Carmelo Anthony Must Prove to NY Knicks That He Belongs Before Trade Deadline

The second possession of last night's New York Knicks loss to the New Jersey Nets was meaningless in the game, but hopefully it was a sign of things to come for the Knicks.

A simple-pick-and-roll between Jeremy Lin and Carmelo Anthony resulted in a easy look at the basket for Anthony. It didn't even result in a made basket, but it was encouraging that Anthony attempted to fit right into things in his first game back.

The Knicks need him to.

While New York barely went back to the Anthony-Lin combo on the pick-and-roll, Anthony made a solid attempt to fit into the flow of the new New York offense.

If anything, maybe Anthony tried to be a little too unselfish by forcing a few passes he probably should have held onto. He had six turnovers.

We really didn't know what to expect from Anthony in his first game back since his groin injury, and his stat line that read 11 points on four for 11 shooting wasn't very encouraging. But, Anthony's six assists was one encouraging sign.

"My mindset was not try to come in and do too much. Try to fit in. Try to play my game within the system the way that they've been playing the last couple weeks," Anthony told the Associated Press.

The pressure is on Anthony to fit in and click with Lin.

Like it or not, the Knicks were winning without him. Now that he's in the lineup, the expectations of success come back to him. More often than not, Anthony's the best player on the floor, but he's going to have to know when to defer and when to take over in the Knicks offense.

That's a lot of pressure on Anthony's shoulders.

He will be fine. It's an adjustment period, and he's only been back for one game.

Anthony must find his role in the Knicks offense and especially in the Knicks defense, where they have looked disoriented with him on the floor this season.

And he must do this before the March 15 trade deadline.

I'm not suggesting the Knicks should trade Anthony—unless a deal that would blow their mind came along. But, before the trade deadline comes, the Knicks need to know what they have.

That doesn't just go for Anthony, but that goes for newcomers Baron Davis and J.R. Smith, as well.

They need to know if they are contenders or pretenders before the trade deadline rolls around.

If they feel they are contenders, there may still be a few moves left out there to tinker with the roster and make a run at the Eastern Conference. It's not likely, but they may find something.

The March 15 trade deadline also leaves 23 regular season games remaining in the season. Thirteen of those games are against teams currently over .500.

By that point—and no later—the Knicks must have both of their units in sync and be prepared to make a run up the Eastern Conference standings.

The Atlantic Division title is still in reach, but first the Knicks need to get all of their newcomers on the same page.

There will be a lot of pressure on Anthony's shoulders to fit in down the stretch.

But, he's good enough to handle it and lead the Knicks to wins.