’s with a group of guys that I think he believes in and so he’s doing it,” Walsh said before the Knicks’ 88-76 victory over the Pacers on Sunday. “I think he always tried to win the game … but when you’re there and you don’t know if there are other guys there that can do it, then maybe you overextend on [the offensive] end of it.“Now that he sees that the team as a whole is strong enough, he doesn’t have to do that night in and night out. He’s doing everything else. He can defend, he can rebound, he can pass. There’s nothing I can think of in basketball Carmelo can’t do.”
The Knicks have only played less than 10 games, but it seems as if the light has gone on for Melo.
Now can he sustain this unselfish, committed effort for the long haul, that is the question.