Carmelo Anthony: Will His New York Knicks Career Just Be a Series of Teases?

As the Knicks breathe a sigh of relief after avoiding a regular season sweep at the hands of the lowly Cavaliers, the question of Carmelo Anthony and company's potential arises.

Which New York team will show up in the playoffs? How far can Anthony lead this team in the postseason? Have the Knicks finally found their identity or are they just leading us on?

These questions, and more, are plaguing the minds of Knicks fans and critics as the the regular season winds down.

New York is 10-12 since Anthony arrived, yet their record only begins to tell the story of this roller coaster ride that has an ensued for the Knicks since acquiring the superstar.

Since the acquisition of Anthony, the Knicks have gone on a three-game winning streak, a three-game losing streak, a six-game losing streak and have now won three in a row once again.

Some nights New York looks simply unbeatable, while other nights they seem tired and confused. And although team chemistry takes time to develop after a trade such as this one, we must wonder if Anthony's Knicks career will ever be marked with a significant accomplishments or just endless potential.

Anthony is averaging 26.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game since joining the Knicks and has led them to a number of impressive victories, including one over Miami and New Orleans, and two over Memphis.

On the flip side, though, the Knicks have suffered a number of bad losses since the trade. They have lost twice to Cleveland, Indiana and Milwaukee, three teams New York should be beating on a daily basis.

And it is this very inconsistent play that poses a dilemma.

Yes, the Knicks are still learning to play together, but by now, Anthony and company have shown us a glimpse of the team they are going to be.

But which team is it?

Is it the team that lost twice to the Cavaliers, the NBA's worst team, in the same week, or the team that held the Heat to only 86 points and relied on both their offense and defense to close out the game?

The answer is the latter.

As bold as it may be to predict that Anthony's career with New York will amount to something spectacular, and as rough as the past six weeks have been, all indications are Anthony and the Knicks will get it together and become legitimate title contenders.

During the Knicks most recent six-game losing streak, things seemed to take a turn for the worst. Anthony was slowing down the Knicks ball movement on offense, and his defense was almost non-existant.

However, there was a silver lining in the case of Anthony as the losing streak reach its end.  

In the Knicks' March 23 loss to Orlando, Anthony dished out nine assists and grabbed two steals. Two days later, in a loss to Milwaukee, Anthony grabbed eight rebounds, three offensive and grabbed another steal. And in the following night's loss to Charlotte, Anthony grabbed yet another steal and blocked two shots.

Now, these losses were far from moral victories for the Knicks, but Anthony did show some major progress. And during the Knicks current three-game win streak, Anthony is continuing his strong play, averaging 34 points and over one steal per game.

Additionally, Anthony has improved in various areas of his games since joining the Knicks. He is shooting over 42 percent from beyond the arc and nearly 46 percent from the field overall, his scoring and assists per game have slightly increased, and his turnovers per game have decreased.

Anthony is also moving the ball around the floor much better and is not as much of an iso-oriented player, which has helped the overall flow of New York's offense improve.

Furthermore, while he has done this slowly and quietly, Anthony's effort on defense is starting to improve. He is moving his feet and keeping his man in front of him, rather than trying to defend with just his hands.

This is all good news for New York and their fans. It means that Anthony and the Knicks are headed in the right direction.  

And it means that Anthony's career in New York will be marked by more moments of success than of failure. 

Let's not forget that while Anthony and the Knicks have had their struggles as of late, they have remained competitive with some of the league's elite teams.

In their two losses to Orlando and one loss to Boston, the Knicks maintained the lead for most of the game and just let it slip away. So while this does show the need for Anthony and the Knicks to improve on closing out games, it also shows how close this team is to being a contender.

This team is not destined to be wildly inconsistent, stealing occasionally impressive victories over elite level teams that raise the hopes of their fans only to crush said hopes with an excess of ugly losses. 

No, the Knicks and their new superstar are going to get their act together.

Anthony and New York may still have a lot of work to do, but they are on the road to becoming title contenders.

And Anthony's and the Knicks recent struggles are only bumps in that road, not tell tale signs of the team they are.

Better days are just around the corner.