Carmelo Anthony: Would He Benefit the New York Knicks?
A lot of rumors have been circulating around ESPN and the Internet recently about where Carmelo Anthony will end up, and what will he bring to the table.
Although it looks as though this is now a two team race for the 6'8" 240lbs forward, between the New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets, everyone starts to wonder how he would benefit each team if at all.
If he ends up with the Knicks would he actually be able to benefit the team that seems to be in full stride already this season?
James Evens is a Purdue student and Basketball/Football Featured Columnist for the Boilermakers, along with being a Writing Intern at Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter or like him on Facebook
He Would Be Willing to Play Hard
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Carmelo would be playing in his home town of New York City and not to far away from his college of Syracuse. Being home would give Anthony a reason to play even harder than he has with the Denver Nuggets.
He would be expected to play great every day, and live up to the expectations the fans will place on him, which could include an NBA title.
The Knicks Already Have Something Good Going, Would He Screw Up The Chemistry?
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The Knicks have a record of 22-16 this season and are much improved from last year. In fact, they will likely eclipse their last season record of 29 wins in the coming weeks.
The Knicks are playing well as a unit and Melo might just through some unnatural chemistry into that already cohesive unit.
Carmelo Is One Of The Best Players In The League
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Carmelo is one of the most talented players in the league, but hasn't had much success because he is playing in Denver.
If Carmelo was given the opportunity to play for a team that was always in the spotlight, maybe Anthony could step up even further and prove that he should be mentioned in the MVP consideration.
Would Carmelo Be Able To Share The Spotlight With Amar'e Stoudemire
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Stoudemire is having arguably the best season of his eight seasons in the league. He is averaging 26.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game.
He is being dominant and really taking control over games. The last thing the Knicks want to do is mess with his head, and make him drop. They need to talk to Amare before they bring in Carmelo, because some of the attention would be taken from him in their game plan.
However the Knicks should not be too worried about Amar'e getting upset as much as Anthony, who has been the center of attention in Denver his entire career.
Knicks Don't Need Scoring Help
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The Knicks are currently the highest scoring team in the league. They are averaging 107.8 points per game and have five players currently averaging double digit points per game.
They do not need help in this aspect but could use a second leading scorer, but more on that in the next slide.
Carmelo Would Be a Legitimate Third Scorer
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Carmelo would be able to jump in right away and contribute 20-plus points a game for the Knicks making their offense even more prolific than it already is.
Anthony is averaging 23.8 points per game and is a scoring machine if he is given the opportunity to take good shots. Carmelo would jump in and along with Stoudemire and Felton, would make an awesome trio in New York.
Carmelo Would Solve The Rebounding Problem
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The Knicks have had some serious struggles on the boards this season. Other than Stoudemire who is averaging almost nine boards per game, they really have no one out there cleaning off the glass.
Carmelo would be great for this as he is averaging 8.2 per game already. The Knicks are ranked 20th in the NBA in rebounds per game, only averaging 40.9 per game.
Allow Another Big in the Post Defensively
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The Knicks are one of the worst defensive teams in the nation, and having a well known defender added to their lineup will be useful for them. They are giving up on average 104 points per game which puts them ranked 28th in the league overall.
This is a stat that Carmelo would definitely help improve, as he is known as a decent defender.
The Knicks Would Have to Pull In Another Team to Complete The Deal
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The Nuggets do not seem too interested in trading straight up with New York right now, and unless Carmelo comes out and says that he will only sign with New York, it is likely that they will have to through a third team.
The rumor mill has been swirling, especially with the possibility of a deal involving Memphis and O.J. Mayo.
The Knicks will really have to fight for Melo if they plan to win this all-star forward.
He Would Be Very Beneficial
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The verdict is in and he would definitely help the Knicks out, and possibly take them to a championship caliber team. It will be tough to get Carmelo, but if they are able to secure him, it could be the end up being a battle for the Eastern Conference of the Heat v. the Knicks which would be one heck of a series.
Either way though, the Knicks are going to be a good team in the future, and are rebuilding for what could be a title run in the next few years, but yet again Melo could only help speed up the process.
