4 Reasons Knicks Fans Should Love Carmelo Anthony & Amar'e Working out Together

When Carmelo Anthony became Amar’e Stoudemire’s teammate this past February, the New York Knicks became one of only a handful of NBA teams that could make a legitimate claim to having two superstar-caliber players.

As is the case in many professional team-based sports, players typically can’t just switch teams and immediately work at optimum output (It’s not like they’re powered appliances switching from one electrical socket to another.). Chemistry plays a huge role in determining how successful they, and their team, will be. 

The Carmelo Anthony era started well, after the Knicks defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in his inaugural game donning the orange and blue. Carmelo had some early struggles in the contest, thanks in part to all the fanfare and hype his arrival brought, but he picked it up as the game went along.

While the first game with Carmelo in New York was a successful one, it’d be fallacious to say the same about rest of the season.

The Knicks went 14-14 to finish the regular season, headlined by two losses to the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers, and were swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.

Still, the future looks bright for the Big Apple’s basketball squad. Whenever next season starts, the Knicks have a realistic shot to finish as the Eastern Conference’s third best team. Fans should also be optimistic that the team has scheduled offseason workouts to help develop chemistry, especially between their two superstars.

Here are four reasons Knicks’ fans should love Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire working out together. 

Improved Comraderie and Chemistry

Well, duh!

Last season, Amar’e and Carmelo only had a couple months worth of playing time with one another. Each did well during that stretch, but there were times when they clearly weren’t accustomed to the other taking over the offense. 

Knicks fans shouldn’t worry about that being a big problem in the future, though.

Remember, it took the Miami Heat’s Big Three about four months before they really started clicking on all cylinders. Having an offseason, which will seemingly be quite lengthy, to work on timing and familiarity will pay tremendous dividends for the Knicks.

Carmelo and Amar’e were friends before becoming teammates, and working out together in the offseason should help strengthen their friendship. Their increased comradery will help them communicate with each other on the court and decrease the likelihood that either player complains about not getting enough touches. It will also allow the rest of the team to gel better since their two best players are of no threat to divide the locker room. 

Improved Pick and Rolls

Last season, Knicks fans got to see the Carmelo-Amar’e pick and roll here and there. The play has limitless potential when these two run it because of Anthony’s 6’8” frame and shooting ability (he shot 42.4 percent from three-point range with the Knicks last season) to go along with Stoudemire’s explosive athleticism and ability to hit the mid-range jumper.

If the Knicks’ superstars improve their pick and roll game, defenses are going to have a brutal time. If an opponent tries to bring an extra defender over to try and stop the play, Chauncey Billups, Toney Douglas, Bill Walker and Shawne Williams (assuming the Knicks re-sign him) can make them pay from the three-point line.

Carmelo and Amar’e will probably never reach the level of success John Stockton and Karl Malone achieved with the pick and roll, but they have the skill-sets and ability to become one of the NBA’s most dynamic and lethal combos at running it.

Improved Defense

To some, putting the word defense in the same sentence as the New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony or Amar’e Stoudemire, is asinine. 

The Knicks were the NBA’s third worst scoring defense last season, allowing opponents to put up 105.7 points per game, and their two superstars—who have a history of struggling or not trying on defense—didn’t do much to help improve that.

Carmelo and Amar’e know they’ve got to improve on defense, both individually and collectively.

As far individual defense, they could benefit from playing one on one with each other. Carmelo could improve his post defense and boxing out ability going up against one of the league’s best and most explosive big men, while Amar’e could improve his on-ball defense against one of the league’s most offensively dynamic players. Carmelo will almost certainly need to get accustomed to guarding big men because of the Knicks’ lack of interior depth, which could lead to major minutes for him at power forward.

Collectively on defense, each could improve through increased familiarity with one another. Carmelo can become a lot more aggressive on defense if he knows Amar’e is watching his weak side, and Amar’e could feel better about guarding big men in the post (especially when he has to play center) if he knows Carmelo will come down and help him out.

If these two become better accustomed to working together on the defensive end, the rest of the team is more likely to follow suit.

Knick fans would love if game-winning plays like the one in the media slot became a common occurrence.

It Proves They Are Serious About Winning

There’s no doubting that Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire are two of the NBA’s best players at their respective positions. What some have doubted, though, is their desire to win. 

In the past, each player has been criticized for a lack of leadership and defensive intensity. They’ve also been previously labeled as more focused towards achieving individual success over the collective good of their teams.

Their upcoming offseason workouts can help change those notions.

Even with the NBA locked out, Anthony and Stoudemire are showing a willingness to increase their chemistry with one another, and in turn, increase the Knicks’ chances of playing at a championship level. Stoudemire deserves a whole lot of credit, as he was the organizer of the workouts and was willing to put up all of his teammates in hotels and take care of their breakfast and lunch needs.

After a brutal decade for Knicks’ fans, last season helped bring about hope for a bright future. It’s always a great sign when two superstars can co-exist on the same team.

Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire are doing their part to take that a step further and work on becoming one of the NBA’s best duos.