Carmelo Anthony Comments on Expectations for Knicks Ahead of 2015-16 Season

The New York Knicks are coming off of a disastrous 17-win season, but superstar forward Carmelo Anthony expects a significant improvement in 2015-16.  

When asked about the national media being down on the Knicks and their prospects for the upcoming campaign, Melo was defiant, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post: "I think we will be better than people predict. If you're predicting 27 wins, I laugh at that. We use that as kind of motivation. But it's a good thing to be under the radar."

The Knicks may not have particularly high expectations, but it's difficult to remain under the radar in the Big Apple. With Anthony returning to action, team president Phil Jackson steering the ship and new additions such as Robin Lopez, Arron Afflalo, Kristaps Porzingis and Jerian Grant looking to make a difference, there will be no shortage of discussion about the Knicks, regardless of how they fare on the court.

Melo missed half of the 2014-15 season after undergoing knee surgery, and there is no question that his absence wreaked havoc on the Knicks as they were without an eight-time All-Star who has averaged over 25 points per game over the course of his career.

Despite missing out on big-name free agents like LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Monroe, Kevin Love and Marc Gasol, the Knicks certainly look like a better team on paper. After missing the playoffs by a whopping 21 games in the lowly Eastern Conference, though, they'll have to get better in a hurry if they truly expect to be a factor.

One person who has already seen improvement from them, per the C's official Twitter account, is Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens, whose team dropped a preseason game to the Knicks 101-95 on Oct. 16:

Anthony will undoubtedly have to be healthy and at his best throughout the season in order for the Knicks to make sizable gains, but the high-volume offensive star isn't particularly worried about what kind of production he delivers or where he might stand in the MVP race, per Berman:

"

I don't care about that. It will be (a big year) — for sure it will be. I think they go off what they saw last. For me, I know where I stand in this league. For somebody else to say what I am or not, that's way beyond me.

Nobody cares what kind of year you had if you're on a losing team. Regardless of if I average 30 [points] and we win 30-something games, it will still be a down year all the way around. Nobody cares about that. Everybody goes back to the 54-win season when we had a good team and were winning and everybody gets the pub and the shine. We're going to be alright. I'm not concerned about myself at all.

"

Players of Anthony's ilk are often viewed as selfish on the court since they tend to dominate the ball and put up tons of shots, but his comments suggest he's willing to spread the wealth if it leads to more overall team success for the Knicks.

Based on the fact only one returning player (Langston Galloway) averaged double digits in scoring last season, though, Anthony having a huge statistical year and the Knicks winning games will have to go hand-in-hand.

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